Browse Items (16472 total)

Studies the "flight episode," Troilus's laughter, and the location of the eighth sphere in TC "against the background of the apotheosis tradition [Lucan, Cicero, Dante, Boccaccio, and various commentaries] and the conventions of classical…

Argues that the old man of PardT is neither a Messenger of Death nor Old Age personified, but a figure of the exemplary wisdom and virtue of the aged, set in contrast the youthful rioters and their foolish avarice. Compares Chaucer's "aged stranger"…

Observes that as the patron saint of prisoners St. Leonard was associated iconographically with chains and fetters, and contends that this deepens the irony and ambiguity of the motto on the brooch of the Prioress in GP 1.162, where "vincit" carries…

Suggests that the Miller's tuft of hairs in GP 1.555 may associate him with a folklore tradition about honesty and might be read "he was honest, as millers go."

Assesses parallels between the "greyn" of PrT 7.662 and the three grains of legend that Seth laid upon the tongue of Adam when the latter was buried; suggests that the ambiguities of Chaucer's presentation indicate his artistic purpose.

Explores the mythological tradition which "linked Jupiter with the sands of Libya" as well as "Venus' association with the wilderness of Libya," helping to clarify Chaucer's reference to the "desert of Libye" in HF and his use of Virgil's "Aeneid" as…

Suggests that the number of participants in Chaucer's CT pilgrimage--"Wel nyne and twenty" (GP 1.24) plus the narrator--can be seen to signify the "active life," consisting "essentially of penitence and good works." Offers evidence that thirty…

Considers the eagle of HF "in the light of medieval expositions of the soaring eagle as an image of the flight of thought," focusing on the bird as an "intellectual symbol" and its flight as an "act of contemplation" as seen in Gregory's "Moralia in…

Offers evidence that "goddes boteler" was a "conventional epithet for Ganymede" and that the "most probable source" for Chaucer's of the phrase in HF and for his use of "stellifye" in the same context is Petrus Berchorius's moralization of Ovid.

Suggests that the miller's name in RvT, Simkin, puns on Latin "simus," meaning "snub-nosed," offering classical examples of similar wordplay and identifying characters with similar names in classical comedy.

Identifies a series of analogues to the book-burning episode in WBP 3.816 in eastern versions of the "Seven Sages" (or "Books of Sindibad"), identifying similarities and differences between them and Chaucer's account, and suggesting that oral…

Exemplifies how several features of the characterization of Chaunticleer in NPT are "firmly grounded in medieval natural history," particularly his "uxoriousness, regal pride, and choleric temperament," as well as his connections with preaching, all…

Observes that NPT differs from most of its cock-and-fox analogues "in its explicit, reiterated warning against flattery," a traditional feature of, instead, "fox-and-crow" tales. Also, the explicitness of the moral in NPT is a "convention…

Explores resonances between the characterization of Chaucer's Prioress in GP and the life and legend of St. Eligius, clarifying how the Prioress's swearing by "Seint Loy" (i.e., Eligius; GP 1.120) is both appropriate and highly ironic.

Argues that the "citole" held in Venus's right hand in KnT 1.1959 evinces the influence of "the 'Ovidius moralizatus' of Petrus Berchorius (Pierre Bersuire)," and explores the possibilities of other influences on the depictions of Venus in KnT and in…

Suggests that the "gate-metaphor" of PardT 6.729 derives from a Spanish proverb fused with Maximianus's "Elegy" I.

Offers evidence that Troilus is "extremely young" in TC, comparing details from Boccaccio's "Filostrato" and other analogues.

Offers support for the notion that the whelp episode in BD (387-96)--likely derived from Machaut's "Dit dou Lyon"--serves as a "symbol of fidelity," adducing instances of Renaissance "canine symbolism" and the appearance of dogs "on medieval tombs."…

Clarifies the implications of the Prioress keeping dogs as pets and feeding them meat (GP 1.146ff.), explaining that such behavior bends or breaks at least four "Benedictine strictures"--ones that restrict pet owning (especially dogs) and eating…

Identifies an instance of the phrase "Mulier est hominis confusio" (cf. NPT7.3164) in Simphorien Champier's "La Nef des Princes."

Suggests that the "fatal treasure" of PardT gains ironic dimension when seen in light of the theory of the "treasury of merits," used to explain or justify the sale of indulgences.

Explores Custance, Virginia, and Emelye as women who recognize they are characters in someone else's narratives. Also suggests that Chaucer was similarly constrained by his sources, leaving him too without freedom to be his own self.

Form Age shares thematic elements with Alexander legends, including vegetarianism and prohibitions against agriculture. In these poems humans live as, and eat as, animals do, a contrast to the mastery described in Genesis. The life described in these…

Introduces the field of "critical animal studies" and assesses the degree to which characters and animals in FrT can be considered to have agency. Designed for pedagogical use, includes several questions for discussion and suggestions for further…

Reviews medieval disapproval of pet-keeping among religious personnel as evidence that companionship with animals has a long history and that medieval "pet-love" can "help us to unthink the human." Comments on pet-slayings in versions of the…