Bearers of Punishment and Reward: Ahab's Prophets in Gower's "Confessio Amantis."

Author/Editor
Yandell, Stephen.

Title
Bearers of Punishment and Reward: Ahab's Prophets in Gower's "Confessio Amantis."

Published
Yandell, Stephen. "Bearers of Punishment and Reward: Ahab's Prophets in Gower's 'Confessio Amantis'." Enarratio: Publications of the Medieval Association of the Midwest 16 (2009): 153-65.

Review
Yandell focusses on a rarely discussed tale, that of "Ahab and Micaiah" from Book VII, as an illustration of how Gower's use of Biblical tales in the CA "could blur the lines between court poet and prophetic advisor, and between secular and spiritual courts," offering him "opportunities for subversion" both to support the king's decisions . . . and challenge the justice behind his actions (without exposing himself to treasonous punishments)" (153). Noting that the story was infrequently mentioned in medieval texts, Yandell concludes that Gower included it for a purpose: "in part as a way of showing that the decisions of a proper ruler, like God, are always justified, even in situations where the method of achieving justice might be questionable" and also to show that rulers in need of advice should seek "good answers only in those willing to come forward and speak boldly" (160). For "the reigning Richard II and Henry IV, [that figure] is Gower himself" (160). Thus the tale is "subversive on many levels," as is the CA itself, which "provides public support of Richard and Henry as a way of helping to ensure patronage from the throne, but at the same time it has the power to reach a wide audience with a message that questions the dangerous aspects of policies from the throne" (164). [RFY. Copyright. The John Gower Society. eJGN 39.2]

Date
2009

Gower Subjects
Confessio Amantis