The Pearl Manuscript and medieval visionaries Essay Example for Free

The Pearl Manuscript and medieval visionaries Essay Pearl texts and their surviving manuscripts are the rich heritage property of Middle English poetry. When a war is won, mention of important soldiers and Generals who contributed to the success of the war, if often mentioned and recorded. Similar is the case about the literature. The scholars who read, analyze, interpret and offer their criticism on ancient classics are often remembered by the .literary enthusiasts. So when one talks about the Pearl Manuscript, one remembers Sir Israel Gollancz. His views containing Pearl, Cleanness, Gawain and the Green Knight and Patience are original and noteworthy . His views have contributed much to shape the modern critical perspectives of this great text. The highlight of the poems of the Pearl Manuscripts is the   timeless appeal and the   inherent capacity to reach the inner realms of the human being with their latent   spiritual strength. What makes Gollancz’s editorial achievement exclusive? It is so, because it is comprehensive and well-researched.   Gollancz has taken into account all the important aspects of the Pearl Manuscript. His facsimile was reprinted three times since 1923, was reissued in 1971.For the later scholars Gollancz was the inspiration and the base. The audience for these poems is of two categories. The scholars engaged in study and further research on them, and the lay readers. Both owe a debt of gratitude for the enthusiasm and dedication with which Gollancz worked on Pearl Manuscripts. He kindled the interest of both categories in profound riches of the medieval English verse, for the period 1891 to 1940.But for Gollancz’s dedication, the task of going through the Pearl Manuscript in facsimile, would have been difficult. The original version of the Pearl texts and the authentic details of their codex are available at the Manuscript Room of the British Library. The other route to get it is costly and time-consuming—order copies of individual leaves from the Library’s Photographic Reproductions Office. â€Å"For these major achievements and for the many smaller contributions he made to resolving specific textual problems which vexed scholars of the Pearl poems, I believe the name of Sir Israel Gollancz must be placed alongside those of Sir Frederick Madden and Richard Morris on the list of founders of modern scholarship on the Pearl Manuscripts poems.†(Reichardt†¦) Some examples of the poems are: â€Å"Hope 3e à ¾at He heres not à ¾at eres alle made? Hit may not be à ¾at He is blynde à ¾at bigged vche y3e. (Patience, 123-24)1† (Reichardt..) The narrator of Patience recalls the Psalmist’s words: no one can escape the omniscience of God. Presently, this omniscience of God is related to the faculties of sight and hearing. You can not run away from the realities of life. You have to suffer or enjoy the consequences of your evil or good actions. There is no escape from it because you don’t have a secure place of escape away from the vision of God. Not even a leaf oscillates without His wish. The Creator sees all and hears all. The relationship between man and God is undeniable. All types of manifestations in the world are as per the will and command of God. Wherever we are and whatever we may do, our prime concern should be to exemplify and demonstrate the validity of the power of the Supreme Being. It is no use getting intoxicated by the intellectual achievements disregarding the reality of the Cosmic Supreme. â€Å"BÄ•rÄ «th is the Hebrew word which, in the Old Testament, is applied to ‘the three great covenants established by God at the three critical stages of the history of mankind: the creation, the reestablishment of mankind after the flood, and the birth of the Hebrew nation.’5 The centrality of covenant to the poems in this manuscript is manifest in the inclusion of the stories of both Noah and Abraham in Cleanness.†(www.marginalia) What is a fully imagined devotional response? It is the beginning of the search within.   Action without the motivated desire is possible through the sensory organs as seen in Pearl when the Dreamer approaches Christ. This means God can not be searched in the world outside. He can be realized in the innermost chambers of our heart and that too through a specific procedure. God is not sitting in the sky granting rewards and punishments. â€Å"Delyt me drof in y3e and ere, My manez mynde to maddyng malte; Quen I se3 my frely, I wolde be à ¾ere, By3onde à ¾e water à ¾a3 ho were walte. (Pearl, 1153-56)†(Reichrdt..) Wise people say that a poet sees what the sun can not see! This statement highlights the strength of the power of the narrative imagery. The images created by the poet are as powerful as those seen with the eye, if not more. Spoken words can provide you with some understanding but they can not reveal the truth. The truth can only be experienced, through the inner eye. If one wishes to see and know God, one has to perceive the eternal Divinity within one’s true Self. For that the precondition is to ignite a passionate and inextinguishable thirst to see, know, and realize our eternal Father. Since the dawn of the Creation, the procedure to know God has been one and the same. One’s own inner self is the eternal witness to one’s actions. There is no escape from this position under any circumstances. To watch means to participate. This condition is also in tune with the legal process. A covenant would not be valid without the witness, which ipso facto means that the witness has the perfect understanding of the contract. The witness has truly educated himself as to the true implications of the action. The word education is derived from the root â€Å"edu†, which means to draw out. So what is to be drawn out? It is one’s inherently blocked flow of latent potential including wisdom and creativity that needs to be squeezed out. Here one can understand what Mass implies. It is the enactment of both the spiritual and legal aspects of the covenant. The bread and wine symbolize the body and blood of Christ. In the Sacrifice of the Mass the priest takes recourse to dual actions-affirmative and destructive. A comparison can be drawn here, between the positive and negative tendencies of an individual. He re-enacts Christ’s breaking of the bread at the Last Supper and his immolation in the Passion. The question is how to beat the negative tendencies and how to draw out the celestial flow of dormant potential in every individual. For that, the need is to dig a tunnel right up to one’s core personality. Such a tunneling effect is the outcome of establishing unity between all one’s personality layers while harmonizing each one of them with one’s core personality called Pure Consciousness or Soul, which is the actual reservoir of one’s total potential.  Ã‚   The sum and substance of the Pearl Manuscript is to know and understand one’s inner world, which is the fountainhead of bliss, the communion with it paves the way for eternal happiness. Happiness and melancholy are the outcomes of one’s own positive and negative thoughts respectively. A spiritual flight is an ecstatic transcendental experience carried out by one’s soul. It involves the intermingling of one’s Soul with All-pervading eternal Consciousness. The deeper the Soul delves into the Infinite ocean of Universal Consciousness, the more it gets embellished with the spiritual pearls. This mystical transcendental experience is inexplicable, as it beyond all words, known languages and varied expressions. This is hurdle faced by greatest of the great poets. At this point, the power of poet’s imagery becomes powerless. For, this state can neither be defined nor confined and hence is inexpressible in terms of words and expressions. The best way to know it is through Self-Realization. Such a state is described by Poet Wordsworth in his poem ‘Daffodils’ as â€Å"the bliss of solitude.† Confessio Amantis (The Lover’s Confession) is a Middle-English poem by John Gower. It uses the confession made by an old lover to the Chaplin of Venus. The 33,000 lines poem is one of the great works of late 14th century English literature. The poet was an eminent writer, and belonged to a wealthy family. The contents of the poem again relate to vices and virtues, the sinner and the sinned, the different grades in the society, how the sinner can return to God, how he can obtain pardon by Jesus Christ, and his mother, the glorious Virgin. Probably it was written about 1376-1379.Confessio Amantis is addressed to King Henry IV. The subject dealt with has been called â€Å"In Praise of Peace.† In the conversation between the confessor and the penitent, seven deadly sins are discussed, by tales borrowed from other notable works, including the Bible. The transition from earthly love to higher plane of love is also elucidated. John Gower is no ordinary writer and â€Å"Confession Amantis, is by no means slender, and in some respects will stand comparison with Chaucers admittedly great gifts as a narrator.†(Catholic Encyclopedia) Conclusion The medieval poems have a charm of their own. That was the time the humanity was not affected by materialism, industrial and internet revolution. Rule of the heart prevailed, over the rule of the reason. The Kings and Queens dominated the political scene. Romanticism was part of the life of men in the high society. God and spirituality influenced every segment of the society and every aspect of human life. Human being feared the divine powers and prayed for peace and welfare.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚            References Cited: Andrew, Malcolm, Waldron, Ronand; Book: Poems Of The Pearl Manuscript: Pearl, Cleanness, Patience Gawain and the Green Knight (UEP Exeter Medieval Texts and Studies) Paperback: 380 pages Publisher: University of Exeter Press; 3 edition (January 1, 2002) Language: English ISBN-10: 0859897265 ISBN-13: 978-0859897266 Reichardt, Paul F. Sir Israel Gollancz and the editorial history of the Pearl findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3708/is_199504/ai_n8729842/pg_11 33k Cached Similar pages, Retrieved on May 2, 2008 Reading and Believing: Covenant in the Poems of the Pearl Manuscript Gower’s words.. www.marginalia.co.uk/journal/06cambridge/bates.php 37k Cached Similar pages,Retrieved on My 2,2008. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: John Gower The Confession Amantis was translated into Portuguese by Robert Payn.. www.newadvent.org/cathen/06685a.htm 30k Cached Similar pages   Retrieved on May 2, 2008