Despite the textual authority of the half line (GP A 164) "and preestes thre," arguments from an analysis of Chaucer's practice in the portrayal of other pilgrims suggest that the words should be suppressed in a modern edition. There were probably…
Brosnahan, Leger.
Larry D. Benson, ed. The Learned and the Lewed: Studies in Chaucer and Medieval Literature. Harvard English Studies, no. 5 (Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1974), pp. 11-18.
Explains the imagery of BD 646 as a literary application of a commonplace proverb; the line is drawn from Machaut and implies the instability of Fortune.
Brosnahan, Leger.
Studies in Philology 58 (1961): 468-82.
Reviews and evaluates discussions of the authenticity of "the six-line continuation and the final couplet of the Nun's Priest's epilogue," agreeing on textual grounds with the "traditional judgment of scholars" that the lines are "inauthentic" and…
Broughton, Bradford B.
Bradford B. Broughton, ed. Twenty-Seven to One: A Potpourri of Humanistic Material Presented to Dr. Donald Gale Stillman on the Occasion of His Retirement from Clarkson College of Technology ([Potsdam, N. Y.], 1970), pp. 71-84.
Assesses various historical documents that pertain to the marital life and legacy of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster, arguing that the evidence indicates John was dedicated to Blanche, even after her death.
Broughton, Laurel
Helen Phillips, ed. Chaucer and Religion (Cambridge: Brewer, 2010), pp. 111-31.
Studies Chaucer's tales that revolve around miracles and saints. Maintains that SNT, PrT, and MLT reveal "Chaucer's artistry in deploying his understanding of medieval English piety."
Broughton, Laurel.
Jean E. Godsall-Myers, ed. Speaking in the Medieval World (Boston: Brill, 2003), 43-63.
By adjusting his source, Chaucer allows the Knight to construct a Theseus who appears noble and positively inclined toward women. Chaucer also reminds us, however, that Theseus is not always the champion of women and the exemplar of chivalry. A…
Argues that, rooted in "animality" that is "carefully performed and constructed," the humor of MilT "functions to erect a conception of humanity over and against the ostracized and inferior semi-human." The Miller performs his animality, and,…
Explores how tree climbers have been represented in European and North American literature and art, including discussion of MerT in a section on "questionable gendered attitudes about women climbing trees," traced back to the biblical Garden of Eden.…
A classroom anthology of sixteen examples of the literary mode of romance, including FranT in Nevill Coghill's modern poetic translation. The volume describes the mode of romance, offers brief biographies of the writers included, and lists discussion…
A classroom anthology of twelve examples of the literary mode of comedy, including MerT in Nevill Coghill's modern poetic translation. The volume describes the mode of comedy, offers brief biographies of the writers included, and lists discussion…
Brown, Calvin S.
Boston University Studies in English 3 (1957): 228-30.
On contextual and linguistic grounds, rejects Marion Montgomery's suggestion (1957) that "for the nones" in LGW-P (F 292-96 and G 194-98) is a "reference to the canonical hour of Nones, with its attendant services."
FranT contains a system of alternating parallel events--troth-plighting, complaint, and compassionate help--repeated in threes, reinforcing the theme of "gentilesse." The "trouthe" and "complaint" episodes show a "progressive decline," but the…
Brown, Carole Koepke.
Dissertation Abstracts International 47 (1987): 3030A.
That theme relates to numerical structures is apparent not only in "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" but also in FranT,where each of the three parts reveals a pattern of A ("a major trouthe"), B (complaint), and C (helpful human intervention). Thus,…
Episodes in the first part of WBT parallel events in the second. This "step parallelism structure" reveals a "pattern of attenuation" that emphasizes the development of the knight, who becomes less impulsive and more reflective through the course of…
Brown, Dorothy H.
New Laurel Review 12 (1982): 6-16.
The Yeoman is an unreliable narrator who seems to confess only his own sins, holds contempt for the Canon; in his pride he is a "caricature of repentance."
Brown, Elaine.
Kathleen A. Bishop, ed. "The Canterbury Tales" Revisited--21st Century Interpretations (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2008), pp. 75-87.
ShT reflects Chaucer's belief that "the dominance of a husband over his wife is too strict" in traditional marriages. Private games threaten to open out into public scandal.
Asks why Chaucer uses a "Latin masculine name of the month to refer to his very feminine heroine" in MerT, answering that it contributes to the theme of healing in the Tale, much as does Damyan's association with St. Damian, patron saint of healing.
Brown, Emerson Jr.
Chaucer Review 4.1 (1969): 31-40.
Explores the sources of Chaucer's allusions to Priapus and to Pyramus and Thisbe in MerT (4.2034-37 and 4.2125-31) and argues that the allusions deepen the bitter cynicism of the Tale by suggesting sexual fruitlessness and frustration in the pear…
Brown, Emerson Lee, Jr.
Dissertation Abstracts International 28.10 (1968): 4118A.
Investigates the "plurality of meaning" in a number of Biblical and classical allusions in MerT, comments on sources, and discusses the setting of the Tale and the names of its characters, arguing that the cultural context of the Tale is a major…
Brown, Emerson, Jr.
Chaucer Newsletter 13:1 (1991): 5.
The name "Damyan" in MerT alludes to St. Damian, whose healing talents support a pun on "lechour." Explores Chaucer's sources of knowledge of the saint.
Brown, Emerson, Jr.
Chaucer Review 13 (1978): 141-56.
MerT is not just a merry fabliau, uncomplicated by a fictional narrator. Through evidence included in the prologue, most of the first hundred and fifty lines, and various other passages in the work, we see that Chaucer may have consciously tried to…
Brown, Emerson, Jr.
Mediaevalia 15 (1993, for 1989): 183-205.
Chaucer initially uses "worthy" for the Knight in GP with clear denotative meaning, but by the word's final appearance its meaning becomes ambiguous. The Knight is not being criticized; rather, the semantic degeneration of "worthy" indicates a…
Brown, Emerson, Jr.
Alan T. Gaylord, ed. Essays on the Art of Chaucer's Verse (New York and London: Routledge, 2001), pp. 267-79.
Brown discourages emendation ("dreary refinements") of Chaucer's meter, arguing that "broken-backed" or "Lydgatian" lines recorded in good manuscripts are likely to be Chaucer's own. Metrical variation within Chaucer's dominant patterns can have…
