Langland, Kempe, and Chaucer, and the 'Makynges' of Authority

Author / Editor
Plumer, Danielle Cunniff.

Title
Langland, Kempe, and Chaucer, and the 'Makynges' of Authority

Published
Dissertation Abstracts International 59 (1999): 2490A.

Description
Fourteenth-century English dialogue between Wycliffite heresy and religious orthodoxy brought a redefinition of authorship and authority.
Langland and Chaucer developed their own "authorial identities, or bibliographic egos," and sometimes altered their works to avoid being claimed by heretical groups.
Kempe, writing later, absents herself as author. All represent their works as divinely inspired.

Chaucer Subjects
Background and General Criticism.
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations.