Chaucer's Parson and the Specter of Wycliffism

Author / Editor
Little, Katherine.

Title
Chaucer's Parson and the Specter of Wycliffism

Published
Studies in the Age of Chaucer 23: 225-53, 2001.

Description
ParsPT and the GP description of the Parson reflect "concerns over the limits of late-medieval pastoral language." While the GP Parson suggests Wycliffite emphasis on Scripture, one finds a more orthodox view in ParsPT, with its focus on self-reformation through penance. The "disunity" of ParsT--an innovative vernacular articulation of contrition combined with a traditional catalog of sins--shows Chaucer exploring issues of language and lay instruction prompted by Wycliffite discourse.

Chaucer Subjects
Parson and His Tale.
General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
Language and Word Studies.