This study contains a detailed interpretation of the fragmentary play Catharina von Siena by the Sturm-und-Drang (Storm and Stress) poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792). Although we have only drafts of this play, the topic, the structure, and the relatively long time Lenz spent on the drama indicate that it was nevertheless an important work. Over three chapters this study approaches the Catharina fragments in various ways, the main focus being on improving our understanding of the text. Before starting on the actual interpretation a few basic questions need to be examined, these relating to the conditions in which the play was created and developed, the choice of subject and themes, the manuscripts and their history, as well as the six editions of Catharina von Siena . For this reason the central interpretative chapter is prefaced by a chapter on the genesis of the play, as well as another chapter on the manuscripts and texts. Since it was not possible to work with original manuscripts, a microfilm and reader print copies of the manuscripts were used. The textual examination was based on the readily available edition by Damm. Where necessary the reading by Titel/Haug and the older text editions by Weinhold, Lewy, Blei and Freye were used to supplement these, and also for the purpose of comparison. A pluralistic methodological approach was applied. A more exact period of time for the creation of Catharina von Siena was defined, information about the way Lenz worked and about his intentions with regard to construction and effect was obtained as well. Through this detailed study of the fragments, correspondence and biographical data, we can establish reasons for the fragmentary character of the play, and are able to ascertain the special nature of the drama. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

This study contains a detailed interpretation of the fragmentary play Catharina von Siena by the Sturm-und-Drang (Storm and Stress) poet Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz (1751-1792). Although we have only drafts of this play, the topic, the structure, and the relatively long time Lenz spent on the drama indicate that it was nevertheless an important work. Over three chapters this study approaches the Catharina fragments in various ways, the main focus being on improving our understanding of the text. Before starting on the actual interpretation a few basic questions need to be examined, these relating to the conditions in which the play was created and developed, the choice of subject and themes, the manuscripts and their history, as well as the six editions of Catharina von Siena . For this reason the central interpretative chapter is prefaced by a chapter on the genesis of the play, as well as another chapter on the manuscripts and texts. Since it was not possible to work with original manuscripts, a microfilm and reader print copies of the manuscripts were used. The textual examination was based on the readily available edition by Damm. Where necessary the reading by Titel/Haug and the older text editions by Weinhold, Lewy, Blei and Freye were used to supplement these, and also for the purpose of comparison. A pluralistic methodological approach was applied. A more exact period of time for the creation of Catharina von Siena was defined, information about the way Lenz worked and about his intentions with regard to construction and effect was obtained as well. Through this detailed study of the fragments, correspondence and biographical data, we can establish reasons for the fragmentary character of the play, and are able to ascertain the special nature of the drama. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Jennifer Drake Askey / When Robert Musil saw his book, Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törless, published, he could not have seen the coming of fascist dictatorships. Despite this, two of Musil’s characters display characteristics that are hauntingly similar to characteristics common in the fascist Nazi movement in Germany and Austria, as well as protofascist groups such as the German Freikorps. By examining the characters of Beineberg and Reiting as well as their world in Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törless through the lens of thinkers such as Theodor Adorno and Klaus Theweleit, one can find many similarities between Musil’s characters and the fascists of the coming years. Although Beineberg and Reiting cannot take Adorno’s F-scale, which measures the authoritarian personality of individuals, there are many instances in which these characters’ actions and the F-scale overlap. One also discovers striking similarities between the tendencies of Musil’s characters and the fascistic tendencies of the Freikorps and other groups described in Klaus Theweleit’s book, Male Fantasies.

ABSTRACT “Theories of the Fantastic: Postmodernism, Game Theory, and Modern Physics” Karen Pike Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (2010) Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto This dissertation examines the fantastic mode of narrative as it appears in postmodern texts in a variety of media including literature, television, and film. By analyzing the kinds of changes which the fantastic mode has undergone in order to accommodate postmodern concerns, this project attempts to answer both how and why the fantastic has maintained its popularity and effectiveness. The first chapter seeks to define the fantastic mode by tracing the history of its definition from the early twentieth century up until the present. In doing so, it revisits the contributions of such analysts as Vax, Caillois, Todorov, and Freud. The second chapter discusses the changes to conventions demanded by postmodern discursive strategies, many of which include a back-and-forth movement between equally valid interpretations of the text. A discussion of Armin Ayren’s “Der Brandstifter,” a comparison of a recurring X-Files sub-plot to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and an analysis of an intentionally self-reflexive episode of The X-Files demonstrate these changes. The third chapter introduces game theory as a way of understanding the back-and-forth movement typical of the fantastic mode. Hanns Heinz Ewers’s “Die Spinne” is used to illustrate the psychoanalytical aspect of this movement. The next chapter compares and contrasts three vampire films, The Addiction, Lair of the White Worm, and Nadja, in order to demonstrate how the degree to which this back-and-forth movement is present is an indicator of how successfully the fantastic effect emerges. The fifth chapter introduces modern physics as another mode for understanding the presence of the fantastic mode in the postmodern era. The analysis of House of Leaves in the final chapter illustrates how postmodern theory, game theory, and physics all work together to explain the fantastic’s effectiveness. This dissertation’s aim is to explain how and why a mode once defined as a specific nineteenth-century phenomenon keeps reinventing itself and re-emerging to continue to frighten and entertain us.

ABSTRACT “Theories of the Fantastic: Postmodernism, Game Theory, and Modern Physics” Karen Pike Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (2010) Centre for Comparative Literature University of Toronto This dissertation examines the fantastic mode of narrative as it appears in postmodern texts in a variety of media including literature, television, and film. By analyzing the kinds of changes which the fantastic mode has undergone in order to accommodate postmodern concerns, this project attempts to answer both how and why the fantastic has maintained its popularity and effectiveness. The first chapter seeks to define the fantastic mode by tracing the history of its definition from the early twentieth century up until the present. In doing so, it revisits the contributions of such analysts as Vax, Caillois, Todorov, and Freud. The second chapter discusses the changes to conventions demanded by postmodern discursive strategies, many of which include a back-and-forth movement between equally valid interpretations of the text. A discussion of Armin Ayren’s “Der Brandstifter,” a comparison of a recurring X-Files sub-plot to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and an analysis of an intentionally self-reflexive episode of The X-Files demonstrate these changes. The third chapter introduces game theory as a way of understanding the back-and-forth movement typical of the fantastic mode. Hanns Heinz Ewers’s “Die Spinne” is used to illustrate the psychoanalytical aspect of this movement. The next chapter compares and contrasts three vampire films, The Addiction, Lair of the White Worm, and Nadja, in order to demonstrate how the degree to which this back-and-forth movement is present is an indicator of how successfully the fantastic effect emerges. The fifth chapter introduces modern physics as another mode for understanding the presence of the fantastic mode in the postmodern era. The analysis of House of Leaves in the final chapter illustrates how postmodern theory, game theory, and physics all work together to explain the fantastic’s effectiveness. This dissertation’s aim is to explain how and why a mode once defined as a specific nineteenth-century phenomenon keeps reinventing itself and re-emerging to continue to frighten and entertain us.

Notre langue maternelle est le fruit du hasard, un coup de dé qui détermine notre avenir et la façon dont on exprimera les choses, les gens, la réalité. De façon imperceptible, cette langue est empreinte de traditions, de restrictions, voire d’interdits qui contraignent le locuteur natif. Qu’arrive-t-il alors lorsqu’on sort de la langue maternelle, lorsqu’on est confronté à d’autres systèmes de pensées et de valeurs ? Ce mémoire de recherche-création explore le potentiel émancipatoire de l’écriture post-monolingue, soit l’écriture en dehors de la langue maternelle, en se penchant sur le parcours et les œuvres des autrices Nancy Huston et Yoko Tawada. On découvre à travers leurs témoignages que cette pratique peut être le théâtre d’une formidable libération et le moyen d’exprimer une identité complexe se situant souvent par-delà les délimitations établies par nos sociétés. Pour mettre à l’épreuve mes hypothèses théoriques, je présente dans la partie création quatre nouvelles en langue allemande et un chapitre rétrospectif, où je questionne mon rapport aux langues et l’influence qu’exerce l’écriture post-monolingue sur l’expression de mon identité. / Our mother tongue is arbitrary and determines our future, like the way we will express things, people, and reality. In an imperceptible way, this language is marked by traditions, restrictions and taboos that constrain the native speaker. What happens then when one leaves their mother tongue, when one is confronted with other systems of thought and values? This master's thesis explores the emancipatory potential of post-monolingual writing (writing outside one’s mother tongue) by examining the careers and works of authors Nancy Huston and Yoko Tawada. Through their experiences, we discover that this practice can lead to a fantastic liberation and a way of expressing a complex identity that is often beyond the boundaries established by our societies. To test my theoretical hypotheses, I included in the second part of this thesis four short stories in German and a retrospective chapter, where I question my relationship to languages and the influence of post-monolingual writing on the expression of my identity.

Thèse réalisée en co-tutelle avec l'Université Libre de Berlin, Institut für Deutsche und Niederländische Philologie / Avec la conscience grandissante de la constructibilité de l’histoire, l’historiographie et les sciences littéraires se sont beaucoup rapprochées dans les dernières années. Hayden White a montré, dans son livre Metahistory (1973), que dans la construction de l’histoire, les historiens utilisent, pour construire leur récit, des techniques de narration semblables à celles utilisées par les écrivains. La narratologie devient ainsi une discipline qui rend possible le dialogue entre l’historiographie et les sciences littéraires. Par ce dialogue entre les deux disciplines, les théories (post)modernes de l’historiographie et les concepts de la métafiction dans la littérature s’influencent réciproquement. Dans ce contexte, il est d’autant plus intéressant d’analyser le roman Novembre 1918 de l’écrivain allemand Alfred Döblin (1878-1957), qui anticipe sur cette évolution de l’historiographie et de la littérature, mais qui, malgré sa modernité, reste paradoxalement très peu connu et quasiment ignoré par la critique littéraire. Dans son roman historique, Döblin combine le récit épique des faits historiques avec l’analyse existentielle des protagonistes, en vue de décrire l’histoire comme procès. Du point de vue formel, il combine les moyens narratifs expérimentaux et avant-gardistes, avec la conviction traditionnelle de l’auteur réaliste, c’est-à-dire qu’un récit de fiction puisse dire la vérité sur la réalité et l’histoire. Ainsi il crée une forme singulière de récit entre tradition et innovation, forme qu’il caractérise dans ses essais poétologiques à partir de deux concepts clés : « modernes Epos » et « Tatsachenphantasie », « épopée moderne » et « fantaisie de la réalité ». Dans ma thèse, j’entends définir ces concepts clés de la poétique d’Alfred Döblin pour ainsi établir le cadre théorique de l’interprétation du roman Novembre 1918. L’auteur lui-même définit dans ses essais esthétiques la « fantaisie de la réalité » comme union entre des faits réels et des faits fantastiques. C’est pourquoi ma thèse se concentre sur ce jeu fictionnel entre réalité et fantaisie, entre les éléments du récit réaliste et ceux du récit fantastique. « L’incursion de la démonie » et « le narrateur démiurge » sont deux concepts innovateurs de ma thèse qui aideront à mieux comprendre et définir la poétique du roman d’Alfred Döblin. / As a result of the acute understanding of the constructibility of historical writings, the historiography and the literary sciences have come closer in the last few years. Hayden White shows in his book Metahistory (1973) that the narrative techniques historians use in their historical writings are similar to those used by the authors of literary writings. The narratology has also become a discipline, which allows the dialogue between historiography and literary sciences. Thus, the (post)modern theories of historiography and the concepts of metafiction in literature have an impact on one another. In this context, it is more than challenging to analyse the historical novel November 1918 written by the German author Alfred Döblin (1878-1957), as he already anticipates in the 1920es this evolution of historiography and literature. His historical novel November 1918 is, despite its modernity, a relatively unknown novel, not only to the public, but also to the literary critics. Döblin combines in this novel the monumental realistic description of historical events with the existential analysis of his protagonists. As far as the formal aspects are concerned, he combines the experimental narrative techniques of the avant-garde with the traditional elements, thus unveiling the conviction of the traditional realist author that a fictional literary work can bring out a hidden truth about history and reality. Therefore, he creates a unique form of literature linking tradition and innovation. He caracterises this form, in his poetological writings by means of two key-concepts: “modernes Epos” and “Tatsachenphantasie”: “modern epos” and “fantasy of the real”. In my dissertation I intend to define these key-concepts in Alfred Döblin’s poetics with a view to establish the theoretical setting for the interpretation of his novel November 1918. Since Döblin himself defines in his theoretical essays the “fantasy of the real” as portrayal of both real and fantastic elements, my dissertation focuses on this fictional tension between reality and fantasy, between the elements specific to the realist writings and those specific to the fantastic ones. The “incursion of the demonic” and “the narrator demiurge” are two innovative concepts I present in my dissertation. These concepts should lead to a better definition and understanding of Döblin’s novel poetics. / Die Historiographie und die Literaturwissenschaft haben sich in den letzten Jahren sehr viel angenähert. Durch sein bahnbrechendes Buch Metahistory (1973) bringt Haydn White ans Licht, dass sowohl die Schriftsteller als auch die Historiker sich ähnlicher narrativer Verfahren bedienen, um die Wirklichkeit zu beschreiben. Durch dieses Bewusstsein der Konstruktivität und Narrativität von Geschichte ist die Narratologie zur verbindenden Wissenschaft geworden. Darum ist es interessant, sich Alfred Döblins historischem Roman November 1918, einem der großen historischen Romane der deutschen Literatur, zuzuwenden, weil er vieles davon vorwegnimmt, was die (post)modernen Theorien der Historiographie und die metafiktionalen Konzepte der Literatur ins Blickfeld rücken. Aufgrund unglücklicher Rezeptionsbedingungen wurde Döblins Roman bis heute kaum beachtet, sowohl vom Publikum als auch von der literarischen Kritik. In seiner Darstellung der deutschen Revolution verknüpft Döblin die experimentell-avantgardistischen Erzählverfahren und das Misstrauen gegenüber der Erzählbarkeit der Geschichtsprozesse mit der traditionellen Einstellung, dass eine fiktive Erzählung die Wahrheit über Wirklichkeit und Geschichte sagen kann. Dementsprechend schafft er eine einzigartige Erzählform zwischen Tradition und Innovation, die er bereits in seinem Berliner Programm anhand von zwei Schlüsselbegriffen definiert: „modernes Epos“ und „Tatsachenphantasie“. Meine Arbeit versucht, Döblins Geschichtsepos November 1918 im Lichte dieser zwei Begriffe zu analysieren und zu zeigen, wie Döblin sein ästhetisches Postulat der „Tatsachenphantasie“ in seinem Roman literarisch realisiert. Da Döblin selbst die „Tatsachenphantasie“-Ästhetik als Verbindung der wirklichen und der phantastischen Fakten und Elementen definiert, befasse ich mich in meiner Arbeit mit diesem Zusammenspiel zwischen den narrativen Formen der realistischen Erzählung und denjenigen Motiven und Elementen, die in den phantastischen Erzählungen vorkommen. „Der Einbruch des Dämonischen“ und „der Erzähler als Demiurg“ sind zwei innovative Schlüsselkonzepte meiner Arbeit, die zu einer besseren Begriffsbestimmung von Döblins „Tatsachenphantasie“-Ästhetik führen werden.

Les six romans du cycle de Caoba retracent sur un mode fictif le déroulement de la Révolution mexicaine et montrent les conséquences de la colonisation de même que les injustices sociales et économiques dont souffre tout particulièrement la population indigène. Dans ce contexte de conflit culturel entre colonisés et colonisateurs, le personnage de l’indigène est perçu de façon variée dans les différents romans. L’analyse de la représentation de la population indigène est donc le sujet principal de ce travail qui combine une étude narratologique et une approche postcoloniale. L’examen détaillé d’extraits de texte permettra de vérifier dans quelle mesure l’auteur germanophone B. Traven, dans sa représentation de l'étranger, se détache d’un discours colonial, et s’il peut être considéré comme un auteur postcolonial avant la lettre. Dans ces analyses, les questions suivantes serviront de fil conducteur : dans quelle mesure la représentation du personnage de l’indigène correspond-elle à celle du «bon sauvage» ? Comment les différents groupes sociaux du Mexique sont-ils représentés – par des individus, des descriptions stéréotypées, des allégories? Quels moyens l’auteur utilise-t-il pour familiariser son lectorat européen/occidental avec cette culture étrangère? Ainsi, le travail se penche sur les procédés narratifs employés par l’auteur pour dépeindre la société à partir de perspectives diverses. Dans le but de dénoncer des conditions d’oppression et d’exploitation, Traven écrit à partir du regard du colonisé. Mais lorsqu'il cherche à comprendre le système dictatorial, il écrit dans la perspective du colonisateur. Cette méthode correspond à celle des regards croisés que le théoricien Edward E. Said décrit dans son ouvrage Orientalisme. L’emploi de cette méthode contrapunctique - permet-il d’exercer une critique (post)coloniale? Dans quelle mesure ce texte révèle-t-il l’importance de l’hybridité de la culture telle qu'elle a été théorisée par K. Bhabha? Dans quelle mesure l'accent est-il mis sur les rapports transculturels, sur la façon dont les cultures s'influencent les unes les autres? / The fictitious retelling of the events of the Mexican Revolution in the six novels of the Caoba cycle shows the consequences of colonialism. It also shows the social and economic injustices under which Mexican indigenous peoples suffered. The distinctive character of the native is well shown in the context of the cultural conflict between the colonizer and the colonized. The examination of the portrayal of the native section of the population is the major aim of the following thesis, which combines a narratological and postcolonial approach. The examination of selected text extracts shows, how and to what extent the German-speaking author is detached from a colonial discourse and if he can be seen as a forerunner of postcolonial discourses. The following central questions guide the analysis: To what extend does the representation of indigenous characters correspond to the one of the "noble savage"? How are the different groups of society portrayed (as individuals, type or allegory)? Which methods does the author employ in order to give the European or Western reader an understanding of the foreign culture? Traven's narrative technique of showing the various societies from different perspectives plays an important role in this respect. In his desire to show societal situations as oppression and exploitation, Traven writes from the perspective of the colonized; but he narrates from the perspective of the colonizer with the intention to understand the dictatorial system. This approach corresponds to the "contrapuntal" method described by Edward E. Said in his work Orientalism. I want to show to which extent the author utilises the "contrapuntal" method in his postcolonial criticism and to which extent it is a real postcolonial criticism. Furthermore, the thesis draws on Homi K. Bhabhas theory of the hybrid contact zones to assess the importance Traven gives to transcultural, viz. reciprocal influences?

Die morawische Nacht (2008) de Peter Handke représente un tournant: l’auteur y renonce à son engagement politique concernant les Balkans et il revient au « royaume de la poésie ». En reprenant des concepts de la théorie de l’espace dans les études culturelles, cette étude examine les moyens narratifs à partir desquels Handke projette une nouvelle image des Balkans. L’écrivain autrichien déconstruit son propre mythe du « Neuvième Pays » (Die Wiederholung, 1986), dont il a sans cesse défendu le concept dans les années 1990 (Eine winterliche Reise, 1996; Zurüstungen für die Unsterblichkeit, 1997; Die Fahrt im Einbaum, 1999; Unter Tränen fragend, 1999). Dans Die morawische Nacht, de fréquentes allusions et connotations nous ramènent aux œuvres antérieures, mentionnées ci-dessus. La signification et la fonction des nouvelles images des Balkans ne sont pas comprises que dans le cadre des références intertextuelles. Par l’entremise d’un maniement raffiné et ludique de l’ancien contenu et des vieilles structures, objets d’un nouvel usage, la poétique de Handke, toujours basée sur les soi-disant « Zwischenräume » (espaces intermédiaires) prouve toute sa puissance. Même si les Balkans perdent leur caractère absolu, ils continuent cependant à servir comme moyen de critique de la société moderne qui aspire cette fois à la mondialisation. Pendant que Handke réfute ironiquement sa naïveté de rechercher l’absolu dans le monde extérieur, le récit se révèle être le seul royaume où la paix et l’harmonie peuvent être créées. / Die morawische Nacht (2008) by Peter Handke marks a turning point in his oeuvre: the writer gives up his political commitment regarding the Balkans with the intent of returning to the poetical realm. Taking up concepts of cultural theory of space, this study examines the narrative means Handke uses to project a new image of the Balkans. The Austrian author destroys his own myth of the Ninth Country (Die Wiederholung, 1986), a concept he had been defending throughout the 1990s. (Eine winterliche Reise, 1996; Zurüstungen für die Unsterblichkeit, 1997; Die Fahrt im Einbaum, 1999; Unter Tränen fragend, 1999). Frequent allusions and connotations in Die morawische Nacht refer to his previous works, mentioned-above. The meaning and the purpose of the new Balkan-image can only be understood within these intertextual references. The old structural and textual elements, used in a refined and playful way, take on new functions, and Handke’s poetics, still based on the so-called “Zwischenräume” (in-between spaces), reveals all its power. Even though the Balkans are losing their absolute character, they continue to serve as a means of criticizing the modern globalized society. While Handke is leaving behind his desire to seek absolute value in the outside world, the “Realm of Narration” proves to be the only possible world where peace and harmony can be created. / Peter Handkes Die morawische Nacht (2008) stellt eine Wende innerhalb seines Werkes dar: Der Autor gibt sein politisches Engagement hinsichtlich der Balkan-Fragen auf und kehrt ins „Reich der Poesie“ zurück. Konzepte der kulturwissenschaftlichen Raumtheorie aufgreifend, untersucht diese Studie erzählerische Mittel, mit denen Handke ein neues Bild vom Balkan entwirft. Der österreichische Schriftsteller zerschlägt seinen eigenen Mythos vom Neunten Land (Die Wiederholung, 1986), dessen Konzept er in den 90er Jahren beharrlich verteidigt hat (Eine winterliche Reise, 1996; Zurüstungen für die Unsterblichkeit, 1997; Die Fahrt im Einbaum, 1999; Unter Tränen fragend, 1999). Häufige Anspielungen und Konnotationen in der Morawischen Nacht führen auf die vorangehenden, oben genannten Werke zurück. Sinn und Funktion der neuen Balkan-Bilder sind erst innerhalb dieser intertextuellen Bezüge zu verstehen. Durch einen raffinierten und spielerischen Umgang mit den alten strukturellen und inhaltlichen Elementen, die eine neue Verwendung finden, offenbart sich all die Kraft der Poetik Handkes, die nach wie vor auf den sogenannten „Zwischenräumen“ basiert. Verliert der Balkan-Raum auch seinen absoluten Charakter, so dient er doch weiter als Mittel zur Kritik an der modernen, diesmal die Globalisierung anstrebenden Gesellschaft. Indem sich Handke ironisch gegen seine Naivität, das Absolute in der Außenwelt zu suchen, wendet, erweist sich der Raum der Erzählung als einziges Reich, in dem Frieden und Harmonie zu stiften sind.

This dissertation examines the function of textual communities in England from the early Middle Ages until the early modern period, exploring the ways in which cultures and communities are formed through textual activities other than writing itself. I open by discussing the characteristics of a textual community in order to establish a new understanding of the term. I argue that a textual community is fundamentally based on activity carried out in books and that perceptions of linguistic distance stimulate this activity. Chapter 1 investigates Bede (c. 673–735) and his interest in multilingualism, coupled with his exploration of the boundaries between the written and spoken forms of English. Picking up on an element of Bede's work, I argue in Chapter 2 that Alfred (r. 871–899) and his grandson Æthelstan (r. 924/5–939) found new ways to make textuality the defining quality of the emerging West Saxon kingdom. In Chapter 3, I focus on the intralingual distance in the textual community surrounding the works of Ælfric (c. 950–1010) and Wulfstan (d. 1023). I also discuss the role of contemporary or near-contemporary manuscript use in forming a textual community at the intersection of ecclesiastical and political power. In Chapter 4, I examine the activities of a textual community in the West Midlands in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. By glossing Old English texts and rethinking English orthography, this textual community both renewed the work of Anglo-Saxon writers and enabled the activity I discuss in Chapter 5. Chapter 5 argues for a more constructive rationalization of the curatorial and editorial activities of Matthew Parker (1504–1575) than has been presented hitherto. I argue that Parker's cavalier methods of conserving and editing his books in fact represent responses to the textual models he found in those manuscripts. An appendix presents the text and translation of the preface to Parker's edition of Asser's Life of King Alfred. I close with a discussion of the production and use of books, followed by an illustration of the ongoing importance of textual community in England by highlighting the layers of use in a single manuscript (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Hatton 20) that links together the chapters of this dissertation.