The Publication of English Medieval Romances after the Death of Wynkyn de Worde, 1536–1569
Year: 2019
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: s Wynkyn de Worde was the main promoter of printing English medieval romances, the publication of which ceased in the years following his death. This article suggests that the ideological influence of the Reformation, which condemned all chivalric literature for its alleged affinity with Catholicism, was responsible for the neglect of the genre. Medieval romances did not emerge again until 1553, the year when a Catholic monarch, Queen Mary I, succeeded to the throne. Aware that the change of monarch would immediately entail a change in the ideological context, the printer William Copland was hoping to bring the English medieval romances back into vogue and, in 1553, printed two romances. In the following years he collaborated with other printers in the publication of this medieval corpus for a new generation of readers. With an output of twenty-one editions up until c. 1565, Copland was instrumental in reviving the printed medieval romances even though the genre slid once more into oblivion after his death.
Source: De Gruyter eBooks
Author: Jordi Sánchez-Martí
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4247094909