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An examination of the rubricated letters in the Morte makes a convincing case for the design being by Malory himself.
The red-ink names that decorate the Winchester manuscript of Malory's Morte Darthur are striking; yet until now, no-one has asked why the rubrication exists. This book explores the uniqueness and thematic significance of the physical layout of the Morte in its manuscript context, arguing that the layout suggests, and the correlations between manuscript design and narrative theme confirm, that the striking arrangement is likely to have been the product of authorial design rather than something unusual dreamed up by patron, scribe, reader, or printer.
The introduction offers a thorough account of not only the textual tradition of the Morte, but also the ways in which scholarship to date has not done enough with the manuscript contexts of Malory's Arthuriad. The book then goes on to establish the singularity and likely provenance of Winchester's rubrication of names. In the second half of the study the author elucidates the narrative significance of this rubrication pattern, outlining striking connections between manuscript layout and major narrative events, characters, and themes. He suggests that the manuscript mise-en-page underscores Malory's interest in human character and knighthood, creating a memorializing function similar to the many inscribed tombs that dominate the landscape of the Morte's narrative pages. Inshort, Winchester's design creates a memorializing tomb for Arthurian chivalry.
K.S. WHETTER is Professor of English at Acadia University, Canada.
The red-ink names that decorate the Winchester manuscript of Malory's Morte Darthur are striking; yet until now, no-one has asked why the rubrication exists. This book explores the uniqueness and thematic significance of the physical layout of the Morte in its manuscript context, arguing that the layout suggests, and the correlations between manuscript design and narrative theme confirm, that the striking arrangement is likely to have been the product of authorial design rather than something unusual dreamed up by patron, scribe, reader, or printer.
The introduction offers a thorough account of not only the textual tradition of the Morte, but also the ways in which scholarship to date has not done enough with the manuscript contexts of Malory's Arthuriad. The book then goes on to establish the singularity and likely provenance of Winchester's rubrication of names. In the second half of the study the author elucidates the narrative significance of this rubrication pattern, outlining striking connections between manuscript layout and major narrative events, characters, and themes. He suggests that the manuscript mise-en-page underscores Malory's interest in human character and knighthood, creating a memorializing function similar to the many inscribed tombs that dominate the landscape of the Morte's narrative pages. Inshort, Winchester's design creates a memorializing tomb for Arthurian chivalry.
K.S. WHETTER is Professor of English at Acadia University, Canada.
Price: $36.95
Pages: 276
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: D.S.Brewer
Publication Date:
17 April 2020
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9781843845638
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
LITERARY CRITICISM / Medieval, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry
Provides comprehensive coverage of the vast and contested field of Malory scholarship and criticism. It also offers the most detailed study to date of the Winchester manuscript (British Library, Additional MS 59678) in the context of comparable manuscripts. Deserves credit for expounding many fresh responses to Malory's manuscript and meaning.
Ambitious, genial, knowledgeable, closely argued, and attractively illustrated.
[An] original, profoundly researched, at time combative monograph.. Graduate students and seasoned Malorians alike will find this book indispensable.
Whether or not the reader is convinced by [Whetter's] arguments, she will surely be impressed by the research that has gone into the making of this volume.
A highly stimulating and interesting read [and] an important contribution to Arthurian and Malorian studies.
This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the relationship between manuscript and printed text.
Ambitious, genial, knowledgeable, closely argued, and attractively illustrated.
[An] original, profoundly researched, at time combative monograph.. Graduate students and seasoned Malorians alike will find this book indispensable.
Whether or not the reader is convinced by [Whetter's] arguments, she will surely be impressed by the research that has gone into the making of this volume.
A highly stimulating and interesting read [and] an important contribution to Arthurian and Malorian studies.
This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the relationship between manuscript and printed text.
A Textual Introduction
The Unusual Nature of Winchester's Rubrication
Tracing Winchester's Rubrication and Marginalia
Chapter 2, Appendix I: Classifications of Rubrication
Chapter 2, Appendix II: Rubrication Errors or Departures from the Usual Pattern
Malory's Sacralized Secularity
Rubricated Elegy
Conclusion: The Red and the Black
Bibliography
The Unusual Nature of Winchester's Rubrication
Tracing Winchester's Rubrication and Marginalia
Chapter 2, Appendix I: Classifications of Rubrication
Chapter 2, Appendix II: Rubrication Errors or Departures from the Usual Pattern
Malory's Sacralized Secularity
Rubricated Elegy
Conclusion: The Red and the Black
Bibliography