'If heaven be on this earth, it is in a cloister or in school': The Monastic Ideal in Later Medieval English Literature

Author / Editor
Pearsall, Derek

Title
'If heaven be on this earth, it is in a cloister or in school': The Monastic Ideal in Later Medieval English Literature

Published
Rosemary Horrox and Sarah Rees Jones, eds. Pragmatic Utopias: Ideals and Communities, 1200-1630 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press), 2001, pp. 11-25.

Description
Late-medieval changes in monastic life affected the presentation of monks in secular English literature, including works by Langland, Chaucer, and Lydgate. Chaucer's presentation of monks in GP, MkT, and ShT reflects the "new monk," who uses practical abilities for spiritual good.

Contributor
Horrox, Rosemary, ed.
Jones, Sarah Rees, ed.

Alternative Title
Pragmatic Utopias: Ideals and Communities, 1200-1630.

Chaucer Subjects
Monk and His Tale.
Shipman and His Tale.