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The function of the author in the Middle Ages, as demonstrated by the iconography of Guillaume de Machaut’s manuscripts
Panušková, Lenka
This paper addresses the depicting of the poet and author Guillaume de Machaut. Several of Machaut’s compositions or “dits” reflect the principles of poetry, and in this context they also reflect his status as an author or authority. During his lifetime two manuscripts were created, MS fr. 1586 (c. 1350) and MS fr. 1584 (c. 1370), which scholars believe may have been produced under Machaut’s direct supervision. Several other manuscripts dating form after Machaut’s death have also been preserved, of which MS fr. 9221 and MSS fr. 22545-22546 in particular are also the subject of this study. Illuminations featuring Machaut in the role of author can be divided into three groups (poet-scribe, university iconography, inspired poet), each of which emphasises a different aspect of writing and presenting poetry. However, it seems that despite attempts by some scholars to see Machaut’s direct influence in the illuminations, the individual masters were working with contemporary iconography.
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Guillaume de Machaut at the royal court: the function of the author
Fantysová Matějková, Jana
The medieval author eludes both the modern concept of the author and the structuralist concept, because he belongs to a different historical reality: the character of a medieval text, the use of a written record and the way in which a work was disseminated do not correspond to what we consider literature today, and neither the concept of the author nor his status coincide with the modern notion. The origins of modern authorship can be traced as early as the Middle Ages, if we define the author in relation to the text, work and reader, in terms of the status granted to an author by his readers, and also in terms of his subjectivity. Taking as its example the poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut, this paper describes a number of phenomena typical of the Middle Ages, when oral performances and commissions by patrons dominated. It also describes the genesis of the author’s subjectivity, which was formed in relation to his patron and reflects Machaut´s social role.
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