The Wife of Bath's Marginal Authority

Author / Editor
Tinkle, Theresa.

Title
The Wife of Bath's Marginal Authority

Published
Studies in the Age of Chaucer 32 (2010): 67-101.

Description
Surveys and assesses the manuscript glosses and notes to WBP, arguing that scribal commentary affirms the Wife's orthodoxy as an exegete. The glosses and notes in Oxford, New College 314 (Ne), and related manuscripts grant authority to her uses of scripture and "other learned discourses." The glosses in British Library Egerton 2864 (En3) reflect, perhaps, anxiety about female authority, but both sets of comments "grant her an authoritative grounding in canonical scripture and call attention to her lessons on marital sexuality."

Chaucer Subjects
Wife of Bath and Her Tale
Manuscripts and Textual Studies