Minnis, A. J.
A. J. Minnis, ed. The Medieval Boethius (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1987), pp. 106-24.
Translation and glossing were two aspects of the single activity of revealing meaning ("expositio sententiae"), a concern of Chaucer in SNT and TC. In Bo, Chaucer consulted Jean de Meun's and Trevet's translations, but these cannot explain certain…
Welch, Bronwen.
Kathleen A. Bishop, ed. "The Canterbury Tales" Revisited--21st Century Interpretations (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2008), pp. 127-50.
Explores anti-Semitism and modern response to PrT in light of recurring concern with humans (the Prioress, Mary, the clergeon, and the Jews) possessed or penetrated by superior beings. Readers are overwhelmed by the desire for "piercing sweetness,"…
Behrens investigates the problems of authorship surrounding the dedicatory poem "Go litel boke, go litel tregedie" addressed to the four wardens of the mercer guild: John Olney, Geoffrey Feldyng, Geoffrey Boleyn, and John Burton. Alluding to TC, the…
The language and imagery of demonic temptation versus human free will connect FrT and SumT and gain dimension by comparison with ClT. Thomas of SumT is called "demonyak," but his scatological riposte to the friar is justified anger.
Chaucer's work contains an "astonishing range of interest in every aspect of the Christian religion," including mystical contemplation. Examples of Chaucer's knowledge of this type of religion are found in HF, MilT, and SumT.
Hanks, D. Thomas (Jr.)
Christianity & Literature 33 (1984): 7-12.
The pun on "pryvetee," meaning in ME "private affairs" and "private parts," mocks the orderly piety of KnT and becomes part of a series of sacred-profane juxtapositions which heighten the bawdiness and comic effect of MilT.
Minnis surveys depictions of ambiguous pagan oracles in medieval literature, including Calchas's foreknowledge in TC and the temple scenes in KnT, arguing that Chaucer and other medieval poets held that pagans as well as Christians had the ability…
Examines the righteous-woman-on-trial-motif in "The Earl of Tolous" and its relation to Susanna (Daniel 13) and to medieval romances involving the same motif. By exploiting narrative structure, shifting perspectives and the differing perceptions of…
This volume focuses on historical, mythical, and literary heritage of Breton lay narratives. For ten essays that pertain to Chaucer, search for 'Gode is the lay, swete is the note' under Alternative Title.
Jansohn, Christa.
Wilhelm Rees, Sabine Demel, and Ludger Müller, eds. Im Dienst von Kirche und Wissenschaft: Festschrift für Alfred E. Hierold zur Vollendung des 65. Lebensjahres (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2007), pp. 75-96.
Compares and contrasts descriptions of feasts by the "Gawain"-poet and Chaucer (WBT, KnT, SqT, the GP description of the Prioress, and ParsT), with comments on the "Second Shepherds' Play," and Robert Henryson.
Kane, George.
John V. Fleming and Thomas J. Heffernan, eds. Studies in the Age of Chaucer, Proceedings, No. 2, 1986. (Knoxville, Tenn.: New Chaucer Society, 1987): pp. 137-45.
Discusses problems in various medieval manuscripts and criteria for editorial judgments, applying them to the CUL Gg.4.21 text of LGW and to the Hengwrt and Ellesmere CT. The conditions for "analysis of describable physical data" are favorable for…
Scattergood, John.
Clíodhna Carney and Frances McCormack, eds. Chaucer's Poetry: Words, Authority and Ethics (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2013), pp. 15-36.
Explores the use of the phrase "good fellow" as it is used in Martin Scorsese's film, "Goodfellas," Clanvowe's Lollard treatise, "The Two Ways," and FrT.
Olsen, Vicki.
[Jay Ruud, ed.] Papers on the "Canterbury Tales": From the 1989 NEH Chaucer Institute, Northern State University, Aberdeen, South Dakota ([Aberdeen, S.D.: Northern State University, 1989), pp. 36-62.
Aligns the five fingers of lechery (ParsT 10. 852-64) with the conventions of courtly love and those of mystical love, using them to assess several lovers of CT (Palamon and Arcite of KnT, Nicholas and Absalon of MilT, and Aurelius of FranT).
Rex, Richard.
Richard Rex. "The Sins of Madame Eglentyne" and Other Essays on Chaucer (Newark, N.J.: University of Delaware Press; London: Associated Presses, 1995), pp. 54-60.
When applied to eyes in Middle English literature, the adjective "grey" is best seen as synonymous with "bright" and "clear."
Suggests that the placing of the "greyn" on the tongue of the clergeon in PrT (7.622) is a reflex of the ubiquitous folk motif of the soul-as-bird being held, lured, or released from the body.
Saito, Isamu.
Takashi Suzuki and Tsuyoshi Mukai, eds. Arthurian and Other Studies Presented to Sunichi Noguchi. (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1993), pp. 31-38.
Compares the grain beneath the clergeon's tongue in PrT to parallel objects in analogous tales, arguing that the grain signifies martyrdom and that PrT combines aspects of tales of the Virgin with the theology of martyrdom.
King, Andrew.
Review of English Studies 52: 22-58, 2001.
Spenser calls attention to his sources and models in "The Faerie Queene." SqT, "Orlando Furioso," and English medieval romances are specific sources, while narrative collections such as CT, anthologies of romances, or perhaps Malory's "Morte Darthur"…
There is a distinct difference between Dorigen's sensibilities and those of the men who speak for and about her. Considered from her perspective, the "generous" male acts are less generous, serving only to exaggerate her emotional suffering.
Includes discussion (pp. 206-27) of the ways in which WBPT are antithetical in tone and detail to various treatises that treat virginity as a standard of perfection: "Hali Meidenhad," Innocent III's "De Miseria Humane Conditionis," and Jerome's…
Dachslager, Earl L.
Lamar Journal of the Humanities 11 (1985): 43-50.
The anti-Semitism of PrT is deepened by Chaucer's emphasis on "youth, innocence, and spirituality of the victim." Malamud's "The Fixer"--based on the 1913 trial of a Russian Jew, Mendel Beiliss, for the murder of a Christian boy--humanizes and…
Pakkala-Weckström, Mari.
Helena Raumolin-Brunberg, Minna Nevala, Arja Nurmi, and Matti Rissanen, eds. Variation Past and Present: VARIENG Studies on English for Terttu Nevalainen. Mémoires de la Société Néophilologique de Helsinki, no. 61 (Helsinki: Société Néophilologique, 2002), pp. 287-300.
In light of speech-act theory and the conventions of courtly literature, Dorigen's playful promise to Aurelius in FranT is not binding. Aurelius's own interpretation of the promise is willfully self-interested.
Thomas, Paul R.
Peter G. Beidler, ed. Masculinities in Chaucer: Approaches to Maleness in the Canterbury Tales and Troilus and Criseyde (Cambridge; and Rochester, N.Y.: D. S. Brewer, 1998), pp. 187-202.
Differences between NPT and Roman de Renart indicate how Chaucer's 'Tale' depicts a mock-heroic masculinity through its scenes with the cock and the hen and the cock and the fox, as well as in the chase scene.
Surveys feminist criticism of Chaucer from 1977 forward, focusing on representative works rather than aiming to be exhaustive. Briefly contrasts Emelye of KnT with Alisoun of MilT.
