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Simone Pinet deposited Clerical Soundscapes in the group
Iberian Studies on MLA Commons 2 years, 1 month ago
Using the evidence of the aural as intrinsic to mester de clerecía’s mode of diffusion and reception as point of departure, this chapter examines sound as a wider and complex system of references, actualizations, and allusions that articulate and structure the mode in its composition, as part of its tools to effect meaning. Music and song play obvious large roles in such a system, but as these have been widely studied, the chapter focuses on less evident aural systems through the term soundscape, a term that has in recent years been adapted into medieval studies and especially into literary criticism. Whether characterizing the hero or anticipating narrative, structuring allegorical resonances through a collection, or tying episodes together through synesthetic effects, the chapter examines how the representation of sound in these literary works constitutes scenarios, or aural fields. Using as case studies the Libro de Alexandre, Berceo’s Milagros de Nuestra Señora, and the Arcipreste’s Libro de buen amor, the chapter examines “battle,” “garden,” and “language” as soundscapes in which sound is not only referenced but thematized, shaping plot, exploiting rhetorical devices, and producing meaning. From these analyses, the chapter points to how soundscapes in mester de clerecía complicate notions of voice and noise, the separation between the self and the divine, and the role of nature and art.