Wright, E: Manuscript Meanings

Adenet le Roi's late thirteenth-century "Berte asgrans pies" presents rich evidence of how manuscriptcontext affects readers' perception of genre becauseits textual features do not establish a well-definedgenre and it appears in several manuscriptcompilations. Its composition in laisses suggeststhat it is a chanson de geste, while themes point toromance or exemplary tales. However, the sevenmanuscript compilations that contain "Berte" orientreaders' understanding of the relationship betweentexts and encourage readers to pay attention tocertain textual characteristics. In turn, thehighlighted characteristics help readers determinethe genre of the texts, providing a conceptual framethat guides interpretation. Each chapter in thisstudy concerns an aspect of "Berte"'s genre and themeaning that a particular manuscript generated formedieval readers: Adenet's creation of a multi-genretext, readers' experience of the text as an epic,romance, or exemplary tale in manuscript context, andgeneric reworkings of the story by later composers.Throughout, the study develops a methodology forreconstructing interpretations of medieval worksappearing in manuscript compilations.