Browse Items (16035 total)

Shows that "figures" (ship, castle, and related images) drawn from Augustinian theology and medieval sermons convey the "Christian concept of charity" in MLT and heighten its "religious intensity."

Observes parallels between the discussion of true gentility in WBT ("gentilesse"; 3.1109-1212) and fifteenth-century treatments of the subject in Latin (by Buonaccurso de Montemagno), French (Jean Mielot), and English (John Tiptoft), observing that…

Characterizes the Physician of GP as "inscrutable," although "smelling mildly of hypocrisy," and argues that the "narrative uneasiness" of PhyT is well suited to this "man of the world [who] seeks to mask his worldliness in affected piety." The…

Analyzes the historical background of late fourteenth-century medical practice in order to understand better Chaucer's portrait of the Physician in GP. Emphasizes how Chaucer reveals his opinions on morality, as well as the medical profession,…

Argues that it "seems altogether likely" that when creating his GP description of the Physician Chaucer "at least had in mind" the doctor of the Brunellus the ass episode in Nigellus Wireker's "Speculum Stultorum"; both doctors are avaricious.

Although earlier scholarship has recognized the importance of the Feast of the Holy Innocents in PrT, a reading of the entire mass as it occurs in the Sarum use suggests that the "greyn" is not a mere prop but a symbol with rich liturgical…

Although Chaucer and Christine de Pisan showed themselves well aware of the distorting mirror of gender constructions by men, the Renaissance produced even more misogynist views, especially in Jacobean domestic tragedy. Shakespeare, however,…

Briefly describes differences between TC and Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida," focusing on genre and style, characterization, and attitudes toward women.

Spenser imitated Chaucer's bumbling narrative stance and tone and employed Chaucerian allusions to feign a humility that dismarmed criticism and enabled him to undercut the Tudor myth. Further, he expected his reader to understand the pretense. …

Treating "impersonated artistry" and "unimpersonated artistry" in light of current theory in the human sciences, Leicester addresses the "dramatic principle" in CT, assuming the position that the "tales are radically voiced." Each is "an expression…

Max Weber's distinction between an "ethics of commitment" and an "ethics of responsibility" can help make the connection between theoretical assumptions and pedagogical practices explicit. An "ethics of commitment" leads to the idea of the teacher…

Assesses how and in what ways "disease of both body and soul" is a recurrent concern in CT, especially in fragment 6 which includes PhyT and PardT. Surmises that the fragment may have influenced Daniel Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year," and…

While depicting love and marriage in the Marriage Group, Chaucer presents the "delights of both the flesh and the soul." The group opens with Mel; WBPT, ClT, and MerT offer extreme but lively views. FranT presents an ideal secular solution, while…

Greenwood contrasts Chaucer's and Malory's uses of models and antimodels in depictions of chivalry and courtly love.

Examines "politeness strategies" (ye/thou) and emotional language in light of genre expectations and characterization. In MilT, MerT, and ShT, wives use various linguistic strategies to manipulate their husbands and others, but the linguistic…

Offers ShT as an example of how the use of fabliaux aids an understanding and exploration of marital dynamics, suggesting that the tale presents the merchant's marriage as a sort of economic contract between equals.

Intellectual backgrounds to the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, with particular attention to literature, classical, and late-classical influences; the concept of the universe and the earth; human physiology and psychology; and cultural…

In TC, Criseyde's appeals to Hector for clarification of her status in Troy suggest that Criseyde seeks a romantic response from Hector rather than the official response she receives. This disappointment acts as a catalyst for future behavior in the…

The marriage agreement in FranT and the Franklin's comment on "maistrie" are not functional parts of the tale, but digressive answers to the Wife, Clerk, and Merchant while obeying the Host's command to "telle on thy tale."

Treats various features of book 5 of TC (lack of proem, several amplifications, various sources) as "apparently gratuitous or insufficiently integrated matter," evidence that Chaucer intended to write his poem in four books but found that he needed a…

Consider "the two quite different versions of the Dido and Cleopatra stories as they appear in the works of major Latin and English poets, beginning with the commissioning of Virgil's "Aeneid" ca. 29 B.C. and carrying through to the publication of…

The apparent "magic" of SqT is explicable via medieval understanding of the rational explanation of marvels. Surveying medieval attitudes toward science and technology, DiMarco argues that the gifts of SqT are presented as scientific objects that…

Explores the relationships between power ("maistrie") and gender in CT as these relationships are reflected in conversation and the dialogue of spouses and lovers in seven Tales: MilT, WBT, ClT, MerT, FranT, ShT, and Mel. Using techniques of…

Small debates turn on method, large debates on content--goals and purposes. Chaucer's BD and the Old English "Solomon and Saturn" are comparable big debates. In BD the Dreamer is converted, not refuted, when he recognizes the "routhe" the Knight…

Surveys the history and state of scholarship on a key concept of fourteenth-century nominalism--the dialectic of divine omnipotence--and its applications to Chaucerian and other Middle English texts. Warns that a view of the "potentia absoluta" as…