Browse Items (16381 total)

Describes how "the part Pandarus attempts to play" in TC "is intended by Chaucer, though not by Pandarus, as a parody of the philosophical counsel offered to Boethius" in the Consolation of Philosophy. Focuses on the comedy of the "first scene"…

Provides historical background to the characterization of the Squire in GP 1.85-88, focusing on the economics, politics, and tactics of the so-called "Crusade of 1383" (or "Despenser's Crusade"), the implications of the word "chivachie," and ways…

By deliberate excision lines 1188-1203 of LGW can be reduced from decasyllables to octosyllables, illustrating the different effects of the lines, especially the longer "breath" of the decasyllable.

Examines an "uncanny chain of othering" whereby the GP description of the Prioress, the PrP, and PrT associate the Prioress with Jews through imagery of sensuality and filth. Also explores how this association reflects the "fears and fantasies" of…

Investigates Anne of Bohemia as a figure of queenship--socially, politically, and economically-- along the way questioning arguments for claims that she was Chaucer's patron (often grounded in LGWP), treating them as probabilities rather than facts.…

Thirteen essays, an introduction by the editors, and an afterword by Ren Navarro "describe alcohol consumption in the Middle Ages across much of Northern Europe, engage with the various myths employed in modern craft beer advertising and beer…

Gedalof and Moore discuss the Wife of Bath and WBPT in their social and literary contexts, especially as they reflect issues of male-female relations. Illustrations from historical manuscripts and paintings, and from contemporary visual…

Proposes that the private motivations of Chaucer's Troilus help us to understand why critics have "tended to exclude" TC from the romance genre.

Argues that Chaucer used French versions to facilitate his translation from Latin and that he sought to produce literal translations, although his prose translations are more literal than his poetic ones. Considers, Bo, Mel, Rom, Venus, and ABC,…

Argues that Holcot and Chaucer "depict a world in which farce and deception are possible." Discusses how Chaucer's ironic humor and "Chaucerian misdirection" fuel the ambiguity in ClT and NPT.

Arguing that the sequence of tales in Dryden's "Fables" is significant and meaningful, Gelineau examines a sequence of tales in which Dryden "uses the Chaucerian tales, with their Catholic love of order, to frame his critique of military brutality…

Discusses the Virtues and Vices miniatures that accompany ParsT in Cambridge University Library, MS Gg.4.27, as they relate to Chaucer's text, in the "context ofmtheir wider medieval iconographic tradition" and the "imagery of affective meditation."…

Examines the Ellesmere illustration of the Prioress and early woodcut representations (Caxton, de Worde, and Pynson) of her and of the gathering of the pilgrims, arguing that the Prioress is represented as a courtly lady in Caxton's group portrait…

Analyzes woodcut of pilgrims seated at table in Caxton's second edition of CT. Argues that "early editors' interpretations of given literary works are thus reflected in their editorial choices."

Using insights of Levi-Strauss, Foucault, Barthes, and Derrida, and treating the history of textuality from Augustine to Chaucer, Gellrich examines the relationship of literature to other medieval cultural forms that are often expressed in the…

Examines the ways oral tradition continues to influence writing in late-medieval literature, considering works of Ockham and Wyclif, chronicles of the reigns of Edward III and Richard II, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," and KnT.

Modern notions of the "key role of materiality in allegory," as theorized by Walter Benjamin and echoed by Paul de Man, have clear precedents in patristic and medieval commentaries on allegory and supposition, although the sense of "material" is more…

Describes the "pervasive tone" of MilT as "comic irony" and explores how musical imagery contributes to this tone, especially through incongruous juxtapositions of profundity and profanity. Includes discussion of Nicholas's Annunciation song…

Argues that the "Kynges Noote" (MilT 1.3217) refers to "Gabriel from hevene came," a Middle English poem accompanied by a Latin version in one manuscript.

Identifies a "consistent pattern" in Chaucer's works of comparing "the songs and melodies of lovers to sacred and philosophical medieval musics," religious and astronomical. Examines concord and discord in musical references in KnT, PF, ManT, TC,…

Reexamines antimendicancy in Jean de Meun's "Roman de la Rose" and in CT, suggesting that Jean's portraits of friars should be seen primarily as portraits of hypocrisy and that Chaucer's portrayals of friars (especially in SumT) are mediated by the…

Views Chaucer as a "social satirist and master of ambiguity" for his portrayal of the Friar within the anti-fraternal literary tradition.

Women furnish the "crucial means" for authors to adapt the Theban tradition to their own poetic vision.

Translates a portion of Astr (through Part 2.7) into Modern English with accompanying illustrations "re-drawn" from the manuscripts. The Introduction summarizes the nature, variety, and uses of astrolabes, describes Chaucer's text, and commends it as…

Mentions how the Susannah story was used in MLT.