Exploring Medieval and Renaissance Literature: An Introduction to The Discarded Image

Sotto voce: I recently enjoyed 'The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English' by Hana Videen. I thought I'd try another deep-dive language narrative. I was expecting a 'light read,' which is never the case in a CS Lewis. A grasp of the book requires your undivided attention. I'd consider this a necessary read for history explorers of the middle ages.

Words and universal concepts morph over time. The example "Nature"… as the word concept we know first appeared textually in the modern concept in the 16th century. "Nature" is among the word-concepts Lewis explores that distance our mind's eye from those ages.

Our words and concept of word meanings, our linguistic/mental paradigm, is contrasted with the model comprehended by the medieval mind. Our mind's eye is different, radically different, from those that went before. Christianity had the same effect on the discarded image of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian pagans who came before is understood and ordered radically differently. A medieval text can never be read the same.

"Nature" was dark, feral, frightening, and hostile, a condition that demanded Man to intervene and care for as Adam. Nature was to be dominated in the spirit of...

United States on Jun 12, 2022

Petra: Mein altes Exemplar von The discarded image war total verschlissen. So oft lese ich und nehme ich es zur Hand um nach zu prüfen wie im Altertum, Mittelalter und Renaissance das All aussah. Wie die Erde gegliedert war (und vor allem nicht flach). Wie es um der Physiologie des Menschen bestellt war. Und vor allem wie genau gedacht wurde über Gott und die Welt. Das ganze Büchlein ist ein fundierter Korrektur auf die landläufigen Vorstellungen
des MA.

Germany on Oct 07, 2020

Amazon Customer: This history of medieval thought is fascinating to theologians, historians and many others, as well as those who want to know about literature of the time.

Canada on Nov 22, 2015

Snow Pharoah: The discarded image consists of the essential material that Lewis addressed in his lectures on medieval and renaissance literature and philosophy at Oxford and Cambridge. In spite of Lewis' known status as a Christian apologist and writer, it is important to underline that this book, the last that was published during his life, only occasionally refers to matters of faith as one might expect of Lewis. Lewis literally presents a "discarded image" or world view, that of medieval and early renaissance Europe. There is much reference to the organization of the universe, of the earth, and the search of coherence between the two. The book is a fascinating incursion into both the topic and into Lewis' vision of this period of human history. A few points are worth underlining:

First, the former, now discarded image, placed very little value in the empirical confirmation of different phenomena. Indeed, a number of different beings and processes are postulated to exist and to influence human life that could not possibly be investigated under what we would call the modern scientific method. However, this was not an issue to their probable existence. One of the first ideas that comes...

Canada on Jan 22, 2014

julie williams: The book is meticulously researched and deeply scholarly. It does away with the current PC line that the Christian tradition can be invalidated by a clever question from a boy of 7. This is because it demonstrates that a mystical tradition like Christianity has to be seen within a context which determines the questions you ask and the presuppositions with which you understand the answers. If your reality is determined by a belief in secular materialism and in purely quantitative methods of establishing the truth, the statements of a mystical theology will have absolutely no meaning for you. An understanding of the mediaeval cosmos is a good place to start for anyone wondering which of these two world views are the most exciting, the most life-filled, and the one most likely to lead them to a world they can believe in and delight in.

United Kingdom on Jan 05, 2014

corporaljones: I've recently finished the McGrath Biography of C.S. Lewis, and ordered several books to read/re-read: I have to agree with the 'blurb' writer: this is the best book he wrote. In it, he wears his huge learning lightly, distilling his knowledge and wisdom into crystal-clear drops. Having read it the once, I shall soon have to read it again - for information, for understanding, and for delight.

United Kingdom on Jul 20, 2013

john: "The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature", by C. S. Lewis, has the benefit of the author's lifetime of study in two great ages: the Pagan Classical that perished, and the Christian Medieval that rose in its place. The latter cannot be understood properly without the former, and our current age is best known in understanding both. The author's objective is to instruct us in that understanding.

I count Lewis among my favorite authors, but after being exposed to deeper and more orthodox writers over the years I've come to read him - if still very enjoyably - much more carefully. While I agree with the unanimous reviews that glowingly praise this work, he does strike some discordant notes. Lewis was a loyal member of that church "by law established" and its divines, including the heretic Cranmer and the latitudinarian Hooker, helped shape his thought. This is a High-Church Anglican's take on the Middle Ages.

The first item that really stands out is that someone with no previous knowledge of the Middle Ages may get wrong notions about the relative importance of its writers. Milton is consulted much more often than Dante, even though the...

United States on Jun 08, 2012