Das Sprichwort bei Gower, mit besonderem Hinweis auf Quellen und Parallelen

Author/Editor
Walz, Gotthard

Title
Das Sprichwort bei Gower, mit besonderem Hinweis auf Quellen und Parallelen

Published
Walz, Gotthard. "Das Sprichwort bei Gower, mit besonderem Hinweis auf Quellen und Parallelen." Nördlingen: Beck, 1907

Review
Walz's published dissertation provides a brief introduction to Gower's use of proverbs as well as an exhaustive catalogue. Walz opens with a general distinction between folk and literary proverb, and briefly compares Gower's tally of 290 proverbs to Chaucer's approximately 187 proverbs. There is some overlap (about 60 proverbs), but they probably did not borrow from each other. Walz lists some of Gower's major influences (the Bible, the Church Fathers, and the Latin authors), and feels that Gower may have read many of them directly, rather than using florilegia. The main body of the dissertation consists of Gower's proverbs organized by theme (e.g., human relationships, relationships to authority, human endeavor, etc.). The provenance of each proverb is also charted in some detail. The catalogue ends with a list of proverbs that either only have English provenance or are not known outside of Gower. [CvD]

Date
1907

Gower Subjects
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations
Style, Rhetoric, and Versification
Vox Clamantis
Confessio Amantis
Mirour de l'Omme (Speculum Meditantis)