Outsiders

The Humanity and Inhumanity of Giants in Medieval French Prose Romance

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Medieval, Gothic & Romantic, French
Cover of the book Outsiders by Sylvia Huot, University of Notre Dame Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sylvia Huot ISBN: 9780268081836
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press Publication: July 15, 2016
Imprint: University of Notre Dame Press Language: English
Author: Sylvia Huot
ISBN: 9780268081836
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
Publication: July 15, 2016
Imprint: University of Notre Dame Press
Language: English

Giants are a ubiquitous feature of medieval romance. As remnants of a British prehistory prior to the civilization established, according to the Historium regum Britannie, by Brutus and his Trojan followers, giants are permanently at odds with the chivalric culture of the romance world. Whether they are portrayed as brute savages or as tyrannical pagan lords, giants serve as a limit against which the chivalric hero can measure himself. In Outsiders: The Humanity and Inhumanity of Giants in Medieval French Prose Romance, Sylvia Huot argues that the presence of giants allows for fantasies of ethnic and cultural conflict and conquest, and for the presentation—and suppression—of alternative narrative and historical trajectories that might have made Arthurian Britain a very different place. Focusing on medieval French prose romance and drawing on aspects of postcolonial theory, Huot examines the role of giants in constructions of race, class, gender, and human subjectivity. She selects for study the well-known prose Lancelot and the prose Tristan, as well as the lesser known Perceforest, Le Conte du papegau, Guiron le Courtois, and Des Grantz Geants. By asking to what extent views of giants in Arthurian romance respond to questions that concern twenty-first-century readers, Huot demonstrates the usefulness of current theoretical concepts and the issues they raise for rethinking medieval literature from a modern perspective.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Giants are a ubiquitous feature of medieval romance. As remnants of a British prehistory prior to the civilization established, according to the Historium regum Britannie, by Brutus and his Trojan followers, giants are permanently at odds with the chivalric culture of the romance world. Whether they are portrayed as brute savages or as tyrannical pagan lords, giants serve as a limit against which the chivalric hero can measure himself. In Outsiders: The Humanity and Inhumanity of Giants in Medieval French Prose Romance, Sylvia Huot argues that the presence of giants allows for fantasies of ethnic and cultural conflict and conquest, and for the presentation—and suppression—of alternative narrative and historical trajectories that might have made Arthurian Britain a very different place. Focusing on medieval French prose romance and drawing on aspects of postcolonial theory, Huot examines the role of giants in constructions of race, class, gender, and human subjectivity. She selects for study the well-known prose Lancelot and the prose Tristan, as well as the lesser known Perceforest, Le Conte du papegau, Guiron le Courtois, and Des Grantz Geants. By asking to what extent views of giants in Arthurian romance respond to questions that concern twenty-first-century readers, Huot demonstrates the usefulness of current theoretical concepts and the issues they raise for rethinking medieval literature from a modern perspective.

More books from University of Notre Dame Press

Cover of the book Roots of Brazil by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book God at the Crossroads of Worldviews by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book German Catholics and Hitler's Wars by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book The Uses of Darkness by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Explorations in the Theology of Benedict XVI by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Before the Dawn by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Victorian Reformations by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Scandal Work by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Sacred Sound and Social Change by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Gringo Justice by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Indigenous Languages, Politics, and Authority in Latin America by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Catholicism and American Borders in the Gothic Literary Imagination by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book On Being Free by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book New Orleans Sisters of the Holy Family, The by Sylvia Huot
Cover of the book Philo's Portrayal of Moses in the Context of Ancient Judaism by Sylvia Huot
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy