The late medieval period of European history is one of rapid socio-economic change, resulting in cultural and moral crises similar to the present. This work grew from a study of courtly love. Art and literature often paint an ideal image of the past and reflects cultural conservatism.

The Troubadour Revival: a Study of Social Change and Traditionalism in Late Medieval Spain

History

Boase, Roger

Europe

Routledge & K.Paul

These oral tales were collected in the tribal areas on the Pakistan-Afghan frontier, a region described as the last free place on earth. With their blend of wit, fantasy, comedy, and romance, they reflect the Pashtun code of honor and way of life that are now seriously threatened by social changes and recent political events. Most of them, such as the epic tale of Hazrat Ali, have never been recorded before, and might otherwise have been lost forever. Some are recognizable as universal types, such as a version of Androcles and the Lion and of the tale that provided Shakespeare with the plot of King Lear.

Pashtun Tales From the Pakistan-Afghan Frontier

Literature & Fiction

Ahmad, Aisha

History & Criticism

Saqi Books

“Witty, macabre, beautiful and poignant.”—The Independent on Sunday
These stories were collected in the tribal areas of the Pakistan-Afghan border, a region once described as “the last free place on earth,” where the caravan routes from Persia, India, and China historically converged.
Blending wit, fantasy, comedy, and romance, these tales reflect the Pashtun code of honor and way of life.
Aisha Ahmad researched Pashtun women in the tribal areas and worked as a consultant for the World Health Organization.
Roger Boase is the author of The Origin and Meaning of Courtly Love and The Troubadour Revival.

Pashtun Tales: From the Pakistan-Afghan Frontier

Ahmed, Aisha

Mythology & Folk Tales

First published in 1978, this book argues that the troubadour revival in late medieval Spain was a conservative reaction to social crisis by those who belonged, or were affiliated, to a powerful, expanding and belligerent aristocracy. The crisis was produced by a discrepancy between social theory and social reality which could never be resolved, because the theory was based on the belief in a divinely pre-ordained system of social stratification in which change was inconceivable. The study falls into four parts. The first part analyses the aristocratic theory of medieval society with special reference to Spain. The second part places the troubadour revival in its historical perspective. The third part brings together some relevant documents and the fourth part consists of various appendices. The author applies the insights of history, sociology and economics to problems of literature and demonstrates the importance of the period to late medieval culture both Spanish and European. Although this analysis relies mainly on Spanish sources, the origins of the ideals it examines are to be found in a wider European context, as are the factors that undermine them. Close cultural links between Spain and France are suggested by certain parallels between the Catalan Consistory of the Gay Science and the Court of Love of Charles VI. This book is a must read for scholars and researchers of Spanish literature, Spanish history, and social and cultural history.

The Troubadour Revival (Routledge Revivals)

Reference

Routledge

Secrets of Pinar's Game (2 Vols): Court Ladies and Courtly Verse in Fifteenth-Century Spain (Medieval and Renaissance Authors and Texts)

Humor & Satire

BRILL

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