World Literature, Circulation, and the Middle Ages

Abstract

"Whereas comparative literature found an institutional place per contra premodern literatures and national philologies, medievalism kept national philologies well supplied with ancient texts that supported distinctive national identities. And for reading these texts, comparison was not considered a method per se - medievalists are supposed to be able to read original texts in several languages and therefore compare them-in contrast to the scientific methodology of auxiliary disciplines such as paleography, codicology, textual criticism, and so forth."