Browse Items (16470 total)

Wicher tallies a number of folktale motifs in FranT and argues that they are rationalized or obscured in ways that qualify the exemplary value of the Tale. Central is the motif of the "rash promise given to a supernatural suitor," with Arveragus,…

Witalisz explores ambivalent attitudes toward war in Middle English romances, particularly those concerned with Troy or King Arthur. Chaucer's attitude is "only implicit," and the anti-war stance attributed to him is based on "his deliberate silence…

Following a four-part epistemological scheme posed in Boethius's Consolatio, Chaucer develops Troilus's love in TC from senses through images and reason to intelligence. As a figure of emotion, subject to tragedy, Troilus serves as a contrast to…

Discusses how sheela-na-gig carvings share appearance and function with loathly lady figures in Middle English literature, including the one found in WBT.

Analyzes abstract noun formation (adding suffixes) in Robert Henryson's "Fables" and offers some brief comparisons with data from works by Chaucer.

Questions the precision of transcribing manuscripts in electronic editing as undertaken for The "Canterbury Tales" Project and the Middle English Grammar Project. Uses examples from MLT to demonstrate that even graphetic transcription does not…

The five-book structure of TC is informed both by Dante's "Divine Comedy" and by Boethius's "Consolatio," a combination that adds to the text's ambiguity. Chaucer extends Dante's three-step journey from Inferno to Heaven by adding Troilus's downward…

Chaucer's four dream poems, especially PF and LGWP (both the F and G versions) are sources of Dunbar's "Golden Targe," although Dunbar's imagery owes much to CT, Anel, and Rom. Dunbar seeks innovation within tradition, and the praise he bestows on…

Comments on Henryson's biography, relations with medieval tradition, and stylistic range. Though he admired Chaucer, Henryson criticizes TC in the "Testament of Cresseid" because at the end of Chaucer's poem nothing more is known about Criseyde.

Consciousness of the importance of the Scottish literary tradition characterizes Douglas's work. Although "The Palice of Honour" is grounded in Chaucer's HF, Douglas makes it clear that his aim is different, and the latter compares Fame to Honour…

Linguistic analysis of the two copies of CT made by the copyist known as "Scribe D" (Oxford, Corpus Christi College, MS 198, and British Library MS Harley 7334). Thaisen focuses on orthography, especially the distribution of common lemmata, and…

Kato assesses the accuracy of the text of CT that appears in Cambridge University Library MS Gg.4.27. Quantifies and categorizes the scribe's errors, paying particular attention to the mistakes that the scribe himself corrected.

Considers whether the Hengwrt manuscript (Aberystwyth, National Library of Wales, MS Peniarth 392D) of CT was produced during Chaucer's lifetime. Mosser finds conflicting evidence of authorial involvement among corrections to the text, particularly…

Anatomizes the contents of CT manuscripts, i.e., "some 240 Middle English verse texts, 65 Middle English prose texts, 16 Latin prose texts, 10 Latin verse texts, and a single French verse text" that accompany some or all of the CT in one or more…

Describes the role of Stephan Batman (c. 1542–84) in producing Cambridge, Trinity College, MS R.3.15 (which includes CT), observes how the manuscript aligns with contemporaneous printed editions of Chaucer by Thynne and Stow, and explores how…

Considers the influence of Boethius's "Consolatione," with its medieval glosses, on Old French and Middle English literature, especially Jean de Meun's "Roman de la Rose" and Chaucer's MkT (Croesus, Nero), Bo, KnT, and TC.

Suggests that Jane Austen may have known WBPT and argues that there are similarities between Chaucer's Wife and Anne Elliot in Austen's "Persuasion," in that both characters "note that male authoritarian writing delimits women's social standing," and…

Examines "epistolary discourse" in ClP, PrP, NPP, SqT, and PardP in terms of style, using Isidore of Seville's recommendations about decorum.

Discusses oral satiric performance in PardPT, focusing on medieval flytings, sermons, and "additive" oral structure.

Focuses on the presentation of polygamy, virginity, and sexuality in WBT, using St. Paul's teachings as a background.

Discusses the women in CT as emotional and intellectual reflections of male characters.

Argues that Chaucer visited Catalonia sometime between 1365 and 1366. Exposure to the country's folklore results in Chaucer's description of folk "alle on an hepe" in HF (2149). Serrano Reyes provided contemporary pictures of this type of "human…

Explores Chaucer's use of parody and manipulation of narrative tradition to develop realistic characters or "subjectivities" in CT.

Examines Henryson's treatment of Chaucer's story of Criseyde, focusing on Henryson's innovation and concern with artistic creativity, evident in his punishment of Cresseid with leprosy.

Investigates varying presentations of marriage in the Marriage Group of CT, concluding that the "true idea of marriage is the result of combining the features that different characters exhibit."