Bart Besamusca

Of Reynaert the Fox : Text and Facing Translation of the Middle Dutch Beast Epic Van den vos Reynaerde

Table of contents - 6[-]Acknowledgements - 8[-]Introduction - 10[-]Text, translation and notes - 42[-]Editorial principles - 248[-]Middle Dutch - A short introduction - 258[-]Further reading - 274[-]Index of proper names - 280[-]Glossary - 284[-]Abbreviations - 285[-]Word index (semantic fields) - 348[-]Bibliography - 358[-]List of illustrations - 368[-]Contributors - 369

In Quest of What's on a Woman's Mind. Gauvain as Dwarf in the Middle Dutch Wrake van Ragisel

In three Middle English texts (Chaucers Wife of Baths Tale, The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnell, The Marriage of Sir Gawain) the character who is searching for the answer to the question of what it is that all women desire is told that they want sovereignty over men. However, in the Wrake van Ragisel, the Middle Dutch adaptation of the Vengeance Raguidel which forms part of the Lancelot Compilation, Walewein, who is transformed into a dwarf, learns that women are exclusively led by their sexual desire. This different answer can be explained by looking at the Lancelot Compilation as a whole. In this article it is argued that the misogynistic message serves to pardon Walewein, the compilers favourite.

The Dynamics of the Medieval Manuscript : Text Collections from a European Perspective

This essay sets out a model which identifies eight distinct authorial and editorial roles in the transformation of oral sermons towritten collections in multi-text codices. This model is then applied to a different genre: collections of songs from the same background, the Devotio Moderna. The main differences and similarities between sermons and devotional songs are discussed in relation to the position of their authors, their generic characteristics and the needs of the manuscript users. The model turns out to be a strong heuristic tool for systematically reflecting on the genesis of multi-text codices. It can be used to compare the mechanics of writing and collecting in various genres and cultural circles.