
Mankind
Medieval Institute Publications (Publisher)
Published on 1. April 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
96 pages
978-1-58044-140-7 (ISBN)
Description
One of the most interactive and theatrically sophisticated early English plays, the fifteenth-century Middle English morality play Mankind balances and complicates a conventional allegory of vice and virtue with a thematic emphasis on language. Associated with Lent and the pre-Lenten season of Carnival, it dramatizes a verbal battle waged for Mankind's soul: it pits the stately, Latinate preaching of Mercy, who embodies Lent's emphasis on penitence, confession, and piety, against the rhetorical tricks of the demon Titivillus and jokes, derision, and vulgarity from the four vices of worldly temptation, representing carnival themes of revelry, trickery, and social upheaval. Each side addresses the audience throughout the play, implicating them in their machinations for or against Mankind. Engaging with the late-medieval religious conflict between English-language Lollardy and a Catholic orthodoxy built on Latinate authority, Mankind demands that its audience distinguishes between virtuous and vicious uses of language, whether in Latin or English.
More details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 5 mm
Weight
227 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-58044-140-7 (9781580441407)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Kathleen M. Ashley | Gerard NeCastro
Mankind
E-Book
04/2010
Medieval Institute Publications
€14.49
Available for download
Persons
Kathleen Ashley is Professor Emerita of English at the University of Southern Maine. Her research interests include medieval literature, autobiography studies, African-American literature, cultural theory, and contemporary women writers. Gerard P. NeCastro is a Professor of English at the University of Maine at Machias. His research interests include early Middle English drama, Chaucer, and healing in the Middle Ages. He is the founder and current secretary of Medica: The Society for the Study of Healing in the Middle Ages.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction by Kathleen M. Ashley
Mankind
Explanatory Notes
Textual Notes
Bibliography
Introduction by Kathleen M. Ashley
Mankind
Explanatory Notes
Textual Notes
Bibliography