The Custom of the Castle: From Malory to MacbethThe Custom of the Castle: From Malory to Macbeth explores the enduring narrative motif of the "custom of the castle," from its early conception by Chrétien de Troyes in twelfth-century romances to its reimagining in Renaissance literature. This study goes beyond previous interpretations that view the motif merely as heroic tests or courtly conventions, instead situating it within shifting legal and cultural contexts in France, Italy, and England. By examining key works by Sir Thomas Malory, Matteo Maria Boiardo, Ludovico Ariosto, and Edmund Spenser, this volume reveals how the motif evolved to address profound social questions regarding justice, civility, violence, and the constraints of political and social norms. In doing so, it uncovers new connections between these earlier uses and Shakespeare's complex depiction of custom in Macbeth and other plays. Through close readings of "vile customs" that impose moral challenges on knights and travelers, The Custom of the Castle sheds light on how narratives helped shape and critique social order, often questioning the value and origin of customs and highlighting their role in defining or subverting social structures. The book traces how chivalric tales used the "custom of the castle" to expose limits of the social and moral imagination, exploring the conflicts between individual ethics and communal norms. As the book illustrates, by the seventeenth century, castles and their customs became relics in literature, symbolizing both the grandeur and the obsolescence of old social orders. This work provides fresh insights into Renaissance literature's engagement with the evolving concept of custom, offering a valuable resource for readers interested in the intersection of literature, law, and cultural history. This title was originally published in 1997. Many titles in the Voices Revived program are also newly available as ebooks, offered at a discounted price to support wider access to scholarly work. |
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adventure allegory Angelica argues Artegall Arthur beauty contest behavior Boiardo Book Bradamante Bradamante's Breunor Briana Britomart C. S. Lewis Calepine Calidor calls Cambridge casde Castle Cruel castle topos Chastel chivalric romance chivalry Chretien de Troyes Chretien’s civility Clodione court courtesy Crudor culture Dialetes Dollimore Dunsinane England English episode errant Faerie Queene father foul custom French Galahalt Galehaut ghost Gyron Hamlet Henry husband Ibid ideology Ireland Isode Italian J. G. A. Pocock joust justice keeper kills King knight lady Lancelot lord Ludovico Ariosto Macbeth Malory Malory’s Marchino's wife medieval monster Montaigne moral Morte Darthur murder narrative Orlando Furioso Orlando Innamorato Othello Oxford past play poem political practice prose Lancelot prose Tristan Ranaldo Renaissance represents Rome rules scene Serena Shakespeare Sir Breunor social customs social order Spenser Stella story sword symbolic Thomas Malory Tower of Tristan tradition trans Turpine Ullania Weeping Castle woman Yvain