東華大學圖書館 |

Language: English

Help

回圖書館首頁

手機版館藏查詢

Back

Switch To: Labeled | MARC Mode | ISBD

White magicians in the English liter...

Parker, Joy Ellen.

Linked to FindBook

Google Book

Amazon

博客來

White magicians in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Divine power and human aspiration.

Record Type:	Electronic resources : Monograph/item
Title/Author:	White magicians in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Divine power and human aspiration./
Author:	Parker, Joy Ellen.
Description:	158 p.
Notes:	Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-03, Section: A, page: 9560.
Contained By:	Dissertation Abstracts International63-03A.
Subject:	English literature. -
Online resource:	http://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=3046009
ISBN:	9780493602455

White magicians in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Divine power and human aspiration.
Parker, Joy Ellen.

White magicians in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Divine power and human aspiration. - 158 p.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-03, Section: A, page: 9560.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Toledo, 2002.

While the practice of magic was generally condemned by both religious and political authorities in both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, historical evidence suggests that reliance on magic was widespread in these times. It is also clear that many of these practitioners considered themselves justified despite official disapproval because they were involved in what we might call "white magic" or "natural magic" though the line between this and what was often referred to as "black magic," "sorcery," "necromancy," or "witchcraft" was often hotly debated. Because ideas about magic were bound up with contemporary religious, social, political, and scientific philosophies, magicians were often central to works of literature in both periods. This study compares the depiction of the white magician in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in order to illuminate where and how their culture and aesthetics converge and diverge. Chapter One offers a definition of white magic. In general, white magicians sought to elevate their souls through contact with the divine and strove to channel its power in order to do good. Magicians in fact and fiction were influenced by Neoplatonism. Neoplatonist white magicians were interested in exploring the powers of the natural world through astrology, alchemy, and the summoning of spirits. Chapter One argues that the terms "white magic" and "black magic" best express the emphasis authors placed on magicians' intentions and actions. Chapter Two examines Merlin, perhaps the most influential of all magician characters. Through the figure of Merlin, medieval authors struggled with the permeable boundaries of the magical worldview and the right uses of power. Chapter Three examines how Sir Thomas Malory's depiction of magic in Le Morte D'Arthur demonstrates that beginning in the later Middle Ages, the definition and understanding of magic changed. A gender divide was created in which women were associated with witchcraft and men with white magic. Chapter Four compares and contrasts the Renaissance characters Friar Bacon, Doctor Faustus, and Prospero, concluding that they embodied their authors' answers to questions about the limits of intellect and ambition and about power and responsibility.

ISBN: 9780493602455Subjects--Topical Terms:

516356
English literature.

White magicians in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Divine power and human aspiration.
LDR:03189nmm a2200277 4500 001 2070156
005 20160531113948.5
008 170521s2002 ||||||||||||||||| ||eng d
020 $a 9780493602455
035 $a (MiAaPQ)AAI3046009
035 $a AAI3046009
040 $a MiAaPQ $c MiAaPQ
100 1 $a Parker, Joy Ellen. $3 3185189
245 1 0 $a White magicians in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance: Divine power and human aspiration.
300 $a 158 p.
500 $a Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 63-03, Section: A, page: 9560.
500 $a Adviser: Barbara Riebling.
502 $a Thesis (Ph.D.)--The University of Toledo, 2002.
520 $a While the practice of magic was generally condemned by both religious and political authorities in both the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, historical evidence suggests that reliance on magic was widespread in these times. It is also clear that many of these practitioners considered themselves justified despite official disapproval because they were involved in what we might call "white magic" or "natural magic" though the line between this and what was often referred to as "black magic," "sorcery," "necromancy," or "witchcraft" was often hotly debated. Because ideas about magic were bound up with contemporary religious, social, political, and scientific philosophies, magicians were often central to works of literature in both periods. This study compares the depiction of the white magician in the English literature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in order to illuminate where and how their culture and aesthetics converge and diverge. Chapter One offers a definition of white magic. In general, white magicians sought to elevate their souls through contact with the divine and strove to channel its power in order to do good. Magicians in fact and fiction were influenced by Neoplatonism. Neoplatonist white magicians were interested in exploring the powers of the natural world through astrology, alchemy, and the summoning of spirits. Chapter One argues that the terms "white magic" and "black magic" best express the emphasis authors placed on magicians' intentions and actions. Chapter Two examines Merlin, perhaps the most influential of all magician characters. Through the figure of Merlin, medieval authors struggled with the permeable boundaries of the magical worldview and the right uses of power. Chapter Three examines how Sir Thomas Malory's depiction of magic in Le Morte D'Arthur demonstrates that beginning in the later Middle Ages, the definition and understanding of magic changed. A gender divide was created in which women were associated with witchcraft and men with white magic. Chapter Four compares and contrasts the Renaissance characters Friar Bacon, Doctor Faustus, and Prospero, concluding that they embodied their authors' answers to questions about the limits of intellect and ambition and about power and responsibility.
590 $a School code: 0232.
650 4 $a English literature. $3 516356
650 4 $a Medieval literature. $3 3168324
690 $a 0593
690 $a 0297
710 2 $a The University of Toledo. $3 1023352
773 0 $t Dissertation Abstracts International $g 63-03A.
790 $a 0232
791 $a Ph.D.
792 $a 2002
793 $a English
856 4 0 $u http://pqdd.sinica.edu.tw/twdaoapp/servlet/advanced?query=3046009