Who is the Pearl-poet? How do ideas about his life and interpretations of his poems shape our understanding of his work in late-medieval England-and beyond? In Becoming the Pearl-Poet: Perceptions, Connections, Receptions, readers can explore the world of this extraordinary, fourteenth-century writer. In Part I, "Perceptions," five scholars give insightful literary analyses of the narrative poems attributed to the poet: Pearl, Cleanness, Patience, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and St. Erkenwald. In Part II, "Connections," six scholars examine connections between these diverse poems, focusing on authorship, ecology, material culture, sartorial adornment, shields, and the poet's pastoral theology. In Part III, "Receptions," scholars consider the illustrations of the Pearl Manuscript (British Library MS Cotton Nero A.x), the poet's cultural situatedness in the Northwest Midlands and Ricardian court, his religious contexts, later translations and paraphrases of his work, and his medieval and modern audiences. Intended for students and scholars alike, this book encourages readers to gain a deeper understanding of the Pearl-poet and his world, learning many new things and enjoying old things in a new way.
Jane Beal is professor of English literature and the chair of English department at the University of La Verne in southern California.
Acknowledgments Introduction: Becoming the Pearl-Poet, Jane Beal Part I: Perceptions Chapter One: The Dreamer's Contemplative Experience of a Mappamundi in Pearl, Jane Beal Chapter Two: Temperance and the Evolution of Concupiscible Vice in Cleanness, Corey Owen Chapter Three: "THay ar happen also that con her hert stere": Virtue and Nautical Metaphor in Patience, M. W. Brumit Chapter Four: The Failure of Perfection in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , Mickey Sweeney Chapter Five: St. Erkenwald, Michael D.C. Drout, Jonathan B. Gerkin, and Scott Kleinman Part II: Connections Chapter Six: Authorship: What Does the Pearl-Poet Tell Us About Himself?, Ethan Campbell Chapter Seven: Ecology in the Pearl-Poet, Elizabeth Allen Chapter Eight: Material Culture of the Pearl-Poet, Jonathan Quick Chapter Nine: Sartorial Adornment in the Pearl Poems, Kimberly Jack Chapter Ten: Switching Shields in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Kristin Bovaird-Abbo Chapter Eleven: The Pastoral Theology of the Pearl-Poet, Grace Hamman Part III: Receptions Chapter Twelve: The Illustrations in London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero A.x (part 2), Joel Fredell Chapter Thirteen: The Northwest Midlands and the Ricardian Court, David K. Coley Chapter Fourteen: Religious Contexts for the Pearl-Poet, Nancy Ciccione Chapter Fifteen: Translations and Paraphrases, Kenna L. Olsen Chapter Sixteen: Audiences, Medieval and Modern, John M. Bowers Index About the Contributors
Year by year, my students love the Pearl-Poet more and more. This is the volume I have been waiting to give them. The essays address the issues that come up in discussion every semester, with fresh perspectives and updated scholarship. -- Ryan McDermott, University of Pittsburgh
