Literature and Complaint in England: 1272-1553

Author / Editor
Scase, Wendy.

Title
Literature and Complaint in England: 1272-1553

Published
New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Physical Description
xii, 215 pp. 18 b&w illus.

Description
Studies the "impact of judicial complaint on the formation of literary practice" in late medieval England, describing the "emergence and development" of the "literature of clamour" and exploring the influence of this literature on the rise of English vernacular writing. Especially in its development within the "ars dictaminis" tradition, complaint literature created a "force-field" that helped shape works by Langland, Gower, Chaucer, Usk, Hoccleve, and others. Considers among Chaucer's works Anel, Buk, For, Sted, Mars, Pity, Purse, Scogan, and Venus.

Chaucer Subjects
Anelida and Arcite.
Envoy to Bukton.
Fortune
Lak of Stedfastnesse.
Complaint of Mars.
Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse.
Envoy to Scogan.
Complaint of Venus.