Tracing the Trails in the Medieval World: Epistemological Explorations, Orientation, and Mapping in Medieval Literature

Trails are followed by humans throughout life, as demonstrated by medieval poets and philosophers. This concept is essential to medieval and early modern European literature and philosophy, addressing the direction that all protagonists pursue. Dante's Divina Commedia is one of the most explicit poetic manifestations of this idea, and contemporary works such as Guillaume de Deguilevilles Pèlerinage de la vie humaine and mystical tracts also reflect this concept.

Format: Hardback
Length: 324 pages
Publication date: 12 October 2020
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are all navigating life along predetermined paths. Medieval poets, ranging from the anonymous author of Beowulf to Marie de France, Hartmann von Aue, Gottfried von Strassburg, and Guillaume de Lorris to Petrarch and Heinrich Kaufringer, based their works on the concept of the trail and delved into its epistemological significance. Here, we can grasp a fundamental concept that shapes a significant portion of medieval and early modern European literature and philosophy, shedding light on the trajectory that all protagonists pursue. This concept is powerfully illustrated, as well, by the anonymous poets of Herzog Ernst and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Dantes Divina Commedia, in fact, stands as one of the most explicit poetic expressions of the fundamental idea of the trail. However, we can also find strong parallels in powerful contemporary works such as Guillaume de Deguilevilles Pèlerinage de la vie humaine and in numerous mystical tracts.

Weight: 624g
Dimension: 158 x 236 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367459697