Urquhart, Elizabeth Ann (1985) Fifteenth century literary culture with particular reference to the patterns of patronage, focussing on the patronage of the Stafford family during the fifteenth century. PhD thesis, University of Sheffield.
Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate the nature of the role played by literary patronage in fostering fifteenth century English literature. The topic is approached by means of a detailed examination of the books and patronage of the Stafford family. The fifteenth century witnessed the "triumph of English" and its acceptance as a prestigious literary language; it was an age interested in literature. That interest frequently manifested self in the patronage of new works in English. The patterns of patronage were altering in various ways, but the patronage of individual magnates still served as an example. The choice of one noble family as a focal point offered a "ready-made" and well-documented social group for analysis; in an allied field, historical studies have proved immensely informative. Similar studies are contributing to our understanding of fifteenth century literary history, The pattern is still incomplete, and there are several families worthy of and awaiting investigation, The Staffords are such a family, They were known to have been involved in literary activity, including some patronage; 'they were powerful; and they survived the fifteenth century, offering some scope for a search for family literary patterns and patterns of book-ownership and acquisition, The background to this study is provided by the first three chapters, which discuss the Staffords 1 political and financial history, and the costs of book-ownership and patronage, The problematic nature of the evidence for their literary activity is discussed, followed by a survey of the books associated with the Staffords and their Bourgchier kin of the half-blood during the years 1372-1533. Various considerations arising from this survey are then set out. The patterns of Stafford and Bourgchier book-ownership and literary patronage are then compared with those discernible for some contemporaries, and established as a context for the creation of fifteenth century English literature,
Metadata
Keywords: | Literature |
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Awarding institution: | University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > School of English (Sheffield) |
Identification Number/EthosID: | uk.bl.ethos.295354 |
Depositing User: | EThOS Import Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 26 Oct 2012 11:09 |
Last Modified: | 08 Aug 2013 08:47 |
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