Pen and scissors: a medieval debate
Close reading of a little known Hebrew medieval debate poem from the midfourteenth century suggests that the standard readings of the poem as political or religious allegory must be challenged. Shem Tov Ardutiel's "The Battle of the Pen and Scissors" is an unusual rhymed narrative whi...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1994
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
Year: 1994, Volume: 65, Pages: 261-276 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Judaism
/ Middle Ages
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| IxTheo Classification: | BH Judaism TE Middle Ages |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | Close reading of a little known Hebrew medieval debate poem from the midfourteenth century suggests that the standard readings of the poem as political or religious allegory must be challenged. Shem Tov Ardutiel's "The Battle of the Pen and Scissors" is an unusual rhymed narrative which features a debate between a pen and scissors over their relative superiority as writing instruments. What little attention this work has received has tended to address it as either a political allegory describing the downfall of Gonzalo Martinez de Oviedo, an advisor to Alfonso XI, or as a polemical response to the proselytizing of Alfonso of Burgos. The literary structure and content of the work suggest the inadequacy of these interpretations. A nexus of structural motifs — loss of speech, hostile surroundings, apparent self-contradiction, and the preference for poetry or prose — suggests parallels to other medieval narratives and merits further investigation. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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