Defining and Defending the Middle Ages with C. S. Lewis

Datos Bibliográficos

ID20249193
AutoresBrian Murdoch (University of Stirling, autor de correspondencia)
Año2020
Volumen9
Número2
Páginas51
Fecha de publicación2020-06-18
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaHumanities (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2076-0787 • E-ISSN: 2076-0787
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/h9020051
OpenAlexW3035806396
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas11

The scholarly writings of C. S. Lewis (1898–1963) have both inspired the study of the Middle Ages and confirmed the relevance to the humanities that medieval literary texts can have for the present. He was aware that the straitjacket implied by periodisation can blind us to the universal values presented in medieval literature. Qualitative assumptions made about the (usually undefined) Middle Ages include an alienating remoteness, and also a general ignorance, especially of science and technology. Lewis drew attention to the knowledge of astronomy, for example, and pointed out that medieval technical skills in architecture, agriculture and medicine are important for us to be aware about. Three medieval works illustrate this universality with respect to technical skills (the Völundarkviða); identity and the self (the Hildebrandslied); and the popular love-song (the courtly love-lyric). Lewis cautioned against pejorative terms like ‘Dark Ages’, noted problems of perspective in assessing all pre-modern literature, and showed that earlier works have a continuing value and relevance

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Elite · Epistemology · Ignorance · Linguistics · Literature · Middle Ages · Pejorative · Political science · Sociology · Terminology · Classics · Computer Science · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy · Architecture

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