Late-Medieval Prison Writing and the Politics of Autobiography

Abstract

Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy has long been taken as one of the seminal works of the Middle Ages, yet despite the study of many aspects of the Consolation's influence, the legacy of the figure of the writer in prison has not been explored. A group of late-medieval authors — Thomas Usk, James I of Scotland, Charles d'Orléans, George Ashby, William Thorpe, Richard Wyche, and Sir Thomas Malory — demonstrate the ways in which the imprisoned writer is presented both within and outside the Boethian tradition. Each of these writers inscribes himself and his imprisoned situation within his text. This book examines, therefore, whether each text invites a reading as autobiography. In many of the texts there are clear signs of intertextual reference; this book questions whether such reference to contemporary discourse or literary authority is incorporated for the purposes of a politically-motivated self-presentation as opposed to a concern with literary aesthetics or formal or philosophical considerations. It examines whether the self-presentation of each writer has a motivation of self-justification or self-promotion, leading to a manipulation of historical evidence for political ends, as the persuasion of the audience, whether this is envisaged as coterie, patron, heretical sect, or opponent is effected through the manipulation of these devices. Late-Medieval Prison Writing also questions whether the group of texts constitutes a genre of early autobiographical prison literature in its own right.