This work presents a thorough historicist account of the development of subjectivity in the medieval period, as traced in medieval literature and historical documentation. Presenting the essence of the modern subject as resting in its subjection to specific historical forms of state power, the author examines literary texts from the Middle Ages that participate in the cultural invention of the subject. Overall, "The Subject Medieval/Modern" makes a case for the relevance of studying the Middle Ages to today's world. The book examines the constitution of subjects in literary texts as the result of the interplay of violence, ideology, and political structures as an integral part of the process of state-formation between the 9th and the 15th centuries. Each text is considered a singular event, a unique, self-reflexive structure modifying conventions in ideological exploration to offer performative models of subjectivity. Some texts line up with political evolution, others take a critical distance.
Peter Haidu taught medieval literature and critical theory at Columbia, Yale, Virginia, and Illinois, before retiring from UCLA. He now lives in Paris. He is the author of Subject of Violence: The Song of Roland and the Birth of the State.
Table of Contents for The Subject Medieval/Modern Introduction Part I. Before the State 1. The Peace Movement: A Crisis in Ideology 2. War, Peasant Revolt, and the Saint Alexis 3. Epic and the King's Peace: The Song of Roland A and Louis' Coronation 4. The Love-Lyric as Political Technology 5. ChrA(c)tien de Troyes: The Perspectival Novel 6. "Marie de France": The Postcolonial lais 7. Raoul de Cambrai: Haunting Violence Part II. Governance 8. Representation in State Governance I: Literacy 9. Representation in State Governance II: Agency Part III. In State 10. Problematizing the Subject: Rose I 11. Problematizing Identity: Silence 12. Subject and Community: Adam's "CongA(c)s" 13. The Subject on the Subject: Philippe de Beaumanoir 14. Ideologies of Subjectivity: Christine de Pizan and Alain Chartier 15. "Love for Sale" FranA ois Villon's Textament of Solidarity Conclusion: The Medieval Crucible Notes Index
"Haidu's prose is as elegant as it is electrifying, his interpretations as intricate as they are intriguing, and no resume could hope to do them justice. A must read." - Speculum "This book revolutionizes contemporary understandings of medieval culture, demonstrates the applicability of medieval texts to modernity, and expands the ways in which literary theory may be applied to texts and contextually criticized." - PEER English: The Journal of New Critical Thinking
