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    The Medieval Green Age: Environmentalism and English Literature in the Middle Ages

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    Available after: 2022-05-31 (6.837Mb)
    Issue Date
    2014-05-31
    Author
    Martinez, Ann Marie
    Publisher
    University of Kansas
    Format
    170 pages
    Type
    Dissertation
    Degree Level
    Ph.D.
    Discipline
    English
    Rights
    Copyright held by the author.
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    Abstract
    In my dissertation I challenge standing views of the Middle Ages by forging a connection between current ecocritical theory and the representation of the environment in Medieval literature. Grounding my argument with historical texts on wildlife and land management, I explore perspectives toward property, man's role as God's designated guardian over nature in former ages, and the relationships pre-modern writers constructed between society and nature. My project takes a broad view: beginning with the earliest documented English concerns about land in Beowulf, and then focusing on The Canterbury Tales, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, I trace the extent to which medieval attitudes toward land use, landscape beautification, and woodland delineation developed within the emerging English nation. I conclude the project by arguing that these medieval perspectives shaped modern views on nature. Such a transhistorical framework allows me to challenge the still-dominant assumption that environmental awareness is a relatively recent development. I argue instead that medieval attitudes constitute a crucially important pre-history to our modern views regarding the use, exploitation, and sustainability of the environment.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/22525
    Collections
    • English Dissertations and Theses [294]
    • Dissertations [3958]

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    785-864-8983
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    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
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    Lawrence, KS 66045
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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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