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 language | English |
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Title of host publication | True Warriors? Negotiating dissent in the intellectual debate (c. 1100-1700) |
Editors | Fabio della Schiava, Wim Decock, Wouter Druwé, Wim François, Guy Claessens |
Publisher | Brepols |
Pages | 57-90 |
ISBN (Print) | 9782503607634, 9782503607641 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2023 |
Externally published | Yes |