Introducing the Medieval Swan
A wide-ranging account of the place of the swan in medieval culture.

Swans possess a striking beauty, and they are imbued with a sense of regal mystery that makes them some of the most fascinating of wild creatures. Introducing the Medieval Swan traces those characteristics to their roots in the medieval era. Opening with a study of the natural history of the swan as understood in the period, the book then moves to literary motifs that feature swans transforming into humans, particularly the legend of the Knight of the Swan. The third chapter examines the place of the swan as an icon of the Lancasters, and the book then explores the swan’s place as a delicacy at extravagant feasts. Finally, we learn how the characteristics the medieval era associated with swans developed over the centuries to the present.
1140338643
Introducing the Medieval Swan
A wide-ranging account of the place of the swan in medieval culture.

Swans possess a striking beauty, and they are imbued with a sense of regal mystery that makes them some of the most fascinating of wild creatures. Introducing the Medieval Swan traces those characteristics to their roots in the medieval era. Opening with a study of the natural history of the swan as understood in the period, the book then moves to literary motifs that feature swans transforming into humans, particularly the legend of the Knight of the Swan. The third chapter examines the place of the swan as an icon of the Lancasters, and the book then explores the swan’s place as a delicacy at extravagant feasts. Finally, we learn how the characteristics the medieval era associated with swans developed over the centuries to the present.
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Introducing the Medieval Swan

Introducing the Medieval Swan

by Natalie Jayne Goodison
Introducing the Medieval Swan

Introducing the Medieval Swan

by Natalie Jayne Goodison

Paperback

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Overview

A wide-ranging account of the place of the swan in medieval culture.

Swans possess a striking beauty, and they are imbued with a sense of regal mystery that makes them some of the most fascinating of wild creatures. Introducing the Medieval Swan traces those characteristics to their roots in the medieval era. Opening with a study of the natural history of the swan as understood in the period, the book then moves to literary motifs that feature swans transforming into humans, particularly the legend of the Knight of the Swan. The third chapter examines the place of the swan as an icon of the Lancasters, and the book then explores the swan’s place as a delicacy at extravagant feasts. Finally, we learn how the characteristics the medieval era associated with swans developed over the centuries to the present.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781786838391
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Publication date: 10/21/2022
Series: Medieval Animals
Pages: 184
Product dimensions: 5.00(w) x 7.75(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Natalie Jayne Goodison teaches in the Department of English Studies at Durham University. Her research is in medieval romance, embodiment, and the history of ideas, having published on medieval birth girdles, the fair unknown tradition, and genetic possibilities in The King of Tars. Her first research project focused on transformations of the body in romance, which featured swans.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

List of Plates and illustrations xi

List of Abbreviations xv

Introduction 5

1 The Swan in Natural History: The Swan's Song 15

2 The Swan in Literature: Transformation of Men, Women, and Children 45

3 The Swan at Court: The Descendants of the Swan Knight 71

4 The Swan in Practice: Cookery, Husbandry, and the Law 101

5 Swansong: The Afterlives of the Medieval Swan 125

Endnotes 137

Bibliography 165

Primary 165

Secondary 172

Websites/News Articles 181

Online Sources for Images 182

Objects 184

Index 185

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