Paul Zumthor was a preeminent medievalist, literary historian, and linguist who revolutionized the understanding of medieval literature. He pioneered concepts such as "mouvance," emphasizing the inherent variability within medieval poetic texts, and "vocality," highlighting the crucial role of the human voice in their performance and reception. Zumthor's rigorous scholarship, particularly in French etymology and literary history, allowed him to uncover fresh perspectives on the medieval world. His work invites readers to appreciate the dynamic, performative, and audibly rich nature of medieval culture, offering a uniquely vibrant engagement with the past.
This engagingly written study presents a rich picture of a dynamic society that had torn itself away from the mediocrity of its past-a stagnant nation of peasants and fishermen-to pursue an overseas empire that led to great financial wealth and a highly sophisticated cultivation of the arts. This classic work first appeared in English translation in 1963.
Aims to provide an analytical study of the sources, the art and the presentation of oral poetry. The author discusses its development from antiquity to the present in all its aspects, including forms of oral poetry, the epic in the West and other parts of the globe and styles of performance.