The Task of the Cleric by Simone Pinet

The Task of the Cleric by Simone Pinet

Composed in early thirteenth-century Iberia, the Libro de Alexandre was Spain’s first vernacular version of the Romance of Alexander and the first poem in the corpus now known as the mester de clerecía. These learned works, written by clergy and connected with both school and court, were also tools for the articulation of sovereignty in an era of prolonged military and political expansion. In The Task of the Cleric, Simone Pinet considers the composition of the Libro de Alexandre in the context of cartography, political economy, and translation. Her discussion sheds light on how clerics perceived themselves and on the connections between literature and these other activities. Drawing on an extensive collection of early cartographic materials, much of it rarely considered in conjunction with the romance, Pinet offers an original and insightful view of the mester de clerecía and the changing role of knowledge and the clergy in thirteenth-century Iberia.

‘By opening new doors and establishing new frames, the author’s comparative approach yields a thought provoking and convincing results’

-- E.H. Friedman * Choice, vol 54:04:2016 *

‘It is essential reading for a core audience of Hispano-medievalists. It will also be of interest to all medievalists and general readers concerned with exploring sensibilities and modes of literary production at the height of the crusading age.’

-- Michael Harney * Renaissance Quarterly vol 70:04:2017 *

"[Pinet’s] work is an exceptional contribution to the field because of its creative, original approach and lucid analysis. Pinet’s The Task of the Cleric will engage scholars in different ways, stimulating new critical thinking about the tasks that shaped the cleric’s activity in the thirteenth century."

-- Isidro J. Rivera, The University of Kansas * University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018 *

Simone Pinet is a professor of Spanish and Medieval Studies in the Department of Romance Studies at Cornell University.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781442649934
ISBN 10	1442649933
Title	The Task of the Cleric
Author	Simone Pinet
Condition	Unavailable
Publisher	University of Toronto Press
Year published	2016-05-13
Number of pages	232
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.