Wright, E: Manuscript Meanings

Adenet le Roi s late thirteenth-century Berte as grans pies presents rich evidence of how manuscript context affects readers perception of genre because its textual features do not establish a well-defined genre and it appears in several manuscript compilations. Its composition in laisses suggests that it is a chanson de geste, while themes point to romance or exemplary tales. However, the seven manuscript compilations that contain Berte orient readers understanding of the relationship between texts and encourage readers to pay attention to certain textual characteristics. In turn, the highlighted characteristics help readers determine the genre of the texts, providing a conceptual frame that guides interpretation. Each chapter in this study concerns an aspect of Berte s genre and the meaning that a particular manuscript generated for medieval readers: Adenet s creation of a multi-genre text, readers experience of the text as an epic, romance, or exemplary tale in manuscript context, and generic reworkings of the story by later composers. Throughout, the study develops a methodology for reconstructing interpretations of medieval works appearing in manuscript compilations.