'Clericus Adam' and Chaucer's 'Adam Scriveyn'

Author / Editor
Kaske, R. E.

Title
'Clericus Adam' and Chaucer's 'Adam Scriveyn'

Published
Edward Vasta and Zacharias P. Thundy, ed. Chaucerian Problems and Perspectives: Essays Presented to Paul E. Beichner, C. S. C. (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1979), pp. 114-18.

Description
"Clericus Adam," a short anti-feminist poem from the twelfth century, makes one wonder whether Chaucer may not be playfully saying, "Look here, 'Clericus Adam', you little bungler, don't you disfigure my handiwork the way your namesake disfigured that of God." The comic allusion would seem to rest ultimately on the parallel between the artist as creator and God as Creator, an idea approximated by various medieval writers.

Alternative Title
Chaucerian Problems and Perspectives: Essays Presented to Paul E. Beichner, C. S. C.

Chaucer Subjects
Adam Scriveyn.