Overview

This study analyzes the folkloric genres that comprise the repertoire of the marionette theater in Sicily. Here, epic, farce, saints' lives, bandits' lives, fairytales, Christian myth, and city legend offer the vehicles by which puppeteers comment upon, critique--perhaps even negotiate--the relationships among the major classes of Sicilian society: the aristocracy, the people, the clergy and the Mafia. The lynchpin of the repertoire is the Carolingian Cycle and, in particular, a contemporary version of The Song of Roland known in Sicily as The Death of the Paladins, a text which illustrates the means by which the Carolingian heroes--Charlemagne, Roland, Renaud, Ganelon, and Angelica--augment saints, bandits, Biblical figures and Sicilian folk heroes to provide the marionette theater its rhetorical function: the articulation and dissemination of the tools of Sicilian identity.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Buonanno
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.331kg
ISBN:  

9780786477678

ISBN 10:   0786477679
Pages:   236
Publication Date:   17 April 2014
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface: A Storied Island Introduction: The Genius of Palermo One: The Cultural Context of Sicilian Epic Two: The Marionette Theater Three: Knights and Masques Four: Saints and Bandits Five: On Christian Soil Six: The Carolingian Cycle Seven: The Song of Roland in Sicily Eight: Social Order and the Fairy Tale Nine: City Legend and Secret Societies Conclusion: The Last Adventure Appendix: The Death of the Paladins Chapter Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

Fascinating and well-researched...an expert, articulate, and sensitive work...valuable...insightful and intelligent --<i>Journal of Folklore Research</i>.

Fascinating and well-researched...an expert, articulate, and sensitive work...valuable...insightful and intelligent --Journal of Folklore Research.

Author Information

Michael Buonanno is a professor of English and anthropology at the State College of Florida: Manatee/Sarasota. His previous publications have appeared in The Journal of American Folklore and New York Folklore. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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