THE COIN OF REDEMPTION: REDEMPTION IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE.
Item
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Title
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THE COIN OF REDEMPTION: REDEMPTION IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE.
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Identifier
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AAI8713786
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identifier
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8713786
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Creator
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PRINS, JOHANNA CATHARINA.
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Contributor
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Frederick Goldin
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Date
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1987
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Medieval
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Abstract
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From the earliest times of Judaeo-Christian writings the concept of Redemption has dealt with religious transactions and relationships in economic or commercial terms. In the Old Testament God redeems the people of Israel from bondage, and the people fulfill their obligations by specific sacrifices, which may be redeemed (substituted for) by others. These transactions between God and His people are mirrored in transactions and obligations between the people mutually: the redeeming of impoverished relatives, the protecting of those in need.;In the New Testament God redeems His people by sacrificing His only son; Christ redeems the debt of sinful man by the sacrifice of his body. In Christ's teachings the obligations of man to God and of man to man are expressed more particularly in the command to give and the command to love. The continuing use of the language of exchange becomes increasingly ironic as the disparity between God's grace and man's failure continues. The very paradoxicality of the terminology points to the meaning of Redemption, which cannot be explained rationally. Medieval commentators relished the paradox, and developed the language of commerce as an instrument of tradition and a source of meaning.;The use of this language in talking about Christ's Redemption and his commands to man are explored in a few medieval vernacular narrative works. In the Old-English Dream of the Rood and Christ III the biblical language interacts with traditional Anglo-Saxon poetics. In Chretien de Troyes' Conte du Graal misuse of the language of commerce points to the morality of the characters, especially in relation to the command for charity. In Wolfram's Willehalm the command to love one's fellow-man is confronted with the conventions of the crusade epic in a further revelation of the miracle of Redemption.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Comparative Literature
