Douglas Kelly, born in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1934. Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Professor of French and Medieval Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Fellow (1 September 1997 – 30 June 1998)
I completed a manuscript tentatively entitled Conspiracy of Authors which I am now proofing prior to submission for publication. The book applies principles of composition widespread in the Middle Ages to the interpretation of narratives in Latin and French written during the crucial period when Latin rhetoric and poetics were being adapted to the writing of French romance. The title derives from an expression in Macrobius’s Saturnalia, a work which influenced Chrétien de Troyes and other Latin and French writers and which had an important place in medieval rhetoric and poetics. It suggests the ways by which the rhetorical and poetic background, the statements by authors themselves, and the milieu for which works were written can assist us in interpreting them in new ways that point to sometimes fresh or unexpected conclusions.
In addition I was able to continue preparing the bibliography of Chrétien de Troyes which will supplement my earlier published bibliography so as to cover the years 1975-2000. I also wrote a number of articles, one book review, and several lectures which were given or are still to be given.