Anglo-Saxon Gestures and the Roman Stage: 28 (Cambridge Studies in Anglo-Saxon England, Series Number 28) - Hardcover

Dodwell, C. R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521661889 ISBN 13: 9780521661881

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 1999

Synopsis

This 1999 book is concerned with the pictorial language of gesture revealed in Anglo-Saxon art, and its debt to classical Rome. Reginald Dodwell was an eminent art historian and former Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester. In this, his last book, he notes a striking similarity of both form and meaning between Anglo-Saxon gestures and those in illustrated manuscripts of the plays of Terence. He presents evidence for dating the archetype of the Terence manuscripts to the mid-third century, and argues persuasively that their gestures reflect actual stage conventions. He identifies a repertory of eighteen Terentian gestures whose meaning can be ascertained from the dramatic contexts in which they occur, and conducts a detailed examination of the use of the gestures in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. The book, which is extensively illustrated, illuminates our understanding of the vigour of late Anglo-Saxon art and its ability to absorb and transpose continental influence.

About this title

Review:

"this book is of lasting importance for its analysis of the meaning of gestures in Old Comedy." CAA Reviews

"...Dodwell's book is both a richly suggestive source and a model of rigorous argumentation." Early Drama, Art & Music Review

Book Description:

This 1999 book is concerned with the pictorial language of gesture revealed in Anglo-Saxon art, and its debt to classical Rome. Reginald Dodwell, an eminent art historian, notes a striking similarity of both form and meaning between Anglo-Saxon gestures and those in illustrated manuscripts of the plays of Terence.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0521661889
• ISBN 13: 9780521661881
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 246