Overview

The Poetics of Speech in the Medieval Spanish Epic explores the composition of manuscript texts in thirteenth-century Spain. Of the vernacular epic poems originating with the minstrels of this era, only three full-length works remain: Cantar de Mio Cid, Poema de Fernn Gonzlez, and Mocedades de Rodrigo, all preserved and recorded by members of the clergy. By analyzing expressive traits found in these three poems, Matthew Bailey links them to the cognitive processes that take place in the minds of speakers as narration unfolds. In Latin and other vernacular texts from the same period, authors identify their sources as oral, describe oral compositional techniques, and detail modes of processing texts in medieval monastic environments. Using the information provided by these details, as well as a close technical reading of the three epic poems, Bailey incorporates the methodologies and concepts of discourse analysis in an examination of expression in the Spanish epic and points convincingly to oral composition as the initial step in text creation for the period.

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9781442641563

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Reviews

'Bailey has given us an extremely useful book. The 'introduction' at least should be in the hands of all honors students of mediaeval Spanish literature... The book as a whole will provide much food for thought to any serious Hispano-medievalist.' -- David G. Pattison Olifant vol 27:2012

Author Information

Matthew Bailey is a professor of Romance Languages at Washington and Lee University.

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