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The Tempter's Voice: Language and the Fall in Medieval Literature
Why was the story of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent so important to medieval literary culture? Eric Jager argues that during the Middle Ages the story of the Fall was incorporated into a comprehensive myth about language. Drawing on a wide range of texts, Jager shows how patristic and medieval authors used the Fall to confront practical and theoretical problems in many areas of life and thought―including education, hermeneutics, rhetoric, feudal politics, and gender relations. Jager explores the Fall's meaning for clergy and laity, nobles and commoners, men and women. Among the works Jager discusses are texts by Ambrose, Augustine, the early Christian poet Avitus, and scholastic authors; Old English biblical epics; Middle English spiritual writings; French courtesy books; and the poetry of Dante and Chaucer. Examples from the visual arts are included as well. Jager links medieval interpretations of the Fall to underlying cultural anxieties about the ambiguity of the sign, the instability of oral tradition, the pleasure of the text, and the many rhetorical guises of the tempter's voice. He also assesses the modern and postmodern legacy of the Fall, showing how this myth continues to embody central ideas concerning language. The Tempter's Voice will be essential reading for scholars and students in such fields as medieval studies, literary theory, gender theory, comparative literature, cultural history, and the history of religion.
- GenresReligion
352 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1993
About the author
Eric Jager
7 books127 followersEric Jager is Professor of English at UCLA, where he teaches medieval literature courses on Beowulf, Chaucer, the epic, and the romance. His other interests include classics, Saint Augustine, the history of the book, and literary theory.
Jager previously taught at Columbia University. He received his B.A. from Calvin College in 1979, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1987. He received a research fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (1996-1997) and the Weiss/Brown Award from The Newberry Library (2000).
His most recent book, The Last Duel, was adapted for radio and TV by the BBC, and shortlisted by the Crime Writers’ Association (U.K.) for the Nonfiction “Gold Dagger.” He is currently writing a book about crime in medieval Paris.
Jager previously taught at Columbia University. He received his B.A. from Calvin College in 1979, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1987. He received a research fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies (1996-1997) and the Weiss/Brown Award from The Newberry Library (2000).
His most recent book, The Last Duel, was adapted for radio and TV by the BBC, and shortlisted by the Crime Writers’ Association (U.K.) for the Nonfiction “Gold Dagger.” He is currently writing a book about crime in medieval Paris.
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