This thesis examines the Italian version of the Book of John Mandeville and its reception in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Although the Book has been the subject of much critical investigation, the Italian redaction of the text has been largely ignored. Similarly, previous research into the reception of the Book has focused largely on its circulation in northern Europe. This study therefore aims both to bridge a gap in Mandeville studies and to make a valuable contribution to scholarly understanding of the circulation of vernacular literature in the Italian Renaissance. Research has been conducted along two principal lines. A close material analysis of surviving manuscript and printed copies of the Book has allowed the influence of individual actors on the text’s highly mutable content and form to be charted, revealing their specific attitudes and concerns. In addition to this, a broader survey of the Book’s influence on vernacular and Latin literary production in a number of genres has provided further evidence of Mandeville’s cultural impact. Following an Introduction that gives a more detailed analysis of the study’s scope, methodology and structure, Chapter 1 offers a broad overview of the Italian text and its manuscript and print circulation. The four following chapters each address a key theme in the Book’s reception, combining analysis of surviving manuscript and printed copies of the Book with a survey of its cultural impact. A Conclusion draws together these individual themes, offering some general considerations of the Book’s impact on Italian Renaissance culture and the place of the Italian version within the broader Mandeville tradition.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:723098 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Coneys, Matthew |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/91215/ |
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