|
Dominique
Battles.
The
Medieval Tradition of Thebes: History and Narrative in the Roman de
Thebes, Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Lydgate.
London:
Routledge, 2004.
ISBN
041596993X.
Hardback.
Publisher's
recommended price £50.00
As the
story of the
war between the sons of Oedipus and their cursed race, the Theban
legend
rivaled that of Troy in popularity and importance for medieval poets
and
audiences. Dominique Battles explores the vernacular Theban narratives
of the Middle Ages, including the Old French Roman de Thebes
(1154),
Boccaccio's Teseida, Chaucer's Theban poems - Anelida and
Arcite
(1370s), the Knight's Tale, and the Theban subtext of the Troilus
(1380s) - and John Lydgate's Siege of Thebes (1422).
The
Medieval
Tradition of Thebes constitutes the first comprehensive study of
the
classical legend of Thebes in the Middle Ages. Far from representing a
single consistent legend, the story of the civil war between Eteocles
and
Polynices took on a variety of forms and purposes, each of which
presents
its own historical paradigm. By tracing the relationship between these
texts, Battles demonstrates how each succeeding adaptation of Thebes
builds
upon and challenges those before it.
|
|