Ekphrasis and chivalry in Middle English literature

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorDowler, Campbell
dc.date.accessioned2025-04-01T18:44:15Z
dc.date.available2025-04-01T18:44:15Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.description.abstractMedieval literature frequently takes time to describe fashioned material objects, employing the literary device of ekphrasis. Among the items described are personal wardrobes and accoutrements attached to individual characters, offering readers further insight into their literary, personal, and historical significance. The description of a knight returning from battle in a certain helm or surcoat could subtly illustrate the character’s status or nationality, along with philosophies. Such is the case with Chaucer’s Knight from The Canterbury Tales, and Gawain in Gawain and the Green Knight. Gawain is described at length in lyric verse, along with his well-decorated gear; by addressing his gear through an art historical lens one would be able to examine that deeper level of complexity that may otherwise be overlooked. Informed by art history, my project will examine the medieval texts of Wynere and Wastoure, Gawain and the Green Knight, and selected characters from The Canterbury Tales. I examined what rhetorical teachings of the time taught authors about the role of ekphrasis, particularly relating to characterisation; I then interpreted a sample of chivalric ornaments from the texts and how they relate to identity: these ornaments were Gawain's helm and shield, and the Knight's armour and vestments.
dc.description.reviewstatusUnreviewed
dc.description.scholarlevelUndergraduate
dc.description.sponsorshipJamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/21731
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of Victoria
dc.subjectekphrasis
dc.subjectGawain
dc.subjectChaucer
dc.subjectknight
dc.subjectarmour
dc.subjectart
dc.titleEkphrasis and chivalry in Middle English literature
dc.typePoster

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
dowler_campbell_jcura_poster_2025.pdf
Size:
6.9 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.62 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)
 
University of Victoria Libraries

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.