Difficult Pasts: Post-Reformation Memory and the Medieval Romance

Medieval romances were widely condemned by early modern thinkers, but their popularity persisted due to their multivocality and ability to connect with and distance readers from the recent 'difficult past'. Difficult pasts explores the reception of these romances after the Protestant Reformation in England, arguing that their popularity rested in their flexibility as a site of memory.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 28 February 2023
Publisher: Manchester University Press

Medieval romances faced widespread criticism from early modern thinkers, who derided the genre as bloody, bawdy, and superstitious. Despite these condemnations, the Middle English romance genre continued to enjoy popularity throughout the early modern period.

In his book "Difficult pasts: The Reception of Middle English Romances after the Protestant Reformation in England," Matthew Ensley challenges the prevailing notion that medieval romances were solely condemned for their violent or superstitious elements. Instead, he argues that the genre's popularity stemmed from its ability to evoke multiple meanings and perspectives.

Ensley draws on insights from book history, reception history, and cultural memory studies to explore how the medieval romance book became a flexible site of memory for early modern readers. He examines the ways in which these readers connected with and distanced themselves from the recent "difficult past," a past that was fraught with controversy and encouraged diverse viewpoints.

The book's central characters span a wide range of authors, from canonical figures such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Edmund Spenser to less studied figures like printer William Copland, Elizabethan scribe Edward Banister, and seventeenth-century poet and romance enthusiast, John Lane. By uniting a diverse range of romance readers' perspectives, Ensley complicates the traditional divisions between manuscript and print, Catholic and Protestant, and medieval and Renaissance.

Through his analysis, "Difficult pasts" reveals how the romance book offers a unique way to understand the simultaneous change and continuity that defined post-Reformation England. It challenges the notion of a clear rupture between the past and the present and emphasizes the ways in which historical narratives can be reinterpreted and reimagined.

In conclusion, "Difficult pasts" is a valuable contribution to the study of medieval literature and culture. By challenging traditional narratives and offering new insights into the reception of medieval romances, Ensley provides a fresh perspective on the genre and its place in early modern England. His book is a must-read for anyone interested in medieval literature, cultural history, and the complexities of the post-Reformation period.

Weight: 454g
Dimension: 146 x 224 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526157898