Overview

Criticism of the Court and the Evil King in the Middle Ages: Literary-Historical Analyses, identifies and discusses the discourse focused on the criticism of the court, specifically of the king, across medieval Europe. Tracing its development from the tenth through the fifteenth centuries, chapters examine Icelandic sagas, Old Spanish heroic epic poetry, courtly romances, early modern French and German prose novels, and late medieval short verse and prose narratives as well as the work of medieval critics such as John of Salisbury and Marsilius of Padua. Albrecht Classen explores how the writers used their craft creatively and covertly to voice harsh criticism of the ruling class and unearths a deep distrust of kings and other authority figures during the Middle Ages.

Full Product Details

Author:   Albrecht Classen
Publisher:   Lexington Books
Imprint:   Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Dimensions:   Width: 15.90cm , Height: 2.80cm , Length: 23.70cm
Weight:   0.653kg
ISBN:  

9781666941210

ISBN 10:   1666941212
Pages:   300
Publication Date:   15 August 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Introduction Chapter One: The Medieval King, Monarchy, the Court, and Philosophical-Political Reflections. Unexpected Perspectives Toward a Critical Discourse: Political Reflections Chapter Two: Waltharius: An Honest Warrior Fights Against an Evil King: Early Medieval Criticism of a Ruler Chapter Three: The Neglectful, Ineffectual, Pathetic, and Useless King: Heinrich der Glîchezâre’s Reinhart Fuchs and the Criticism of a Ruler. The Story of a Complete Failure Chapter Four: Herzog Ernst and the Cruel Emperor: Criticism of an Unhinged Ruler Chapter Five: Disappointment about the Fictional King: Criticism of the Royal Ruler in Marie de France’s Lais Chapter Six: A Tyrant King in the Viking World: Egil’s Saga and Other Epic Poems Chapter Seven: The Idealized King Proves to be a Miserable Creature: Political Criticism in the Old French Huon de Bordeaux Chapter Eight: The Public Discussion of the King in Boccaccio’s Decameron Sacrosanct or Vile? The Banalization of Kingship in the Late Middle Ages Chapter Nine: A Weak Husband, an Evil King, and a Miserable Character: The Downfall of Charlemagne in Late Medieval Prose Novels by Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Others. Königin Sibille and the Anonymous Malagis With an Interlude Focused on the Nibelungenlied Epilogue Bibliography About the Author

Reviews

Albrecht Classen's Criticism of the Court and the Evil King in the Middle Ages explores how medieval poets warned against rulers who abused power or turned into tyrants. By consulting literary works from a variety of European sources and genre, including Latin and German epic, Norse saga, Old French chason de geste and courtly romance, and Boccaccio's Decameron, Classen demonstrates that the pre-modern political landscape was much more dynamic and tumultuous than commonly portrayed. A close reading of literary texts from the period reveals popular, as well as philosophical and theological, objections to royal misbehavior and abuse of power. While the writers that Classen studies do not advocate for democracy as currently defined, they reacted to and criticized what they viewed as power scenarios harmful to the good of the citizens. This is a unique approach to texts that hold valuable clues to medieval opposition to dangerous rulers and conceived injustices. Albrecht Classen's marvelous new book is remarkable in its scope as well as depth. Displaying magnificent vision, he surveys vernacular poetry and prose composed throughout Europe between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries in order to weave together seamlessly the common threads of veiled (and sometimes not so hidden) critiques of the mores and misbehavior of myriad royals and the courtly class that surrounded them., Classen masterfully reveals how the shared political discourse of the Middle Ages (especially the language of tyranny) received wide dissemination in the literary expressions of the time. More extraordinarily still, the guiding themes of Criticism of the Court and the Evil King in the Middle Ages are linked to the political ills of our own day, yet without lapsing into anachronism. Classen brings to this multifaceted interdisciplinary endeavor the erudition of an experienced scholar steeped in a dazzling range of primary sources, many of them relatively unfamiliar, and of relevant secondary research. This volume is sure to interest not only students of medieval literature, but also those of intellectual history and cultural studies. An elegant apologia for the humanities and a reminder of why history is relevant for the present. Albrecht Classen sounds a warning about the consequences of incompetence in the corridors of power. The narrative is a shrewd and scholarly interpretation of medieval perceptions about leadership models that are deficient both in honor and in character. Criticism of the Court and the Evil King in the Middle Ages is a sobering analysis of unstable and collapsing political structures that remains pertinent for the modern age everywhere. Is the king evil, or does he just have bad advisers? In either case, do his subjects offer resistance or stay loyal? Albrecht Classen now gives fresh analysis of these questions and medieval answers to them. Including texts as varied as Egil's Saga or Boccaccio's Decameron, the Lais of Marie de France or The Nibelungenlied, his Criticism of the Court and the Evil King will be the essential guide to how pre-modern writers saw the problem of royal tyranny and found solutions to it. This is a timely study of the representation of rulership in medieval literary sources. It shows how authors vividly, intelligently and obsessively addressed the problem of bad government. In recounting their efforts, Classen's book parallels attempts to understand medieval ways of thinking about evil rulership, its prevention and, when all else failed, its correction that historians of political theory and political theology have made. It is altogether a bravura performance.

Albrecht Classen's Criticism of the Court and the Evil King in the Middle Ages explores how medieval poets warned against rulers who abused power or turned into tyrants. By consulting literary works from a variety of European sources and genre, including Latin and German epic, Norse saga, Old French chason de geste and courtly romance, and Boccaccio's Decameron, Classen demonstrates that the pre-modern political landscape was much more dynamic and tumultuous than commonly portrayed. A close reading of literary texts from the period reveals popular, as well as philosophical and theological, objections to royal misbehavior and abuse of power. While the writers that Classen studies do not advocate for democracy as currently defined, they reacted to and criticized what they viewed as power scenarios harmful to the good of the citizens. This is a unique approach to texts that hold valuable clues to medieval opposition to dangerous rulers and conceived injustices. --Connie L. Scarborough, Texas Tech University Albrecht Classen's marvelous new book is remarkable in its scope as well as depth. Displaying magnificent vision, he surveys vernacular poetry and prose composed throughout Europe between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries in order to weave together seamlessly the common threads of veiled (and sometimes not so hidden) critiques of the mores and misbehavior of myriad royals and the courtly class that surrounded them., Classen masterfully reveals how the shared political discourse of the Middle Ages (especially the language of tyranny) received wide dissemination in the literary expressions of the time. More extraordinarily still, the guiding themes of Criticism of the Court and the Evil King in the Middle Ages are linked to the political ills of our own day, yet without lapsing into anachronism. Classen brings to this multifaceted interdisciplinary endeavor the erudition of an experienced scholar steeped in a dazzling range of primary sources, many of them relatively unfamiliar, and of relevant secondary research. This volume is sure to interest not only students of medieval literature, but also those of intellectual history and cultural studies. --Cary J. Nederman, Texas A&M University An elegant apologia for the humanities and a reminder of why history is relevant for the present. Albrecht Classen sounds a warning about the consequences of incompetence in the corridors of power. The narrative is a shrewd and scholarly interpretation of medieval perceptions about leadership models that are deficient both in honor and in character. Criticism of the Court and the Evil King in the Middle Ages is a sobering analysis of unstable and collapsing political structures that remains pertinent for the modern age everywhere. --Thomas A. Fudge, University of New England, Australia Is the king evil, or does he just have bad advisers? In either case, do his subjects offer resistance or stay loyal? Albrecht Classen now gives fresh analysis of these questions and medieval answers to them. Including texts as varied as Egil's Saga or Boccaccio's Decameron, the Lais of Marie de France or The Nibelungenlied, his Criticism of the Court and the Evil King will be the essential guide to how pre-modern writers saw the problem of royal tyranny and found solutions to it. --Andrew Breeze, University of Navarre, Pamplona This is a timely study of the representation of rulership in medieval literary sources. It shows how authors vividly, intelligently and obsessively addressed the problem of bad government. In recounting their efforts, Classen's book parallels attempts to understand medieval ways of thinking about evil rulership, its prevention and, when all else failed, its correction that historians of political theory and political theology have made. It is altogether a bravura performance. --William Chester Jordan, Princeton University

Author Information

Albrecht Classen is University Distinguished Professor of German Studies at the University of Arizona, Tucson.

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