Medieval Go-betweens and Chaucer's Pandarus

by G. Mieszkowski

Overview

This book explores the rich, complex, literary tradition of the medieval go-between. Idealized going between usually leads to marriage and it develops a new dimension of the much debated question of courtly love and woman's part in it. Chaucer's Pandarus's place in this go-between tradition is a tour de force.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781403963413
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	06/05/2007
Series:	The New Middle Ages
Edition description:	2007
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

GRETCHEN MIESZKOWSKI is Professor of Literature at the University of Houston, Clear Lake, USA.

Table of Contents

Introduction Worldly Going Between Idealized Going Between Chaucer's Pandurus and the Go-Between Tradition Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"Mieszkowski has written a glorious book...one that illuminates a fascinating literary tradition." - Studies in the Age of Chaucer"This book makes available, in all their pulsating variety, the tales of mediated sexual encounters that form part of the medieval literary legacy. The two histories it keeps separate - of fictional debasements and idealizations of desire - come together at the end in an analytical survey of modern responses to Troilus and Criseide. This will be required reading for all who teach the poem. But Chaucerians and non-Chaucerians alike will benefit from Professor Mieszkowski s magisterial study." - Marie Borroff, Sterling Professor of English Emeritus, Yale University

From the Publisher