Amplification as Gloss in Two Twelfth-century Texts: Robert De Boron’s Joseph D'Arimathie and Renaut De Beaujeu’s Li Biaus Descouneeus

Where does a literary text originate and how is it formed? This book focuses on the author as the motivating agent of the text. It is conducted with reference to two texts from the end of the twelfth century: Robert de Boron’s Joseph D'Arimathie and Renaut de Beaujeu’s Li Biaus Descouneues, in which the material selected by the author operates as the vehicle for the central ideas. The structure and amplification of the material bring the author’s intention to the fore, clarifying and enhancing the initial conception of the work. Far from being a contrived and artificial framework, fiction is defined as a craft which organizes and glosses material, creating unity through authorial perspective.