One of the most famous and elusive literary mysteries of English literature has finally been resolved. He Wade song – an incredibly popular poem of Medieval period – It was always believed that it was a fantastic epic on monsters based on a reading of some of the only surviving lines of the poem. Found in the sermon of a preacher, the lines have always baffled medieval scholars, since the fantasy genre did not align with the way the poem and its characters were referenced by famous English writers like Chaucer.
Now, a study published in The review of English studies He suggests that the lines were misunderstood and that the poem is actually a cavalresque romance based on reality, not a fantasy full of monsters. In addition, it is said that the sermon that the poem cites is one of the first examples of a preacher that uses pop culture references to attract a broad audience.
“Here we have a sermon from the end of the thirteenth century that deployed a meme of the successful romantic history of the day. This is a very early evidence of a preacher who weaves pop culture in a sermon to keep his audience hooked,” said Seb Falk, a girl from Girton College, in a Press release.
Read more: More than 700 old Chinese poems describe Yangtze’s decline without fins without fins
Solve a 130 -year -old literary mystery
The medieval scholar, Mr. James, discovered for the first time the fragments of the poem In 1896. While looking through Latin sermons, James was surprised to find some lines written in English. After examining the lines, he and another colleague said they belonged to the lost a long time ago Wade song poem. This original reading was important for the history of medieval literature from the original. Wade song The poem, in its entirety, has never been found.
Now, 130 years later, the sermon has been reevaluated and a new understanding of the poem has emerged. The new study argues that James and other academics read bad three keywords. This misunderstanding was due to a careless scribe whose “and” and “W’s” mixed. The words in question? Once you read as including “Elves” and “Sprites”, the lines now refer to “Lobos” and “Mar Mar”, respectively.
“Changing the elves to the wolves makes a big difference,” Falk said in the press release. “It moves away this legend of the monsters and giants to the human battles of the chivalrous rivals.”
A medieval meme
The sermon manuscript That contains the poem lines is 800 years old and has been revealed, thanks to this new study, which is written by Alexander Neckam, a prominent writer of the late medieval period.
A reference to a romantic poem is quite surprising to find in a sermon, since many church leaders were concerned about the issues and mischief included in the popular genre. The researchers suggest that the inclusion of the poem in the sermon was an attempt to use pop culture to attract their audience.
“The sermon itself is really interesting. It is a creative experiment at a critical moment when the preachers tried to make their sermons accessible and captivating,” Falk said in the press release. “Once I went to a wedding in which the vicar, hoping to attract an audience that thought he often did not go to church, cited the song of the black -eyed peas ‘Where is love?’ In an obvious attempt to seem great.
The issue of sermon was humility, something that medieval theologians were very interested in exploring and still feeling as relevant now as it was eight centuries ago.
“This sermon still resonates today. He warns us that we are, the humans, who represent the greatest threat, not monsters,” said James Wade, another member of Girton College, in the press release.
Read more: Was the most mysterious manuscript in the world of the Middle Ages a hoax?
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As Marketing Coordinator of Discover magazine, Stephanie Edwards interacts with readers in discover social networks and writes digital content. Offline, is a contractual professor in English and cultural studies at Lakehead University, teaching courses above all, professional communication to Taylor Swift, and received her postgraduate degrees in the same department of the McMaster University. You can find more of your scientific writing in laboratory manager and your brief fiction in anthologies and literary magazines throughout the horror genre.
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