The History of Medieval Literature: Robert Henryson's Fables, Didactic Elements, and the Church
Полина Анатольевна Сальникова
Докладчик
студент 4 курса
Московский педагогический государственный университет
Московский педагогический государственный университет
Алина Васильевна Суворова
Докладчик
студент 4 курса
Московский педагогический государственный университет
Московский педагогический государственный университет
ауд. 190
2024-04-22
17:20 -
17:40
Ключевые слова, аннотация
The article is devoted to didactic elements and their role in the works of English literature of the late Middle Ages for understanding foreign world literature. The fables of Robert Henryson were taken as an example, since the religious values that were supposed to be spread in every literary work are especially vividly manifested in fables. However, the goal of spreading Christian values was also seen as a limitation of ideas, themes, and plot structure of the English Medieval works. Therefore, the literature of that time was quite limited in terms of topics and ideas.
Тезисы
Key words: mediaeval literature; fables; the role of religion; didactic elements
The analysis of mediaeval works is very important for the development of world literature and the understanding of the history of foreign literature in general. For instance, it is crucial to know that religion played a significant role in mediaeval English society, and therefore Christian themes and values were raised in almost all literary works of that period. The article is devoted to didactic elements and their role in the works of English literature of the late Middle Ages. Mediaeval authors were considered enlighteners, but the aim of spreading religious morality significantly limited the subject matter and appearance of the works of that time. The purpose of this article is to determine exactly how religion limited writers in the Middle Ages and how it characterises foreign literature and shows the history of English literature in general.
One of the most famous genres in which morality was directly depicted was fables. This article analyses the works of the Scottish Chaucerian poet Robert Henryson, who was the most famous fabulist of the Middle Ages. He wrote a collection of thirteen moral fables, drawing inspiration from the Greek author Aesop. Aesop's fables are considered to be one of the longest-lived and widespread genres of ancient Greek and Roman culture [Gibbs, 2002: 4]. This fact may also serve as a noticeable limitation of the style and themes raised in the works of the analysed fabulist. Robert Henryson wrote fables in which animals possessed certain human traits and depicted the special values of the people of that society [Needler, 1991: 426—427]. The novelty of this article lies in the fact that in the Russian Academic Society, Robert Henryson's fables are not as popular and studied as, for example, the works of the Russian fabulist Ivan Krylov. The analysis of some fables from the collection showed that the ideas, themes and plot structures are rather narrowed and limited due to the peculiarities of the literary period, which helps to better learn and understand the history of Medieval literature.
Литература:
Gibbs L. Aesop's Fables. 2002.
Needler H. The Animal Fable among Other Medieval Literary Genres. Baltimore, 1991.
The analysis of mediaeval works is very important for the development of world literature and the understanding of the history of foreign literature in general. For instance, it is crucial to know that religion played a significant role in mediaeval English society, and therefore Christian themes and values were raised in almost all literary works of that period. The article is devoted to didactic elements and their role in the works of English literature of the late Middle Ages. Mediaeval authors were considered enlighteners, but the aim of spreading religious morality significantly limited the subject matter and appearance of the works of that time. The purpose of this article is to determine exactly how religion limited writers in the Middle Ages and how it characterises foreign literature and shows the history of English literature in general.
One of the most famous genres in which morality was directly depicted was fables. This article analyses the works of the Scottish Chaucerian poet Robert Henryson, who was the most famous fabulist of the Middle Ages. He wrote a collection of thirteen moral fables, drawing inspiration from the Greek author Aesop. Aesop's fables are considered to be one of the longest-lived and widespread genres of ancient Greek and Roman culture [Gibbs, 2002: 4]. This fact may also serve as a noticeable limitation of the style and themes raised in the works of the analysed fabulist. Robert Henryson wrote fables in which animals possessed certain human traits and depicted the special values of the people of that society [Needler, 1991: 426—427]. The novelty of this article lies in the fact that in the Russian Academic Society, Robert Henryson's fables are not as popular and studied as, for example, the works of the Russian fabulist Ivan Krylov. The analysis of some fables from the collection showed that the ideas, themes and plot structures are rather narrowed and limited due to the peculiarities of the literary period, which helps to better learn and understand the history of Medieval literature.
Литература:
Gibbs L. Aesop's Fables. 2002.
Needler H. The Animal Fable among Other Medieval Literary Genres. Baltimore, 1991.