The History of Literature 727 Earthly Paradise in Old French Verse (with Jacob Abell) | My Last Book with Victorian Literature Expert Allen MacDuffie | A Dueling Neapolitan Passionate for Poetry
Aug 21, 2025
Jacob Abell, an Assistant Professor of French at Baylor University, dives into the concept of the Earthly Paradise in medieval literature. He unpacks how narratives like Marie de France’s and Guillaume de Lorris’s reveal the spiritual and material boundaries of paradise. The discussion highlights the shift from Latin to vernacular literature and its implications on society. Victorian literature expert Allen MacDuffie also shares insights on his pick for the last book he would ever read, blending literary nostalgia with contemporary reflections.
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The Duelist Who Never Read
- Jacke recounts a printed anecdote about a Neapolitan nobleman who fought 14 duels over poets he never read.
- He uses it to celebrate passionate reading while warning against performative fanaticism.
A Philological Hunch Became A Big Question
- Jacob Abell discovered recurring gem-studded walls in medieval quest poems and traced them to Revelation's heavenly Jerusalem.
- That philological curiosity became a book linking sacred imagery to social and economic ideas.
The Earthly Paradise Is A Cultural Mashup
- The earthly paradise in medieval verse fuses Genesis' Eden, classical garden tropes, and Revelation's heavenly Jerusalem.
- That mashup yields a walled, gemmed space that can be read as spiritual, physical, or both.
