Lynn T. Ramey – författare

Black Legacies looks at color-based prejudice in medieval and modern texts in order to reveal key similarities. Bringing far-removed time periods into startling conversation, this book argues that certain attitudes and practices present in Europe’s Middle Ages were foundational in the development of the western concept of race.

Using historical, literary, and artistic sources, Lynn Ramey shows that twelfth- and thirteenth-century discourse was preoccupied with skin color and the coding of black as “evil” and white as “good.” Ramey demonstrates that fears of miscegenation show up in all medieval European societies. She pinpoints these same ideas in the rhetoric of later centuries. Mapmakers and travel writers of the colonial era used medieval lore of “monstrous peoples” to question the humanity of indigenous New World populations, and medieval arguments about humanness were employed to justify the slave trade. Ramey even analyzes how race is explored in films set in medieval Europe, revealing an enduring fascination with the Middle Ages as a touchstone for processing and coping with racial conflict in the West today.

Bringing the work of a highly influentialmedieval French writer to English-speaking audiences for the first time

Thisbook explores the life and works of Jean Bodel, an influential author who livedin twelfth-century Arras, France. A versatile poet, playwright, and epic writerwho established new genres such as fabliauxand the mystery play, Bodel remains relatively unknown to Anglophone audiences.Lynn Rameyoffers translations and summaries of works never published before in Englishwhile delving into Bodel’s historical and cultural context.

Aftera brief introduction to the poet, Ramey highlights the stimulating andcosmopolitan environment of Arras, considering the influence of the Crusadesand social movements in shaping Bodel’s works. Next, Ramey provides anextensive survey of all of Bodel’s known writing across his prolific career bygenre, from his most well-known work, ThePlay of Saint Nicholas (Le Jeu desaint Nicolas), to his final piece, Farewell(Les Congés), which offers importantinsight into his diagnosis of leprosy toward the end of his life. Rameytranslates several pieces including pastourelles,fabliaux, and selections fromthe Song of the Saxons (Chanson des Saisnes). The book also includesinformation on Bodel’s sources, a chronology, and a glossary.

Withmuch of the existing scholarship on Bodel only available in French, this bookbridges a gap in knowledge of the poet and serves as a useful resource for bothstudents and specialists. An Introductionto Jean Bodel allows a broader audience to engage with the writer’swide-ranging work and contributions to literary history.

Avolume in the series New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors andTraditions, edited by R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh

Bringing the work of a highly influentialmedieval French writer to English-speaking audiences for the first time 

Thisbook explores the life and works of Jean Bodel, an influential author who livedin twelfth-century Arras, France. A versatile poet, playwright, and epic writerwho established new genres such as fabliauxand the mystery play, Bodel remains relatively unknown to Anglophone audiences.Lynn Rameyoffers translations and summaries of works never published before in Englishwhile delving into Bodel’s historical and cultural context.

Aftera brief introduction to the poet, Ramey highlights the stimulating andcosmopolitan environment of Arras, considering the influence of the Crusadesand social movements in shaping Bodel’s works. Next, Ramey provides anextensive survey of all of Bodel’s known writing across his prolific career bygenre, from his most well-known work, ThePlay of Saint Nicholas (Le Jeu desaint Nicolas), to his final piece, Farewell(Les Congés), which offers importantinsight into his diagnosis of leprosy toward the end of his life. Rameytranslates several pieces including pastourelles,fabliaux, and selections fromthe Song of the Saxons (Chanson des Saisnes). The book also includesinformation on Bodel’s sources, a chronology, and a glossary.

Avolume in the series New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors andTraditions, edited by R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh