Post on 04-Jan-2016
How Does Patronage Work?
• Courtly nobles and Church have a lot of money
• Authors and Artists need to make a living
• Public patronage was not a viable option as literacy wasn’t widespread among the lower classes.
• Those in Church and Court support the arts– Money– Position– Lodging
• Authors help their Patrons– Reputation– Entertainment– Records
Obtaining a Patron
• Dedications• Flattery• Begging• Every man believes that mistresses are unfaithful, and patrons are capricious. But he excepts his own mistress, and his own patron.” Dr. Johnson
Court Patronage:what was gained by the patron
• Social Relations/Show of Frivolity
• Story Malleability
• Assertion of Dominance
• Inspiration of Others
Church Patronage:What was gained by the Clergy
member• Social Relations
• Story Malleability
• Assertion of Dominance
• Inspiration of Others
POWER
• Ubiquitous in aristocratic society
• Relationships could be lifelong…not usually a one time exchange
• Voluntary• The issue of “intellectual
property”
The Politics of PatronageAnd Its Shifts
Through the Works of:
Caedmon
Battle of Maldon
The Canterbury Tales
A Modern Example of Patronage…
• Poetry Used for Political Ends
• Yeats’ Creates Poetry Instilled Nationalist Aspirations
• Poetic Activism
• The Common Man was the Patron
Caedmon: Historical Context
• Composed around 658 and 680 A.D.
• Hagiography: history with a moral twist
• After Fall of Western Roman Empire
• Power Transition to Church
Historical Context: Battle of Maldon
• Battle occurred 10 August 991 A.D.
• Poem Written likely right after battle
Historical Context:Cantebury Tales
• Written around 1380 A.D.
• People angry of corrupt clergy
• Anti-clerical and papal nobility in England
Bibliography
• Greenblatt, Stephen, and M.h. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 8th ed. Vol. 1. New York, London: W.W. Norton and Company, 2006. 218-238.
• "Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_of_Antwerp. 17 Oct. 2006. 25 Oct. 2006 <www.wikipedia.org>.
• "Geoffrey Chaucer." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaucer. 25 Oct. 2006. 25 Oct. 2006 <www.wikipedia.org>.
• Drake, Tim, and K Knight. "The Catholic Encyclopedia." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09333a.htm. 2006. Trinity Consulting, Inc. 25 Oct. 2006 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html>.