The gnostic paradigm
Subtitle: forms of knowing in English literature of the late middle ages
By: Natanela Elias
Edition: First edition.
Series: The new Middle Ages
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2015
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 191
ISBN-13: 9781137474766
Subjects: English literature; History and criticism; Gnosticism in literature; Knowledge, Theory of, in literature; HISTORY / Medieval; LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh; LITERARY CRITICISM / Medieval; RELIGION / Gnosticism
Description: "By the later fourteenth century, Gnosticism and its influences seem to have dispersed almost completely, at least on the surface. Certainly the late-medieval church was vigorous in its efforts to teach orthodoxy to the laity.  Yet a sense of simmering continuation, and outright reemergence, has figured in a number of studies of late-medieval literature. Yet to this point, no study has been carried out examining the gnostic undercurrent with specific regard to medieval England. Investigating the existence of gnostic traces in some of the more prominently "Catholic" late medieval English literary works will lead to a reevaluation of late medieval English literature on the one hand but will also show the way in which these texts foreground elements of gnosticism that may have not been obvious up to this point. This study, therefore, seeks to shed light on a gnostic dimension that was there all along, but not recognized or, therefore, fully appreciated"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-185) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note:; title: 1. Gnosticism and Late Medieval Literature2. Pearl's Patience and Purity: Gnosticism in the Pearl Poet's Oeuvre 3. The Truth about Piers Plowman 4. Gower's Bower of Bliss: A Successful Passing into Hermetic GnosisConclusion: Knowing the Christian Middle Ages: A Gnostic Journey into the Self.