Literature as Recreation in the Later Middle Ages / Glending Olson.

• Author: Olson, Glending.
• Place / Publishing House: Ithaca : : Cornell University Press,, 1982.; ©1982.
• Year of Publication: 2019; 1982
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (245 p. )

This book studies attitudes toward secular literature during the later Middle Ages. Exploring two related medieval justifications of literary pleasure-one finding hygienic or therapeutic value in entertainment, and another stressing the psychological and ethical rewards of taking time out from work...

Table of Contents

• Frontmatter
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• 1. Medieval Attitudes toward Literary Pleasure
• 2. The Hygienic Justification
• 3. The Recreational Justification
• 4. Some Literature for Solace
• 5. From Plague to Pleasure
• 6. The Decameron and Its Early Critics
• Index of Sources
• Index