{"product_id":"machines-of-the-mind-katharine-breen-9780226776590","title":"Machines of the Mind: Personification in Medieval Literature","description":"\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eMachines of the Mind\u003c\/i\u003e, Katharine Breen proposes that medieval personifications should be understood neither as failed novelistic characters nor as instruments of heavy-handed didacticism. She argues that personifications are instead powerful tools for thought that help us to remember and manipulate complex ideas, testing them against existing moral and political paradigms. Specifically, different types of medieval personification should be seen as corresponding to positions in the rich and nuanced medieval debate over universals. Breen identifies three different types of personification--Platonic, Aristotelian, and Prudentian--that gave medieval writers a surprisingly varied spectrum with which to paint their characters. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Through a series of new readings of major authors and works, from Plato to \u003ci\u003ePiers Plowman\u003c\/i\u003e, Breen illuminates how medieval personifications embody the full range of positions between philosophical realism and nominalism, varying according to the convictions of individual authors and the purposes of individual works. Recalling Gregory the Great's reference to \u003ci\u003emachinae mentis\u003c\/i\u003e (machines of the mind), Breen demonstrates that medieval writers applied personification with utility and subtlety, employing methods of personification as tools that serve different functions. \u003ci\u003eMachines of the Mind\u003c\/i\u003e offers insight for medievalists working at the crossroads of religion, philosophy, and literature, as well as for scholars interested in literary character-building and gendered relationships among characters, readers, and texts beyond the Middle Ages.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Katharine Breen\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 022677659X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226776590\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/17\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.90d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2022","brand":"Katharine Breen","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43989176877311,"sku":"9780226776590","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_42e94cbb-d5d0-425d-93dd-2fc642c5e9e7.jpg?v=1683298012","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/machines-of-the-mind-katharine-breen-9780226776590","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}