England: The Turbulent 14th Century, and the Writings of Chaucer, Langland and Gower.
- Author/Editor
- Rayborn, Tim.
- Title
- England: The Turbulent 14th Century, and the Writings of Chaucer, Langland and Gower.
- Published
- Rayborn, Tim. "England: The Turbulent 14th Century, and the Writings of Chaucer, Langland and Gower." In Against the Friars: Antifraternalism in Medieval France and England. (Jefferson, N. C.: McFarland, 2014), pp. 117-33.
- Review
- Rayborn's observations on Gower come as part of a chapter entitled "England: The Turbulent 14th Century, and the Writings of Chaucer, Langland and Gower." Raymond's commentary on fourteenth-century English antifraternalism, part of his broader survey, summarizes the ravages of the Black Death and connects plague, estates satire, and antifraternal writing by English literary authors. In a separate chapter he discusses critiques of the friars by Matthew Paris, Richard FitzRalph, and John Wyclif. His treatment of Chaucer includes comments on the "General Prologue" description of the Friar and the satiric elements of the "Summoner's Tale," noting concerns with glossing in the latter and connections with The Roman de la Rose. Describing and summarizing "Piers Plowman," he observes associations between friars, Antichrist, and "apocalypticism" (133), and comments on relations between critique and reform. His section on Gower is his briefest, including in four pages (pp. 130-33) a short biography and descriptions of MO, VC, and CA. He emphasizes the typicality of Gower's "attacks and accusations" against the mendicants without providing details, and suggests that such assaults accumulate in VC "to the point of tedium" (133). [MA. Copyright. The John Gower Society. eJGN 39.1]
- Date
- 2014
- Gower Subjects
- Mirour de l'Omme (Speculum Meditantis)
Vox Clamantis
Confessio Amantis