Sovereign Fantasies: Arthurian Romance and the Making of Britain (The Middle Ages Series)
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.18 (581 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0812236009 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 296 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2014-11-23 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
Patricia Ingham brings these precarious historical positions to bear on readings of Arthurian literature in Sovereign Fantasies, a provocative work deeply engaged with postcolonial and gender theory.Ingham argues that late medieval English Arthurian romance has broad cultural ambitions, offering a fantasy of insular union as an "imagined community" of British sovereignty. These contestations and complications emerge in exactly those aspects of the tales usually read as fantasy-for example, in the narratives of Arthur's losses, in the prophecies of his return, and in tales that dwell on death, exotic strangeness, uncanny magic, gender, and sexuality.Ingham's study suggests the nuances of the insular identity that is emphasized in this body of literature. Texts such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the Alliterative Morte Arthure, and Caxton's edition of Malory's Morte Darthur provide what she terms a "sovereign fantasy" for Britain. Yet these traditions also provided a me
. Patricia Clare Ingham is Associate Professor of English at Indiana University
About the Author Patricia Clare Ingham is Associate Professor of English at Indiana University.
"New light on old texts" according to Karen R.. I read this for a book report for my Middle English class. I don't know if I would have chosen to read it otherwise because it places Arthurian texts very much in a political context, which is not something that I am as interested in. But it does make me look at the tales in a new light, in some ways deepening my understanding and appreciation of the texts.That being said, I'm actually becoming more and more interested in the political uses of Arthurian texts, so this book may have a large impact on my future research.