The Manuscript and Meaning of Malory's Morte Darthur: Rubrication, Commemoration, Memorialization
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.
1141733846
The Manuscript and Meaning of Malory's Morte Darthur: Rubrication, Commemoration, Memorialization
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.
36.95 In Stock
The Manuscript and Meaning of Malory's <i>Morte Darthur</i>: Rubrication, Commemoration, Memorialization

The Manuscript and Meaning of Malory's Morte Darthur: Rubrication, Commemoration, Memorialization

by Kevin S Whetter
The Manuscript and Meaning of Malory's <i>Morte Darthur</i>: Rubrication, Commemoration, Memorialization

The Manuscript and Meaning of Malory's Morte Darthur: Rubrication, Commemoration, Memorialization

by Kevin S Whetter

Paperback

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Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781843845638
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer, Limited
Publication date: 04/17/2020
Series: ISSN , #84
Pages: 276
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

K.S. WHETTER is Professor of English at Acadia University.

Table of Contents

List of Plates viii

Acknowledgements x

Abbreviations xii

A Note on the Text xiv

A Textual Introduction 1

1 The Unusual Nature of Winchester's Rubrication 23

2 Tracing Winchester's Rubrication and Marginalia 54

Appendix I Classifications of Rubrication 92

Appendix II Rubrication Errors or Departures from the Usual Pattern 94

3 Malory's Sacralized Secularity 105

4 Rubricated Elegy 159

Conclusion: The Red and the Black 199

Bibliography 215

Manuscripts 215

Primary Sources 216

Secondary Sources 218

Index 235

Addenda to the Paperback Edition 243

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