Animal Agency, the Black Knight, and the Hart in 'The Book of the Duchess'

Author / Editor
Judkins, Ryan R.

Title
Animal Agency, the Black Knight, and the Hart in 'The Book of the Duchess'

Published
Carolynn Van Dyke, ed. Rethinking Chaucerian Beasts (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), pp. 159-72.

Description
Although anthropocentric, BD emphasizes the similarity of animals and humans under the law of "kynde." They share an "embodied state and an ethical system as a result of their shared creation." The hart, object of the hunt, parallels the Black Knight's heart, and Chaucer uses this parallel to counsel John of Gaunt to overcome his grief.

Alternative Title
Rethinking Chaucerian Beasts.

Chaucer Subjects
Book of the Duchess