"Dante and the Dynamics of Textual Exchange is the first book-length
study to explore the question of poetry and genre in Dante's Vita Nova
(ca. 1292-1294). In paying particular attention to complex and
multifaceted interactions between different cultures in Italy in the
thirteenth century, this study illuminates the multicultural and
plurilinguistic society transitioning from the feudal court to the
modern city-state, advanced by the rising mercantile class. Working at
the intersection of textual, material, and cultural elements, this study
complements the current state of scholarship by providing information
and answers informed by an in-depth analysis of the manuscript culture
and its role in the birth and development of European vernacular
traditions. Furthermore, Dante and the Dynamics of Textual Exchange
expands the literature's understanding of the dynamics between a text
and its material support by looking at this relationship within a
broader framework of intercultural
exchange, which suggests an increased dynamics and fluidity between
cultures."