Overview

The Writer's Gift or the Patron's Pleasure? introduces a new approach to literary patronage through a reassessment of the medieval paragon of literary sponsorship, Charles V of France. Traditionally celebrated for his book commissions that promoted the vernacular, Charles V also deserves credit for having profoundly altered the literary economy when bypassing the traditional system of acquiring books through gifting to favor the commission. When upturning literary dynamics by soliciting works to satisfy his stated desires, the king triggered a multi-generational literary debate concerned with the effect a work's status as a solicited or unsolicited text had in determining the value and purpose of the literary enterprise. Treating first the king's commissioned writers and then canonical French late medieval authors, Deborah McGrady argues that continued discussion of these competing literary economies engendered the concept of the ""writer's gift,"" which vernacular writers used to claim a distinctive role in society based on their triple gift of knowledge, wisdom, and literary talent.

Full Product Details

Author:   Deborah McGrady
Publisher:   University of Toronto Press
Imprint:   University of Toronto Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.640kg
ISBN:  

9781487503659

ISBN 10:   1487503652
Pages:   366
Publication Date:   24 February 2019
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Temporarily unavailable  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: Rethinking Literary Patronage in a Medieval Context 1. King Charles V's Sapientia Project: From the Construction of the Louvre Library to the Books He Commissioned 2. The Writer's Work: Translating Charles V's Literary Clientelism into Learned Terms 3. Guillaume de Machaut's Fictions of Engagement 4. Eustache Deschamps on the Duties and Dues of Poetry 5. The Pursuit of Sponsorship: From Christine de Pizan's Troubled Dealings with Louis of Orleans to Marketing Nostalgia 6. The Curse of the Commission: Christine de Pizan on Sacrificing Charles V's Biography Conclusion Bibliography

Reviews

Wemmers' Victimology: A Canadian Perspective is essential reading for those interested in victims of crime in all their dynamism - theoretically, politically, and within the disciplines. However, Wemmers takes this further by providing a powerful analysis of structural and institutional reform, through the emerging human rights instruments that place victim rights firmly on the policy agenda. Bringing together a volume of this kind is no small feat, internationally significant, but with obvious relevance to those especially interested in Canada's justice response. -- Elizabeth L'Estrange, University of Birmingham * <em>Renaissance Quarterly</em> *

"""Wemmers’ Victimology: A Canadian Perspective is essential reading for those interested in victims of crime in all their dynamism – theoretically, politically, and within the disciplines. However, Wemmers takes this further by providing a powerful analysis of structural and institutional reform, through the emerging human rights instruments that place victim rights firmly on the policy agenda. Bringing together a volume of this kind is no small feat, internationally significant, but with obvious relevance to those especially interested in Canada’s justice response."" -- Elizabeth L’Estrange, University of Birmingham * <em>Renaissance Quarterly</em> * ""Deborah McGrady’s analysis of patronage practices during the last quarter of the fourteenth century and the first quarter of the fifteenth, as evidenced not only by authorial dedications and presentation miniatures but also archival records, texts themselves, and manuscript witnesses, offers keen insight into the politically fraught institution hiding behind the nostalgic idea of medieval mecenat."" -- S.C. Kaplan, Rice University * <em> French Studies</em> * ""Deborah McGrady’s rich, meticulously researched, and lucidly written monograph addresses this surprising gap in modern studies of late medieval book communities. She shows that the decades surrounding Charles V’s translation project constitute a crucial moment of change in medieval patronage practices, characterized by a tension between spontaneous artistic expressions freely offered by the poet and transactional commissions undertaken for the pleasure of the patron."" -- Julie Slinger, Washington University in St. Louis * <em>H-France Review</em> * ""The Writer’s Gift or the Patron’s Pleasure? Makes important contributions to the fields of literary studies, economic history, art history, and the history of the material text—it is a pleasure to read and a gift to the scholarly community."" -- Sarah Wilma Watson * <i>Speculum, Vol. 96, No. 2</i> *"

Wemmers' Victimology: A Canadian Perspective is essential reading for those interested in victims of crime in all their dynamism - theoretically, politically, and within the disciplines. However, Wemmers takes this further by providing a powerful analysis of structural and institutional reform, through the emerging human rights instruments that place victim rights firmly on the policy agenda. Bringing together a volume of this kind is no small feat, internationally significant, but with obvious relevance to those especially interested in Canada's justice response. -- Elizabeth L'Estrange, University of Birmingham * <em>Renaissance Quarterly</em> * Deborah McGrady's analysis of patronage practices during the last quarter of the fourteenth century and the first quarter of the fifteenth, as evidenced not only by authorial dedications and presentation miniatures but also archival records, texts themselves, and manuscript witnesses, offers keen insight into the politically fraught institution hiding behind the nostalgic idea of medieval mecenat. -- S.C. Kaplan, Rice University * <em> French Studies</em> * Deborah McGrady's rich, meticulously researched, and lucidly written monograph addresses this surprising gap in modern studies of late medieval book communities. She shows that the decades surrounding Charles V's translation project constitute a crucial moment of change in medieval patronage practices, characterized by a tension between spontaneous artistic expressions freely offered by the poet and transactional commissions undertaken for the pleasure of the patron. -- Julie Slinger, Washington University in St. Louis * <em>H-France Review</em> *

Wemmers' Victimology: A Canadian Perspective is essential reading for those interested in victims of crime in all their dynamism - theoretically, politically, and within the disciplines. However, Wemmers takes this further by providing a powerful analysis of structural and institutional reform, through the emerging human rights instruments that place victim rights firmly on the policy agenda. Bringing together a volume of this kind is no small feat, internationally significant, but with obvious relevance to those especially interested in Canada's justice response. -- Elizabeth L'Estrange, University of Birmingham * <em>Renaissance Quarterly</em> * Deborah McGrady's analysis of patronage practices during the last quarter of the fourteenth century and the first quarter of the fifteenth, as evidenced not only by authorial dedications and presentation miniatures but also archival records, texts themselves, and manuscript witnesses, offers keen insight into the politically fraught institution hiding behind the nostalgic idea of medieval mecenat. -- S.C. Kaplan, Rice University * <em> French Studies</em> * Deborah McGrady's rich, meticulously researched, and lucidly written monograph addresses this surprising gap in modern studies of late medieval book communities. She shows that the decades surrounding Charles V's translation project constitute a crucial moment of change in medieval patronage practices, characterized by a tension between spontaneous artistic expressions freely offered by the poet and transactional commissions undertaken for the pleasure of the patron. -- Julie Slinger, Washington University in St. Louis * <em>H-France Review</em> * The Writer's Gift or the Patron's Pleasure? Makes important contributions to the fields of literary studies, economic history, art history, and the history of the material text-it is a pleasure to read and a gift to the scholarly community. -- Sarah Wilma Watson * <i>Speculum, Vol. 96, No. 2</i> *

Wemmers' Victimology: A Canadian Perspective is essential reading for those interested in victims of crime in all their dynamism - theoretically, politically, and within the disciplines. However, Wemmers takes this further by providing a powerful analysis of structural and institutional reform, through the emerging human rights instruments that place victim rights firmly on the policy agenda. Bringing together a volume of this kind is no small feat, internationally significant, but with obvious relevance to those especially interested in Canada's justice response. -- Elizabeth L'Estrange, University of Birmingham * <em>Renaissance Quarterly</em> * Deborah McGrady's analysis of patronage practices during the last quarter of the fourteenth century and the first quarter of the fifteenth, as evidenced not only by authorial dedications and presentation miniatures but also archival records, texts themselves, and manuscript witnesses, offers keen insight into the politically fraught institution hiding behind the nostalgic idea of medieval mecenat. -- S.C. Kaplan, Rice University * <em> French Studies</em> *

Author Information

Deborah McGrady is an associate professor of French at the University of Virginia.

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