Tales with Guts: A “Rasic” Aesthetic in Medieval French Storytelling

Abstract

Scholars of medieval Europe tend to see aural performances of narrative works as just medieval “books on tape” with a disembodied reader. But the auditory element was often only a small part of the live performance. Narrative works in medieval Europe were performed, and storytellers engaged audiences' bodies and emotions as well as their minds. Richard Schechner's “Rasaesthetics” helps us recognize the strong emotional flavors and dynamism inherent in the performance tradition of many medieval stories.