Preposterous Debates: Parodies of Debate in Latin Literature before 1200

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Abstract

This article explores a corpus of Latin debate poetry in which the rules and norms of other forms of dialogue and debate become the target of parody. The article’s goal is to show that Latin literature already embraced the practice of poking fun at normative forms of debate prior to the institutionalisation of the scholastic disputation and the corresponding parodies in a variety of vernacular European literatures. The article first surveys the history of Latin literary dialogue and debate from Antiquity to the early Middle Ages and discusses the central focus of scholarship: vernacular debate poetry and its parodic and subversive stance in relation to scholastic disputation and legal debate. Then we turn to Latin debate parodies from before 1200 to see whether they exhibit the same dynamics. The article discusses three kinds of parodies: parody of the teacher and the school (Terentius et Delusor, Altercatio magistri et discipuli), parody of church and state councils (Causa duorum apostolicorum, Causa regis Francorum contra regem Anglorum), and parody of theological debate (Conflictus ovis et lini).
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTrue Warriors? Negotiating dissent in the intellectual debate (c. 1100-1700)
EditorsFabio della Schiava, Wim Decock, Wouter Druwé, Wim François, Guy Claessens
PublisherBrepols
Pages57-90
ISBN (Print)9782503607634, 9782503607641
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2023
Externally publishedYes

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