Heroic Age (literary theory)
- Heroic Age (literary theory)
In 20th century studies of oral poetry and traditional literature, the Heroic Age was postulated as a stage in the development of human societies likely to give rise to legends about heroic deeds. According to some theorists, oral epic poetry would be created at the same period, and would be transmitted, by singers who displayed less creativity, through later periods. Scholars who adopted the theory of a heroic age include:
* Maurice Bowra
* Hector Munro Chadwick and Nora Kershaw Chadwick
A widely shared view was that each society would pass through a heroic age only once. This apparently explains why, in the Chadwicks' world survey of oral and traditional poetry, "The Growth of Literature", medieval European epics such as the French Chansons de geste and the Spanish "Cantar de Mio Cid" are omitted: those societies are taken to have passed through a heroic age earlier.
Bryan Hainsworth has suggested that in the various so-called Heroic Ages named by modern scholars "what is described is a by-product ... of the tendency of heroic poetry to congeal into cycles, often ... around a signal event" (1993, p. 40).
Bibliography
*C. M. Bowra, "Heroic poetry". London: Macmillan, 1952.
*H. M. Chadwick, "The Heroic Age". London, 1912.
*H. Munro Chadwick, N. Kershaw Chadwick, "The growth of literature". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932-40.
*J. B. Hainsworth, "The Iliad: a commentary. Vol. 3: books 9-12". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Heroic Age (disambiguation) — Heroic Age may refer to:*The Heroic Age in Greek mythology, the period at which semi divine and human heroes are supposed to have lived. *The Heroic Age of the Germanic tribes (the Germanic Iron Age). *The Heroic Age (literary theory) postulated… … Wikipedia
Literary or Profane Legends — Literary or Profane Legends † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Literary or Profane Legends In the period of national origins history and legend are inextricably mingled. In the course of oral transmission historic narrative necessarily becomes … Catholic encyclopedia
Age of Enlightenment — Age of Reason redirects here. For other uses, see Age of Reason (disambiguation) … Wikipedia
Islamic Golden Age — The Islamic Golden Age, also sometimes known as the Islamic Renaissance, [Joel L. Kraemer (1992), Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam , p. 1 148, Brill Publishers, ISBN 9004072594.] was traditionally dated from the 8th century to the 13th… … Wikipedia
Jesus myth theory — The Resurrection of Christ by Noel Coypel (1700). Jesus myth theorists see this as one of a number of stories about dying and rising gods. Description The … Wikipedia
Dutch Golden Age painting — Dutch Masters redirects here. For the cigar, see Dutch Masters (cigar). Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid (1658–1660) Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history generally spanning the 17th century,[ … Wikipedia
King Arthur — is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur s story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention … Wikipedia
Arthur — Infobox Given Name Revised name = Arthur imagesize=150 px caption=Statue of King Arthur, designed by Albrecht Dürer and cast by Peter Vischer the Elder, early 16th century [Harvnb|Barber|1986|p= 141] pronunciation=IPA|/ɑːθɘ/, IPA|/ɑrθɝ/ gender =… … Wikipedia
English literature — Introduction the body of written works produced in the English language by inhabitants of the British Isles (including Ireland) from the 7th century to the present day. The major literatures written in English outside the British Isles are… … Universalium
literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… … Universalium
