Behaving Like Fools (Hardcover)

Lucy Perry

ISBN 10: 2503531571 / ISBN 13: 9782503531571

Published by Brepols N.V., Turnhout, 2011

About this Item

Hardcover. The period from 1200 to 1600 was the golden age of fools. From representations of irreverent acts to full-blown insanity, fools appeared on the misericords of gothic churches and in the plots of Arthurian narratives, before achieving a wider prominence in literature and iconography in the decades around 1500. But how are we to read these figures appropriately? Is it possible to reconstruct the fascination that fools exerted on the medieval and early modern mind? While modern theories give us the analytical tools to explore this subject, we are faced with the paradox that by striving to understand fools and foolishness we no longer accept their ways but impose rational categories on them. Together these essays propose one way out of this dilemma. Instead of attempting to define the fool or trying to find the common denominator behind his many masks, this volume focuses on the qualities, acts, and gestures that signify foolishness. By investigating different manifestations of foolery rather than the figure of the fool himself, we can begin to understand the proliferation of fools and foolish behaviour in the texts and illustrations of manuscripts and early books. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9782503531571

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Behaving Like Fools (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Brepols N.V., Turnhout
• Publication Date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 2503531571
• ISBN 13: 9782503531571
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

The period from 1200 to 1600 was the golden age of fools. There is almost no Arthurian hero without a phase of madness, and almost no gothic church without mocking misericords, not to speak of the spread of the literature and the iconography of the fool around 1500. But can we read them appropriately? Is it possible to reconstruct the fascination that fools exerted on (almost) everyone's mind in medieval and early modern Europe? While modern theories give us the analytical tools to explore this subject, we are faced with the paradox that by striving to understand fools and foolishness we no longer accept their ways but impose rational categories on them. Together these essays propose one way out of this dilemma. This volume is not another attempt to define the fool or to find the common denominator that hides behind his many masks, but rather focuses on the qualities, acts, and gestures that signify a fool. By investigating the behaviour that made people laugh rather than the figure of the fool himself, we can begin to understand the proliferation of fools and foolish behaviour in texts and images.