Ebook: Secrets of divine wisdom : the use of the figura and exemplum in medieval epistemology

The use of exemplary story-telling and figural interpretation characterizes a large portion of medieval literature and can provide a great deal of insight for those interested in understanding medieval conceptions of myth-making and its relationship to an individual's experience of reality. This dissertation will be on examines these two devices as they illuminate the common theme of wisdom and epistemology in the writings of Boethius, King Alfred, Geoffrey Chaucer, St. Bonaventure, and Wolfram von Eschenbach. In some instances, these authors rely principally upon the device of exemplary storytelling. Besides examining specific uses of the devices, this study outlines the individual traditions of both exempla and figurae as they have existed in the West, tracing their cultural and literary roots from biblical sources to the writings of early church fathers such as Tertullian and Augustine. In the context of these earlier traditions, it is possible to interpret the medieval use of exempla and figurae as reflecting a prevalent construct of wisdom that urged one net only to see oneself as a meaningful participant in the constantly unfolding eschatology of God, but also to establish a precedent upon which to model oneself in fulfilling that participation.