Michel De Montaigne Of Cannibals - Class Notes

• Nobel savages - the idea that pre-civilization is more noble, pure and natural 
• Montaigne had a different view on barbarism. He believed that people view barbarism as anything other than their own customs and culture. 
• "Good old days" - many people refer to the past as the good times (ex: paleo diet - that is how cavemen ate so it must be right) 
• He compared barbarism in different culture - cannibalism and religious persecution 
• Key terms - natural, barbarism 
• What makes a battle or war noble? Can one be noble is it it the cause that is noble? What is one fighting for? 
• Fear of "the other", the unknown, other beliefs, people or ways of life 
• Romanticization of the past 
• Barbarism - originally meant anyone who didn't speak Greek 

Michel De Montaigne (1533-1592)

Interesting quote from Of Cannibals by Montaigne.

"Now to return to my subject, I think there is nothing barbarous and savage in that nation, from what have been told, except that each man calls barbarism whatever is not his own practice; for indeed it seems we have no other test of truth and reason than the example and pattern of the opinions and customs of the country we live in. There is always the perfect religion, the perfect government, the perfect and accomplished manners in all things."

Work Cited

Puchner, Martin. "Michel De Montaigne." The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 1653. Print.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3600/3600-h/3600-h.htm

The Thousand and One Nights (14th C.)

The Thousand and One Nights is a fascinating collection of Middle Eastern literary works.  The genre is Arabic literature in the form of frame tales. Frame tales are stories in which they are set up to tell a story within another.  The text was written by a various number of unknown authors.  The production date is scattered over time depending on the specific piece.  The Thousand and One Nights encompass an assortment of exciting stories that cover romance, betrayal, mystery and deceit.  

Questions for the class

·         Did you find any symbolism within the story?

·         List some comparisons and contrasts of the story to modern culture.

·         The text is very sexually explicit. Was that a common occurrence in other texts during that time?

·         Do some further research on the origin of the text. The text is Arabic but has some Persian derivation. How did this text come together if by so many different authors?

Work Cited

Puchner, Martin. "The Thousand and One Nights." The Norton Anthology: World Literature. Shorter Third ed. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. 1173-1199. Print.

http://www.afantasticallibrarian.com/2011/04

Inferno by Dante - Class Notes

• Dante chose not to write The Comedy in Latin but in his common language (Tuscan/Italian dialect)   

                     - Made it more accessible
                     - Challenged authorities at the time

• Vernacular - common language, vulgar 
• Dante is half-way through his life at the time of entering the inferno in his book (35 years)
• The journey into hell begins on Good Friday in 1300 
• His work was published before the printing press was invented so it had to be written on sheepskin and would have been extremely expensive 
• Calvinism focuses on predestination, the chosen/elite group 
• Martin Luther - had a different idea of being saved by faith not by good works 
• Reoccurring theme of fame and remembrance in many of the works we have read so far this term. Worst case scenario is to be forgotten, even if it is in a negative way people wanted to be remembered by the living.
• Dante was often carried or cradled by Virgil - father figure? 
• Dante was often rebuked by Virgil for inappropriate pity or for being overly fascinated by the figures in hell.   
• Guest friendship remained an important concept in the middle ages as in ancient times
• Worst kind of betrayal is that of family and kin 
• Acedia - sloth 

Punishment

A depiction of one of the many punishments for sinners in Dante's hell. Below are the greedy in the fourth circle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)

Inferno by Dante Alighieri (1265-1321)

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri is a medieval masterpiece that depicts the horrors of hell from one man's view.  Dante does an unbelievable job taking the reader along on his own personal journey in this gripping tale. Inferno is truly a must read.

http://www.technologytell.com/gaming/42838/ea-working-on-dantes-inferno-video-game-adaptation/

Bisclavret

https://saintsuperman.wordpress.com/2009/03/10/bisclavret-whos-the-real-monster/

Marie De France Resource

Here is a link that pertains to some interesting information, interpretations and ideas about many of Marie De France's literary works by Washington State University.

http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/love-in-the-arts/marie.html

Bisclavret by Marie De France (12th Century)

Bisclavret is about a married baron who is secretly a werewolf and disappears for three days each week and transforms into a wolf.  The poem begins by presenting the werewolf’s relationship with his wife in pleasant terms.  The text states, “He’d married a worthy woman, truly; always she acted so beautifully.”  The story continues on with the woman questioning her husband on where he disappears to.  He refuses to tell her but as she continues pestering him, he succumbs and reveals his secret.  The werewolf’s transformation depends on his clothing which he must have in order to go back to his human form.  The wife hears the news and acts casual at the time, but inside is horrified and disgusted at the thought of her husband being a werewolf.  She thinks to herself, “Often and often passed through her head plans to get right out, escape, for she didn’t want ever to share his bed.”  The text goes on and the wife connects with an old admirer and together they plot and steal his clothes forcing the bisclavret to remain in wolf form.  The tale does not end there but continues on with adventure and revenge.  

De France, Marie, and Judith Shoaf. "Bisclavret." University of Florida. 1 Jan. 1996. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. <http://users.clas.ufl.edu/jshoaf/marie/bisclavret.pdf>.