Description
Book SynopsisFirst major study of the representation of Minerva in the Middle Ages, giving insights into classical reception. Images of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, appear frequently in medieval literature, derived from antique culture and literature; redemptress, mistress of the liberal arts, patroness of princes, idol, and Venus' ally. Throughout the high to late Middle Ages, Peter Abelard, Guido delle Colonne, John Gower, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Christine de Pizan, among others, drew on and developed these images, but they are particularly prevalent in a number of fifteenth- and early sixteenth-century English and Scots allegorical and dream-vision poems, including John Lydgate's Reson and Sensuallyte and Temple of Glas, the anonymous Court of Sapience and Assembly of Gods, James I's Kingis Quair, Charles d'Orleans' Fortunes Stabilnes, and William Dunbar's Golden Targe. This book offers the first full-length examination of these depictions, bringing out the receptionof classical culture. Via close readings of the various poets, it enables us to understand how her figure was used, and also, and most importantly, to interpret and transform the poetic and cultural traditions from which she springs. WILLIAM F. HODAPP is Professor of English and Coordinator of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at The College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minnesota.
Trade ReviewIn this rich, wide-ranging study Hodapp demonstrates just how complex and multivalent the figure of Minerva was in medieval English and Scots literature. * HISTORY *
Thee volume can be recommended. It illumines classical and medieval civilization alike. Its intimate and sympathetic regard for older poetry and wisdom makes it a book to be welcomed and used. * MODERN LANGUAGE REVIEW *
As a whole, the book is a welcome addition to studies of ancient Roman myth, medieval Latin literature, and medieval and early modern English and Scots literature. * SPECULUM *
In The Figure of Minerva Professor Hodapp has attempted a huge project; for those scholars interested in the theoretical and historical contexts for analysis of Minerva in medieval literature, it is a rich resource. * MEDIEVAL REVIEW *
Such a clear, schematized approach to a labyrinthine complex of historical traditions is impressive... [Hodapp] penetrates the legends of the goddess with the professional, keen-eyed swordstroke of factuality, uncovering things that, like a Grecian urn, tease us out of thought. * STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE TEACHING *
Table of ContentsIntroduction The Roman Minerva and Elements of Medieval Classicism The Sapiential Tradition: Minerva as Redemptress The Martianus Tradition: Minerva as Mistress of the Liberal Arts The Patrona Tradition: Minerva as Protectress and Benefactor The Patristic Tradition: Minerva as Idol The Ovidian Tradition: Minerva as Venus' Ally Conclusion Bibliography
