In the second degree : paratextual literature in ancient Near Eastern and ancient Mediterranean culture and its reflections in medieval literature / / edited by Philip S. Alexander, Armin Lange and Renate J. Pillinger.

• TeilnehmendeR: Alexander, Philip S.; Lange, Armin, 1961-; Pillinger, Renate.
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill ebook titles
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (298 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; In The Second Degree: Ancient Jewish Paratextual Literature In The Context Of Graeco-Roman And Ancient Near Eastern Literature /; Hypertextuality And The \'Parabiblical\' Dead Sea Scrolls /; The Book Of Jubilees As Paratextual Literature /; Trojan Palimpsests: The Relation Of Greek Tragedy To The Homeric Epics /; The Homeric Epics As Palimpsests /; From Ritual To Text To Intertext: A New Look On The Dreams In Ludlul Bel Nemeqi /; Priestly Texts, Recensions, Rewritings And Paratexts In The Late Egyptian Period /; Rabbinic Paratexts: The Case Of Midrash Lamentations Rabbah /; Some Considerations On Enoch/Metatron In The Jewish Mystical Tradition /; Three Latin Paratexts From Late Antiquity And The Early Middle Ages (\'Sulpicia,\' \'Seneca\'—“Paulus,” Carmen Navale) /; Paratextual Literature In Early Christian Art (Acta Pauli Et Theclae) /; Paratextual Literature In Action: Historical Apocalypses With The Names Of Daniel And Isaiah In Byzantine And Old Bulgarian Tradition (11th-13th Centuries) /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references.
• ISBN: 128294889X; 9786612948893; 9004194193
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: edited by Philip S. Alexander, Armin Lange and Renate J. Pillinger.

To better understand the phenomenon of Literature in the Second Degree – in Jewish and Biblical studies often characterized as parabiblical or Rewritten Bible – the current volume applies the theories of Gerard Genette to ancient and medieval literature from various cultures. Literature in the Second Degree realigns earlier (authoritative) texts to the dynamics of developing cultures and their changing cultural memories. In the case of authoritative base texts, Literature in the Second Degree reaffirms their authority by way of interpretative actualization. In the case of non-authoritative base texts it replaces them to effect cultural forgetting. Far from being just literary forgery (pseudepigraphy), Literature in the Second Degree has an important function in the development of the ancient and medieval cultures.