Studies in Medieval Renaissance Literature

It is not easy to define "Medievalism," nor what makes a "medieval" book. The reader is right to expect glorious castles, fair maidens, and feats of arms. However, when we pick up a medieval book, those elements are often missing and we are then subjected to often tortuous philosophical and moralistic reasoning. What gives? CS Lewis is aware of these difficulties and he mentions (in one of his chapters on Spenser) that what we call "medievalism" is actually late Renaissance projected back onto the middle ages. But, Lewis says, that's quite okay, too. In many ways, *Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature* is a running commentary on how to read allegory, mainly Dante's and Spenser's. Lewis begins with the making of a Medieval book--and the bookish manner of medievals in general. Parts of this section (the first 3 chapters) are quite difficult reading, even to those who are intimately familiar with the issues involved. But through it we see a contrast between medieval ways of reading texts and (post)modern ways of reading. The former looks for harmony while the latter looks upon texts with suspicion--the essence of both the medieval and modernistic worldviews, respectively. Lewis then concludes this section with a fascinating essay on medieval cosmology: and for the perceptive readers, this essay is the foundation of his *Space Trilogy.* The next chapters deal with Dante. Lewis takes several difficult passages in Dante and demonstrates to the reader how to run a literary critique upon them; the same technique applies to his chapters on Spenser. Lewis also deals with Morte D'Arthur and the "knightly" issues. I had to read this book at different times. It was really difficult because Lewis rarely gives a context for his references. However, the difficulty should not deter readers; there are many jewels in this book if the reader is willing to dig.

Recommended for the reader who wants to go below the surface of Chaucer, Dante, Milton, et. al., or just gain greater insight to the Medieval world view. Lewis explains their world as they saw it, so the modern reader can understand both what is written and what it meant to readers then. He takes you inside their world, so we can live what they experienced. A better survey book would be Lewis' "The Discarded Image: an Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature." (Canto: 1964)

This posthumous collection of Lewis papers provides eclectic discussions of people and books that come under the category of medieval and renaissance literature. Each chapter was originally given as a speech, with most created for the medieval specialist, not the general reader, so the target audience is somewhat narrow. Enjoyable reading if this is your field of interest.