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STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER A richer discussion ofmedieval legal discourse and its influence on literary texts might have clarified Sturges's implication that literature is more susceptible to misinterpretation than speech. But I do not want to end on a carping note. Sturges has written a very interesting book, perhaps a bit too schematic in its narrative of later medieval interpretive freedom but knowledgeable about and very much at ease with contemporary discussions of linguistic ambiguity, narratology, and interpretive differences. I find the last two chapters, on Chaucer's poetry and on Mort Artu and Malory, to be the most successful and nuanced of his readings. The text is nearly free of printing errors, and the bibliography is as full and up to date as most humanities publications can be these days. Sturges has announced a new project on speech and writing in The Canterbury Tales, and it will be interesting to seewhat he has to say in light ofthe recent books by Leicester and Dinshaw. Medieval Interpretation demonstrates clearly that our particular mo­ ment in the history of literary interpretation affords us some productive, dynamic, and promising ways to engage with medieval literature and culture. In addition, Sturges has established a benchmark for future ac­ counts of medieval textuality, literacy, and theories of interpretation. Placedalongside other discussions ofmedievalsemiologyand textuality (by Bloch, Ferster, Gellrich, Irvine, Leicester, Nichols, and Patterson), Medi­ evalInterpretation makes it clear why it will no longer do for medievalists to dismiss "theory" or new historical criticisms as methodological anach­ ronisms. These discourses are becoming our way, for now, of defining the Middle Ages at the present time. MARK AMSLER University of Delaware TIMOTHY VERDON andJOHN HENDERSON, eds. Christianity and the Re­ naissance: Image and Religious Imagination in the Quattrocento. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1990. Pp. xx, 611. $18.95 paper. This book is a collection oftwenty-three essays that came out ofconferences held in 1985. They are grouped under three headings, "The Monastic 216 REVIEWS World," "The Religious World of the Laity," and "The World of the Chris­ tian Humanist," plus a "Coda on Method." Like Timothy Verdon's earlier volume, Monasticism and the Arts, the essays are generally good, and, unlike some volumes of this sort, the volume holds together. Verdon's intelligent introduction sets a standard that many, though not all, the essays meet. Several essays stand out in this collection. Kaspar Elm's piece about the images of Augustine created by the Augustinian canons and the Augustinian hermits is fascinating. W illiam Hood has made a good contribution on Fra Angelico at San Marco, although one wishes he had provided more than a sentence about Dominican imagery before the quattrocento. Creighton Gilbert has presented a fine analysis of some elementsofCarmelite imagery, including a compelling reading ofthe great Carmelite altarpiece of Pietro Lorenzetti. Kathleen Giles Arthur has writ­ ten a particularlystimulating piece about cult objects and patronage ofthe confraternity of Gesu Pellegrino. Marcia Hall has some important insights about Savonarola and artistic style in Florence. Several essays provided interesting and useful data but needed more analysis. Gene Brucker's survey ofmonastic establishments in Florence and Daniel Lesnick's piece on preaching in Florence are the best examples. Rab Hatfield's essay on Franciscan spirituality and Salvatore Camporeale's on the religious crisis ofthe late quattrocento were the least illuminating parts of the collection. There are two essays that really do not belong in this volume, and they detract from the editors' goal ofproviding a collection of essays with a clear focus. One deals with Florentine confraternities today, and the other largely focuses on sacri monti in Iberia and the New World. This volume, like its predecessor, is a success. There are no bad essays, and most make real contributions. Each essay has full citations, and they are useful because they cumulatively contain bibliographical materials from a number of disciplines. The volume contains numerous plates. We eagerly await more volumes orchestrated by Timothy Verdon. WILLIAM R. COOK State University of New York, Geneseo R. F. YEAGER.John Gower's Poetic: The Searchfor a New Arion. Publica­ tions of the John Gower Society, vol. 2. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1990. Pp. 289. $70...

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