Ordering chaos the self and the cosmos in twelfth-century Latin prosimetrum - Balint, Bridget K. (Brill, 2009)
Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-235) and index
The writing of prosimetrum in the Middle Ages -- The authority of the consolation -- The interlocutors -- Situating the self -- Truth and instability in the prosimetra -- Fabulous philosophizing after 1170 -- Prose and poetry in the prosimetra -- Hildebert of Lavardin, The complaint and quarrel of the body and the soul -- Lawrence of Durham, Consolation on the death of a friend
From c. 1100 until c. 1170, Latin prosimetrical texts characterized by dialogue, allegory, and philosophical speculation enjoyed a notable popularity within the cultural ambit of the French cathedral schools. Inspired by Boethius' "Consolation of Philosophy", the prosimetrum writers applied his literary techniques to the ethical and anthropological concerns of their own era, producing texts of great artistry in the process. This book investigates the rise of the Boethian impulse in Latin, the innovations of the twelfth-century writers, the difficulties that arose when they attempted