From Norwich to Lisbon: Factionalism, Personal Association, and Conveying the "Confessio Amantis."
- Author/Editor
- Viúla, Tiago de Faria,
- Title
- From Norwich to Lisbon: Factionalism, Personal Association, and Conveying the "Confessio Amantis."
- Published
- Viúla, Tiago de Faria, "From Norwich to Lisbon: Factionalism, Personal Association, and Conveying the "Confessio Amantis." In John Gower in England and Iberia: Manuscripts, Influences, Reception. Ed. Ana Sáez-Hidalgo and R. F. Yeager. Publications of the John Gower Society X. Cambridge, UK: D. S. Brewer, 2014. Pp. 131-38.
- Review
- Viúla argues that "Confessio Amantis" was translated into Portuguese and then Castilian through the influence of Henry Despenser, bishop of Norwich (1370-1406). Despenser, a collector of fine books and "a consumer of contemporary poetry" (137), was a close associate of Philippa of Lancaster, eldest daughter of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster and, by marriage, Queen of Portugal (1387-1415). Although not pro-Lancastrian, Despenser escaped imprisonment during Henry Bolingbroke's struggles with Richard II through Philippa's interventions. Letters of gratitude from Despenser to Philippa attest to her support. Another, from Philippa herself, thanks Despenser for various gifts, to be conveyed to her by her treasurer, "Thomas Payn" (136). This man may have been the father of Robert Payn, another member of Philippa's household and translator of the Portuguese version of CA. The CA probably "made its way to Philippa in Portugal from a source outside the Lancastrian affinity, as a presentation copy from Henry Despenser" (137). [MPK. Copyright. John Gower Society. eJGN 42.2]
- Date
- 2014
- Gower Subjects
- Coinfessio Amantis
Facsimiles, Editions, and Translations
Manuscripts and Textual Studies