THE AGE OF CHAUCER
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (1350–1450)
Compared with the periods covered by the last two chapters, the period
now under review is quite short. It includes the greater part of the
reign of Edward III and the long French wars associated with his name;
the accession of his grandson Richard II (1377); and the revolution of
1399, the deposition of Richard, and the foundation of the Lancastrian
dynasty. From the literary point of view, of greater importance are the
social and intellectual movements of the period: the terrible plague
called the Black Death, bringing poverty, unrest, and revolt among the
peasants, and the growth of the spirit of inquiry, which was strongly
critical of the ways of the Church, and found expression in the
teachings of Wyclif and the Lollards, and in the stern denunciations of
Langland.
LITERARY FEATURES OF THE AGE
=1. The Standardizing of English.= The period of transition is now
nearly over. The English language has shaken down to a kind of
average--to the standard of the East Midland speech, the language of
the capital city and of the universities. The other dialects, with the
exception of the Scottish branch, rapidly melt away from literature,
till they become quite exiguous. French and English have amalgamated
to form the standard English tongue, which attains to its first full
expression in the works of Chaucer.
=2.= A curious =“modern” note= begins to be apparent at this period.
There is a sharper spirit of criticism, a more searching interest in
man’s affairs, and a less childlike faith in, and a less complacent
acceptance of, the established order. The vogue of the romance, though
it has by no means gone, is passing, and in Chaucer it is derided.
The freshness of the romantic ideal is being superseded by the more
acute spirit of the drama, which even at this early time is faintly
foreshadowed. Another more modern feature that at once strikes the
observer is that the age of anonymity is passing away. Though many of
the texts still lack named authors, the greater number of the books can
be definitely ascribed. Moreover, we have for the first time a figure
of outstanding literary importance, who gives to the age the form and
pressure of his genius.
=3. Prose.= This era sees the foundation of an English prose style.
Earlier specimens have been experimental or purely imitative; now, in
the works of Mandeville and Malory, we have prose that is both original
and individual. The English tongue is now ripe for a prose style. The
language is settling to a standard; Latin and French are losing grip
as popular prose mediums; and the growing desire for an English Bible
exercises a steady pressure in favor of a standard English prose.
=4. Scottish Literature.= For the first time in our literature, in the
person of Barbour (died 1395), Scotland supplies a writer worthy of
note. This is only the beginning; for the tradition is handed on to the
powerful group of poets who are mentioned in the next chapter.
GEOFFREY CHAUCER (1340–1400)
=1. His Life.= In many of the documents of the time Chaucer’s name
is mentioned with some frequency; and these references, in addition to
some remarks he makes regarding himself in the course of his poems,
are the sum of what we know about his life. The date of his birth is
uncertain, but it is now generally accepted as being 1340. He was born
in London, entered the household of the wife of the Duke of Clarence
(1357), and saw military service abroad, where he was captured. Next
he seems to have entered the royal household, for he is frequently
mentioned as the recipient of royal pensions and bounties. When
Richard II succeeded to the crown (1377) Chaucer was confirmed in his
offices and pensions, and shortly afterward (1378) he was sent to Italy
on one of his several diplomatic missions. More pecuniary blessings
followed; then ensued a period of depression, due probably to the
departure to Spain (1387) of his patron John of Gaunt; but his life
closed with a revival of his prosperity. He was the first poet to be
buried in what is now known as Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.
=2. His Poems.= The order of Chaucer’s poems cannot be ascertained
with certitude, but from internal evidence they can as a rule be
approximately dated.
It is now customary to divide the Chaucerian poems into three stages:
the French, the Italian, and the English, of which the last is a
development of the first two.
(_a_) The poems of the earliest or French group are closely modeled
upon French originals, and the style is clumsy and immature. Of such
poems the longest is _The Romaunt of the Rose_, a lengthy allegorical
poem, written in octosyllabic couplets, and based upon Jean de Meung’s
_Le Roman de la Rose_. This poem, which, though it extends to eight
thousand lines, is only a fragment, was once entirely ascribed to
Chaucer, but recent research, based upon a scrutiny of Chaucerian
style, has decided that only the first part, amounting to seventeen
hundred lines, is his work. Other poems of this period include _The
Dethe of the Duchesse_, probably his earliest, and dated 1369, the date
of the Duchess’s death, _The Compleynte unto Pité_, _Chaucer’s ABC_,
_The Compleynte of Mars_, _The Compleynte of Faire Anelida_, and _The
Parlement of Foules_. Of these the last is the longest; it has a fine
opening, but, as so often happens at this time, the work diffuses into
long speeches and descriptions.
(_b_) The second or Italian stage shows a decided advance upon the
first. In the handling of the meters the technical ability is greater,
and there is a growing keenness of perception and a greater stretch
of originality. _Troilus and Cressida_ is a long poem adapted from
Boccaccio. By far the greater part of the poem is original, and the
rhyme royal stanzas, of much dexterity and beauty, abound in excellent
lines that often suggest the sonnets of Shakespeare. The poem suffers
from the prevailing diffuseness; but the pathos of the story is touched
upon with a passionate intensity.
“If no love is, O God, what fele I so?
And if love is, what thing and which is he?
If love be good, from whennes com’th my wo?
If it be wikke, a wonder thinketh me
When every torment and adversite
That com’th of him may to me savory thinke;
For ay thurste I the more that ich it drinke.
“And if that in myn owne lust I brenne,
From whennes com’th my wailing and my pleynte?
If harm agree me, wher-to pleyne I thenne?
I n’ot, ne why unwery that I fainte.
O quike deth! O swete harm so queynte!
How may of thee in me swich quantite,
But if I consente that it be?”
_The Hous of Fame_, a shorter poem in octosyllabic couplets, is of
the dream-allegory type, as most of Chaucer’s poems of this period
are; and it is of special importance because it shows gleams of the
genuine Chaucerian humor. In this group is also included _The Legende
of Good Women_, in which Chaucer, starting with the intention of
telling nineteen affecting tales of virtuous women of antiquity,
finishes with eight accomplished and the ninth only begun. After a
charming introduction on the daisy, there is some masterly narrative,
particularly in the portion dealing with Cleopatra. The meter is the
heroic couplet, with which Chaucer was to familiarize us in _The
Canterbury Tales_.
(_c_) The third or English group contains work of the greatest
individual accomplishment. The achievement of this period is _The
Canterbury Tales_, though one or two of the separate tales may be of
slightly earlier composition. For the general idea of the tales Chaucer
may be indebted to Boccaccio, but in nearly every important feature
the work is essentially English. For the purposes of his poem Chaucer
draws together twenty-nine pilgrims, including himself. They meet at
the Tabard Inn, in Southwark, in order to go on a pilgrimage to the
tomb of Thomas à Becket at Canterbury. The twenty-nine are carefully
chosen types, of both sexes, and of all ranks, from a knight to a
humble plowman; their occupations and personal peculiarities are many
and diverse; and, as they are depicted in the masterly _Prologue_ to
the main work, they are interesting, alive, and thoroughly human. At
the suggestion of the host of the Tabard, and to relieve the tedium of
the journey, each of the pilgrims is to tell two tales on the outward
journey, and two on the return. In its entirety the scheme would have
resulted in an immense collection of over a hundred tales. But as it
happens Chaucer finished only twenty, and left four partly complete.
The separate tales are linked with their individual prologues, and with
dialogues and scraps of narrative. Even in its incomplete state the
work is a small literature in itself, an almost unmeasured abundance
and variety of humor and pathos, of narrative and description, and of
dialogue and digression. There are two prose tales, Chaucer’s own _Tale
of Melibœus_ and _The Parson’s Tale_; and nearly all the others are
composed in a powerful and versatile species of the heroic couplet.
To this last stage of Chaucer’s work several short poems are ascribed,
including _The Lack of Stedfastness_ and the serio-comic _Compleynte of
Chaucer to his Purse_.
There is also mention of a few short early poems, such as _Origines
upon the Maudeleyne_, which have been lost.
During his lifetime Chaucer built up such a reputation as a poet that
many works were at a later date ascribed to him without sufficient
evidence. Of this group the best examples are _The Flower and the
Leaf_, quite an excellent example of the dream-allegory type, and _The
Court of Love_. It has now been settled that these poems are not truly
his.
=3. His Prose.= The two prose tales cannot be regarded as among
Chaucer’s successful efforts. Both of them--that is, _The Tale of
Melibœus_ and _The Parson’s Tale on Penitence_--are lifeless in style
and full of tedious moralizings. Compared with earlier prose works
they nevertheless mark an advance. They have a stronger grasp of
sentence-construction, and in vocabulary they are copious and accurate.
The other prose works of Chaucer are an early translation of Boëthius,
and a treatise, composed for the instruction of his little son Lewis,
on the astrolabe, then a popular astronomical instrument.
The following extract is a fair example of his prose:
“Now, sirs,” saith dame Prudence, “sith ye vouche saufe to be
gouerned by my counceyll, I will enforme yow how ye shal gouerne
yow in chesing of your counceyll. First tofore alle workes
ye shall beseche the hyghe God, that he be your counceyll;
and shape yow to suche entente that he yeue you counceyll and
comforte as Thobye taught his sone. ‘At alle tymes thou shall
plese and praye him to dresse thy weyes; and loke that alle thy
counceylls be in hym for euermore.’ Saynt James eke saith: ‘Yf
ony of yow haue nede of sapience, axe it of God.’ And after
that than shall ye take counceyll in yourself, and examyne well
your thoughtys of suche thynges as ye thynke that ben beste
for your profyt. And than shall ye dryue away from your hertes
the thynges that ben contraryous to good counceyl: this is to
saye--ire, couetyse, and hastynes.”
_The Tale of Melibœus_
=4. Features of his Poetry.= (_a_) The first thing that strikes the eye
is the _unique position_ that Chaucer’s work occupies in the literature
of the age. He is first, with no competitor for hundreds of years to
challenge his position. He is, moreover, the forerunner in the race of
great literary figures that henceforth, in fairly regular succession,
dominate the ages they live in.
(_b_) _His Observation._ Among Chaucer’s literary virtues his acute
faculty of observation is very prominent. He was a man of the world,
mixing freely with all types of mankind; and he used his opportunities
to observe the little peculiarities of human nature. He had the seeing
eye, the retentive memory, the judgment to select, and the capacity to
expound; hence the brilliance of his descriptions, which we shall note
in the next paragraph.
(_c_) _His Descriptions._ Success in descriptive passages depends on
vivacity and skill in presentation, as well as on the judgment shown in
the selection of details. Chaucer’s best descriptions, of men, manners,
and places, are of the first rank in their beauty, impressiveness, and
humor. Even when he follows the common example of the time, as when
giving details of conventional spring mornings and flowery gardens, he
has a vivacity that makes his poetry unique. Many poets before him had
described the break of day, but never with the real inspiration that
appears in the following lines:
The bisy larke, messager of day,
Salueth in her song the morwe gay,
And firy Phœbus riseth up so brighte
That all the orient laugheth with the lighte.
_The Knight’s Tale_
The _Prologue_ contains ample material to illustrate Chaucer’s power
in describing his fellow-men. We shall add an extract to show him
in another vein. Observe the selection of detail, the terseness and
adequacy of epithet, and the masterly handling of the couplet.
First on the wal was peynted a forest,
In which ther dwelleth neither man nor best,
With knotty, knarry, barreyne trees olde
Of stubbes sharpe and hidouse to biholde,
In which ther ran a rumbel and a swough,
As though a storm sholde bresten every bough;
And dounward from an hille, under a bente,
Ther stood the temple of Mars armypotente,
Wroght al of burned steel, of which the entree
Was long and streit, and gastly for to see.
The northern light in at the dores shoon,
For wyndowe on the wal ne was ther noon
Thurgh which men myghten any light discern,
The dores were al of adament eterne,
Y-clenched overthwart and endelong
With iren tough, and for to make it strong,
Every pyler, the temple to sustene,
Was tonne greet, of iren bright and shene.
_The Knight’s Tale_
(_d_) _His Humor and Pathos._ In the literature of his time, when so
few poets seem to have any perception of the fun in life, the humor of
Chaucer is invigorating and delightful. The humor, which steeps nearly
all his poetry, has great variety: kindly and patronizing, as in the
case of the Clerk of Oxenford; broad and semi-farcical, as in the Wife
of Bath; pointedly satirical, as in the Pardoner and the Summoner;
or coarse, as happens in the tales of the Miller, the Reeve, and the
Pardoner. It is seldom that the satirical intent is wholly lacking,
as it is in the case of the Good Parson, but, except in rare cases,
the satire is good-humored and well-meant. The prevailing feature
of Chaucer’s humor is its urbanity: the man of the world’s kindly
tolerance of the weaknesses of his erring fellow-mortals.
Chaucer lays less emphasis on pathos, but it is not overlooked. In
the poetry of Chaucer the sentiment is humane and unforced. We have
excellent examples of pathos in the tale of the Prioress and in _The
Legende of Good Women_.
We give a short extract from the long conversation between Chaucer and
the eagle (“with fethres all of gold”) which carried him off to the
House of Fame. The bird, with its cool acceptance of things, is an
appropriate symbol of Chaucer himself in his attitude toward the world.
Thus I longe in his clawes lay,
Til at the laste he to me spak
In mannes vois, and seyde, “Awak!
And be not so agast, for shame!”
And called me tho by my name.
And, for I sholde the bet abreyde--
Me mette--“Awak,” to me he seyde,
Right in the same vois and stevene
That useth oon I coude nevene;
And with that vois, soth for to sayn,
My minde cam to me agayn;
For hit was goodly seyd to me,
So nas hit never wont to be....
And sayde twyes “Seynte Marie!
Thou art noyous for to carie.”...
“O god,” thoughte I, “that madest kinde,
Shal I non other weyes dye?
Wher Ioves wol me stellifye,
Or what thing may this signifye?
I neither am Enok, nor Elye,
Ne Romulus, ne Ganymede
That was y-bore up, as men rede,
To hevene with dan Iupiter,
And maad the goddes boteler.”
(_e_) _His Narrative Power._ As a story-teller Chaucer employs somewhat
tortuous methods, but his narrative possesses a curious stealthy speed.
His stories, viewed strictly as stories, have most of the weaknesses of
his generation: a fondness for long speeches, for pedantic digressions
on such subjects as dreams and ethical problems, and for long
explanations when none are necessary. _Troilus and Cressida_, heavy
with long speeches, is an example of his prolixity, and _The Knight’s
Tale_, of baffling complexity and overabundant in detail, reveals
his haphazard and dawdling methods; yet both contain many admirable
narrative passages. But when he rises above the weaknesses common to
the time he is terse, direct, and vivacious. The extract given below
will illustrate the briskness with which his story can move.
This sely widwe, and eek hir doghtres two,
Herden thise hennes crie and maken wo,
And out at dores stirten they anon,
And syen the fox toward the grove gon,
And bar upon his bak the cok away,
And cryden, “Out! Harrow! And weylaway!
Ha! Ha! The Fox!” And after hym they ran,
And eek with staves many another man;
Ran Colle, oure dogge, and Talbot, and Gerland
And Malkyn, with a dystaf in hir hand;
Ran cow and calf, and eek the verray hogges,
So were they fered for berkynge of the dogges,
And shoutyng of the men and wommen eek;
They ronne so hem thoughte hir herte breek.
They yolleden, as feendes doon in helle;
The dokes cryden, as men wolde hem quelle;
The gees, for feere, flowen over the trees;
Out of the hyve cam the swarm of bees;
So hidous was the noys, _a benedicitee_!
Certes, he Jakke Straw, and his meynee,
Ne made never shoutes half so shrille,
Whan that they wolden any Flemyng kille,
As thilke day was maade upon the fox.
_The Nun’s Priest’s Tale_
(_f_) _His Metrical Skill._ In the matter of poetical technique English
literature owes much to Chaucer. He is not an innovator, for he employs
the meters in common use. In his hands, however, they take on new
powers. The octosyllabic and heroic couplets, which previously were
slack and inartistic measures, now acquire a new strength, suppleness,
and melody. Chaucer, who is no great lyrical poet, takes little
interest in the more complicated meters common in the lyric; but in
some of his shorter poems he shows a skill that is as good as the very
best apparent in the contemporary poems.
(_g_) _Summary._ We may summarize Chaucer’s achievement by saying that
he is the earliest of the great moderns. In comparison with the poets
of his own time, and with those of the succeeding century, the advance
he makes is almost startling. For example, Manning, Hampole, and the
romancers are of another age and of another way of thinking from ours;
but, apart from the superficial archaisms of spelling, the modern
reader finds in Chaucer something closely akin. All the Chaucerian
features help to create this modern atmosphere: the shrewd and placidly
humorous observation, the wide humanity, the quick aptness of phrase,
the dexterous touch upon the meter, and, above all, the fresh and
formative _spirit_--the genius turning dross into gold. Chaucer is
indeed a genius; he stands alone, and for nearly two hundred years none
dare claim equality with him.
OTHER POETS
=1. William Langland=, or =Langley (1332–1400)=, is one of the early
writers with whom modern research has dealt adversely. All we know
about him appears on the manuscripts of his poem, or is based upon the
remarks he makes regarding himself in the course of the poem. This
poem, the full title of which is _The Vision of William concerning
Piers the Plowman_, appears in its many manuscripts in three forms,
called respectively the A, B, and C texts. The A text is the shortest,
being about 2500 lines long; the B is more than 7200 lines; and the
C, which is clearly based upon B, is more than 7300 lines. Until
quite recently it has always been assumed that the three forms were
all the work of Langland; but the latest theory is that the A form is
the genuine composition of Langland, whereas both B and C have been
composed by a later and inferior poet.
From the personal passages in the poem it appears that the author was
born in Shropshire about 1332. The vision in which he saw Piers the
Plowman probably took place in 1362.
The poem itself tells of the poet’s vision on the Malvern Hills. In
this trance he beholds a fair “feld ful of folk.” The first vision,
by subtle and baffling changes, merges into a series of dissolving
scenes which deal with the adventures of allegorical beings, human like
Do-wel, Do-bet, and Do-betst, or of abstract significance like the Lady
Meed, Wit, Study, and Faith. During the many incidents of the poem the
virtuous powers generally suffer most, till the advent of Piers the
Plowman--the Messianic deliverer--restores the balance to the right
side. The underlying motive of the work is to expose the sloth and
vice of the Church, and to set on record the struggles and virtues of
common folks. Langland’s frequent sketches of homely life are done with
sympathy and knowledge, and often suggest the best scenes of Bunyan.
The style has a somber energy, an intense but crabbed seriousness,
and an austere simplicity of treatment. The form of the poem is
curious. It is a revival of the Old English rhymeless measure, having
alliteration as the basis of the line. The lines themselves are fairly
uniform in length, and there is the middle pause, with (as a rule) two
alliterations in the first half-line and one in the second. Yet in
spite of the Old English meter the vocabulary draws freely upon the
French, to an extent equal to that of Chaucer himself.
We quote the familiar opening lines of the poem. The reader should note
the strong rhythm of the lines--which in some cases almost amounts to
actual meter--the fairly regular system of alliteration, and the sober
undertone of resignation.
In a somer sesun, whan softe was the sonne,
I shope me into a shroud, a sheep as I were;
In habite of an hermite, unholy of werkes,
Wende I wyde in this world, wondres to here.
But in a Mayes morwnynge, on Malverne hulles,
Me bifel a ferly,[26] a feyric me thouhte;
I was wery of wandringe and wente me to reste
Under a brod banke, bi a bourne syde,
And as I lay and lened, and loked on the waters,
I slumberde on a slepyng; it sownede so murie.
=2. John Gower=, the date of whose birth is uncertain, died in 1408. He
was a man of means, and a member of a good Kentish family; he took a
fairly active part in the politics and literary activity of the time,
and was buried in London.
The three chief works of Gower are noteworthy, for they illustrate the
unstable state of contemporary English literature. His first poem,
_Speculum Meditantis_, is written in French, and for a long time was
lost, being discovered as late as 1895; the second, _Vox Clamantis_,
is composed in Latin; and the third, _Confessio Amantis_, is written
in English, at the King’s command according to Gower himself. In this
last poem we have the conventional allegorical setting, with the
disquisition of the seven deadly sins, illustrated by many anecdotes.
These anecdotes reveal Gower’s capacity as a story-teller. He has a
diffuse and watery style of narrative, but occasionally he is brisk and
competent. The meter is the octosyllabic couplet, of great smoothness
and fluency.
=3. John Barbour (1316–95)= is the first of the Scottish poets to
claim our attention. He was born in Aberdeenshire, and studied both
at Oxford and Paris. His great work is _The Brus_ (1375), a lengthy
poem of twenty books and thirteen thousand lines. The work is really
a history of Scotland from the death of Alexander III (1286) till the
death of Bruce and the burial of his heart (1332). The heroic theme is
the rise of Bruce, and the central incident of the poem is the battle
of Bannockburn. The poem, often rudely but pithily expressed, contains
much absurd legend and a good deal of inaccuracy, but it is no mean
beginning to the long series of Scottish heroic poems. The spirited
beginning is often quoted:
A! fredome is a nobill thing!
Fredome mayss man to haiif liking!
Fredome all solace to man giffis;
He levys at ess that frely levys!
A noble hart may haiff nane ess,
Na ellys nocht that may him pless,
Gyffe fredome failzhe: for fre liking
Is zharnyt[27] our all othir thing.
Na he, that ay hass levyt fre,
May nocht knaw weill the propyrte,
The angyr, na the wrechyt dome,
That is couplyt to foule thyrldome.
PROSE-WRITERS
=1. Sir John Mandeville= is the English form of the name of =Jehan
de Mandeville=, who compiled and published a French book of travels
between 1357 and 1371. This French work was very popular, and it was
translated into several languages, including English. The English
version has a preface, in which it is stated that the author was
a Sir John Mandeville, a knight, born at St. Albans, who crossed
the sea in 1322 and traveled in many strange regions. Much of the
personal narrative is invention; nowadays the very existence of Sir
John is denied. The real author of the book is said to be =Jehan de
Bourgogne=, who died at Liège in 1372.
It has now been demonstrated that the so-called “_Travels_” is
a compilation from several popular books of voyages, including those
of a Friar Odoric, of an Armenian called Hetoum, and (to a very small
extent) of the famous traveler Marco Polo. These, with a few grains of
original matter, are ingeniously welded into one of the most charming
books of its kind. The travels are full of incredible descriptions and
anecdotes, which are set down with delightful faith and eagerness. The
style is sweet and clear, with some colloquial touches; and the short
narrations freely dispersed through the text, tersely phrased and
accurately gauged in length, are rendered with great skill.
We add an example to illustrate this admirable prose style. Observe
the brief sentences, many of which begin with “and,” the simple but
effective diction, and the straightforward style of narrative.
And zee schull undirstonde that whan men comen to Jerusalem her
first pilgrymage is to the chirche of the Holy Sepulcr wher
oure Lord was buryed, that is withoute the cytee on the north
syde. But it is now enclosed in with the ton wall. And there is
a full fair chirche all rownd, and open above, and covered with
leed. And on the west syde is a fair tour and an high for belles
strongly made. And in the myddes of the chirche is a tabernacle
as it wer a lytyll hows, made with a low lityll dore; and that
tabernacle is made in maner of a half a compas right curiousely
and richely made of gold and azure and othere riche coloures,
full nobelyche made. And in the ryght side of that tabernacle
is the sepulcre of oure Lord. And the tabernacle is viij fote
long and v fote wide, and xj fote in heghte. And it is not longe
sithe the sepulcre was all open, that men myghte kisse it and
touche it. But for pilgrymes that comen thider peyned hem to
breke the ston in peces, or in poudr; therefore the Soudan[28]
hath do make a wall aboute the sepulcr that no man may towche
it. But in the left syde of the wall of the tabernacle is well
the heighte of a man, is a gret ston, to the quantytee of a
mannes bed, that was of the holy sepuler, and that ston kissen
the pilgrymes that comen thider. In that tabernacle ben no
wyndowes, but it is all made light with lampes that hangen befor
the sepulcr.
=2. John Wyclif=, or =Wycliffe (1320–84)=, was born in Yorkshire about
the year 1320. He was educated at Oxford, took holy orders, received
the living of Lutteworth in Leicestershire (1374), and took a prominent
part in the ecclesiastical feuds of the day. He was strong in his
denunciation of the abuses then rampant, and only the influence of
his powerful friends saved him from the fate of a heretic. He died
peacefully in 1384.
An active controversialist, he wrote many Latin books in support of his
revolutionary opinions. In addition, he issued a large number of tracts
and pamphlets in English, and carried through an English translation of
the Bible. His English style is not polished, but it is vigorous and
pointed, with a homely simplicity that makes its appeal both wide and
powerful.
=3. Sir Thomas Malory= may be included at this point, though his famous
work, the _Morte d’Arthur_, was composed as late as the “ix yere of
the reygne of Kyng Edward the furth” (1469). Nearly all we know about
Malory is contained in the preface of Caxton, the first printer of the
book. Caxton says that the book was written by Sir Thomas Malory “oute
of certeyn bookes of frensshe.”
Like the travels of Mandeville, the _Morte d’Arthur_ is a compilation.
In the case of Malory’s books, French Arthurian romances are drawn
upon to create a prose romance of great length and detail. However
diverse the sources are, the book is written with a uniform dignity and
fervor that express the very soul and essence of romance. The prose
style, never pretentious, is always equal to the demands put upon it,
and frequently it has that flash of phrase that is essential to the
creation of a literary style. Malory is, in short, our first individual
prose stylist.
And on the morn the damsel and he took their leave and thanked
the knight, and so departed, and rode on their way until they
came to a great forest. And there was a great river and but one
passage, and there were ready two knights on the further side
to let them the passage. “What sayest thou,” said the damsel,
“wilt thou match yonder knights, or turn again?” “Nay,” said
Sir Beaumains, “I will not turn again and they were six more.”
And therewithal he rushed into the water, and in the midst of
the water, either brake their spears upon other to their hands,
and then they drew their swords and smote eagerly at other. And
at the last Sir Beaumains smote the other upon the helm that
his head stonied, and therewithal he fell down in the water,
and there was he drowned. And then he spurred his horse upon
the land, where the other knight fell upon him and brake his
spear, and so they drew their swords and fought long together.
At the last Sir Beaumains clave his helm and his head down to
the shoulders: and so he rode unto the damsel, and bade her ride
forth on her way.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERARY FORMS
The Chaucerian age saw a great and significant advance in poetical
forms of literature, and a noteworthy one in the domain of prose.
=1. Poetry.= With regard to poetry, we can observe the various forms
separating themselves and straightening out into form and coherence.
(_a_) The _lyric_, chiefly the religious and love-lyric, continues
to be written and developed. Chaucer himself contributes very little
toward it, but a number of anonymous bards add to the common stock.
It is seldom that we can give precise dates to the lyrics of this
period; but about this time were composed such exquisite pieces as _The
Nut-brown Maid_, a curious hybrid between the lyric and the ballad, and
the lovely carols of the Church.
(_b_) _The Rise of the Ballad._ The origin of the ballad has always
been a question in dispute. There is little doubt, however, that
ballads began to assume a position of importance at the end of the
fourteenth century.
The true ballad-form had several features to make it distinct from the
romance: it is commonly plebeian in origin and theme, thus contrasting
with the romance, which is aristocratic in these respects; it is short,
and treats of one incident, whereas the romance form is cumulative,
and can absorb any number of adventures; it is simple in style, and is
as a rule composed in the familiar ballad-stanza. Some of the fine
ballads belonging to this time are _Chevy Chace_, _Gil Morrice_, and
_Sir Patrick Spens_. Very old ballads, as can be seen in the case of
_Chevy Chace_, which exists in more than one version, have descended
to modern times in a much more polished condition than they were in at
first. In their earliest condition they were rude and almost illiterate
productions, the compositions of the popular minstrels.
(_c_) _The Rise of the Allegory._ This is perhaps the suitable place to
note the rise of allegory, which in the age of Chaucer began to affect
all the branches of poetry. Even at its best the allegorical method
is crude and artificial, but it is a concrete and effective literary
device for expounding moral and religious lessons. It appeals with the
greatest force to minds which are still unused to abstract thinking;
and about the period now under discussion it exactly suited the lay and
ecclesiastical mind. Hence we have a flood of poems dealing with Courts
of Love, Houses of Fame, Dances of the Seven Deadly Sins, and other
symbolical subjects. Especially in the earlier stages of his career,
Chaucer himself did not escape the prevailing habit. We shall see that
the craze for the allegory was to increase during the next century and
later, till it reached its climax in _The Faerie Queene_.
(_d_) _Descriptive and Narrative Poems._ In this form of poetry _The
Canterbury Tales_ is the outstanding example, but in many passages of
Langland and Gower we have specimens of the same class. We have already
mentioned some of the weaknesses that are common to the narrative
poetry of the day, and which were due partly to lack of practice and
partly to reliance upon inferior models: the tantalizing rigmaroles of
long speeches and irrelevant episodes, the habit of dragging into the
story scientific and religious discussions, and an imperfect sense of
proportion in the arrangement of the plot. In the best examples, such
as those of Chaucer, there is powerful grip upon the central interest,
a shrewd observation and humor, and quite often a brilliant rapidity of
narration.
(_e_) The _metrical romance_ is still a popular form, but the great
vogue of the last century is on the wane. Among the lower classes it
is being supplanted by the ballad; and the growing favor that is being
shown to the _fabliau_--that is, the short French tale, realistic in
subject and humorous-satirical in style--is leading to tales of the
coarser Chaucer type.
=2. Prose.= In prose we have the first English travel-book in
Mandeville’s _Travels_; one of the earliest translations of the Bible
in Wyclif’s; and, among others, a prose chronicle in the work of
=John of Trevisa (1326–1412)=, who issued a prose version of Higden’s
_Polychronicon_. As yet such works are in an undeveloped state, but
already some considerable growth is apparent. Prose is increasing both
in quantity and in quality, and the rate of increase is accelerating.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITERARY STYLE
=1. Poetry.= We have already stated that the time of transition
and experiment is nearly over. English poetical style has established
itself, and the main lines of development have been laid down. For this
we are indebted almost entirely to Chaucer.
(_a_) With regard to _meter_, it is curious to observe that with
increasing practice the tendency is toward simplicity. The extremely
complicated stanzas are becoming less common, and rhyme royal and
other shorter verses are coming into favor. Along with simplification
is a greater suppleness and dexterity. There is less rigidity in the
position of the pause, and a greater freedom in the substitution of
three-syllabled feet for two-syllabled feet. These features are most
strongly developed in the couplet forms. It is this union of simplicity
and freedom that is to remain the dominating characteristic of English
verse, thus contrasting with the quantitative system of the classical
measures and the syllabic nature of the French.
(_b_) There is an interesting _revival in alliteration_. In the true
alliterative poem the basis of the line is a system of repeating
sounds, such as was the custom in Old English verse. One of the
earliest examples of this type which occurs after the Norman Conquest
is _Wynnere and Wastour_ (1352), an anonymous poem of no great merit.
The tradition is continued in the alliterative romances of the type
of _Cleannesse_; and it attains its climax in _Piers Plowman_. Though
this last poem gained a great popularity it left no important literary
descendants. Hence the revival of the ancient system of alliteration
remains as an interesting curiosity. In a very short time after
Langland, alliteration becomes simply an ornament to meter--sometimes a
device of great beauty, but not vital to the metrical scheme.
As regards the actual _poetic diction_ of the period, there is a
considerable liking shown for ornate French and classical terms. This
can be observed in the earlier poems of Chaucer and in the _Confessio
Amantis_ of Gower. We have not yet attained to the aureate diction
of the succeeding generation, but the temptation to use French terms
was too strong to be resisted. Langland, though he draws upon the
French Element, writes with much greater simplicity; and the ballads
also are composed in a manner quite plain and unadorned.
=2. Prose.= The state of prose is still too immature to allow of
any style beyond the plainest. Wyclif’s, the earliest of the period,
is unpolished, though it can be pointed and vigorous. Mandeville’s
prose style, though it is devoid of artifices, attains to a certain
distinction by reason of its straightforward methods, its short and
workmanlike sentences, and a brevity rare in his day. In the case
of Malory, who comes some time after the others, we have quite an
individual style. It is still unadorned; but it has a distinction of
phrase and a decided romantic flavor that make Malory a prose stylist
of a high class. His prose is, indeed, a distinct advance upon that of
his predecessors.
EXERCISES
1. The following series of extracts is intended to show the development
of English prose style from Old English times to those of Malory.
The student should write a brief commentary upon the development of
the prose, paying attention to vocabulary, sentence-construction,
clearness, and brevity.
(1) Ða ic ða ðis eall gemunde, When I recollected all this, I
ða wundrade ic swiðe wondered very much that of all
swiðe ðara godena wiotona ðe the scholars that long were
giu wæron giond Angelcynn, throughout England and had
ond ða bec ealla be fullan learnt all the books in full,
geliornod
hæfdon, ðæt hie hiora none at all wished to turn them
ða nænne dæl noldon on hiera into their own tongue. But in
agen geðiode wendan. Ac ic a short space I answered myself,
ða sona eft me selfum saying: “They did not
andwyrde,
ond cwæþ: “Hie ne believe that men should ever be
wendon ðætte æfre menn so reckless, and learning so fall
sceolden
swæ reccelease weorðan, away; through that desire they
ond sio lar swæ oðfeallan; for held back from it, and wished
ðære wilnunga hie hit forleton that the more wisdom there
ond woldon ðaet her ðy mara might be in the land the more
wisdom on londe wære ðy we tongues we might know.”
ma geðeoda cuðon?”
ALFRED, _Pastoral Care_, 900
(2) Thæt witen ge wel alle, This know ye well all, that we
thæt we willen and unnen, thæt will and grant that which our
thæt ure rædesmen alle other councillors, all or the greater
the moare dæl of heom, thæt art of them, who are chosen by
beoth ichosen thurg us and us and by the land’s people in
thurg thæt loandes folk on ure our kingdom, have done and
kuneriche, habbeth idon and shall do, to the honour of God
schullen don in the worthnesse and in allegiance to us, for the
of Gode and on ure treowthe good of the land, by the ordinance
for the frem of the loande of the aforesaid councillors,
thurg the besigte of than be stedfast and permanent
toforeniseide
redesmen, beo stedefaest in all things, time without end,
and ilestinde in alle and we command all our true
thinge a buten ænde, and we men by the faith that they owe
hoaten alle ure treowe in the us, that they stedfastly hold,
treowthe, thæt heo us ogen, and swear to hold and defend
thæt heo stedefaestliche the regulations.
healden
and swerien to healdan and
to werien the isetnesses.
_Proclamation of Henry III_, 1258
(3) And for als moche as it is longe tyme passed that ther was
no generalle passage ne vyage over the see; and many men desiren
for to here speke of the Holy Lond, and han therof gret solace
and comfort; I, John Maundevylle, Knyght alle be it I be not
worthi, that was born in Englond, in the town of Seynt Albones,
passede the see, the yeer of our Lord MCCCXXII, in the
day of Seynt Michelle; and hidra to have been longe tyme over
the see, and have seyn and gon thorghe manye dyverse londes, and
many provynces and kingdomes and iles and have passed thorghout
Turkey, Percye, Surrye, Egypt the highe and the lowe, Ermonye,
Inde the lasse and the more, and many iles, that ben abouten
Inde where dwellen many dyverse folkes and of dyverse maneres
and schappes of men, of which I schalle speke more pleynly
hereafter.
MANDEVILLE, _Travels_, 1370
(4) Yn Brytayn buþ meny wondres, noþeles foure buþ most
wonderfol. Þe furste ys at Pectoun, þar bloweþ so strong a wynd
out of þe chenes of þe eorþe þat hyt casteþ vp a[gh]e[29] cloþes
þat me casteþ in. Þe secunde ys at Stonhenge, bysydes Salesbury,
þar gret stones & wondur huge buþ arered[30] an hy[gh], as
hyt were [gh]ates, so þat þar semeþ [gh]ates yset apon oþer
[gh]ates; noþeles hyt ys no[gh]t clerlych yknowe noþer parceyuet
hou[gh] & whar-fore a buþ so arered & so wonderlych yhonged. Þe
þriddle ys at Cherdhol,[31] þer ys gret holwenes vndur eorþe;
ofte meny men habbeþ y-be þer-ynne & ywalked aboute with-ynne
& yseye ryuers & streemes, bote nowhar conneþ hy fynde ende.
Þe feurþe ys, þat reyn[32] ys ys ye arered vp of þe hulles, &
anon yspronge aboute yn þe feeldes. Also þer ys a gret pond þat
conteyneþ þre score ylondes couenable[33] for men to dwelle
ynne; þat pound ys byclypped aboute wiþ six score rooches.[34]
JOHN OF TREVISA, 1387
(5) So Balan prayed the lady of her gentleness, for his true
service that she would bury them both in that same place where
the battle was done. And she granted them with weeping it
should be done richly in the best manner. “Now will ye send for
a priest, that we may receive our sacrament and receive the
blessed body of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Yea,” said the lady,
“it shall be done.” And so she sent for a priest and gave them
their rites. “Now,” said Balin, “when we are buried in one tomb,
and the mention made over us how two brethren slew each other,
there will never good knight nor good man see our tomb but they
will pray for our souls.” And so all the ladies and gentlewomen
wept for pity. Then, anon Balan died, but Balin died not till
the midnight after, and so were they buried both, and the lady
let make a mention of Balan how he was there slain by his
brother’s hands, but she knew not Balin’s name.
MALORY, _Morte d’ Arthur_, 1470
2. Comment upon the style of each of the following extracts. Note
the use of French words, the type of sentences, the clearness of
construction, and the handling of the meter. Compare (1) with the
extract given from Chaucer on page 39. Which is the better narrative,
and which shows the more humor?
(1) In a Croniq I fynde thus,
How that Caius Fabricius
Wich whilome was consul of Rome,
By whome the lawes yede and come,
Whan the Sampnitees to him brouht
A somme of golde, and hym by souht
To done hem fauoure in the lawe,
Towarde the golde he gan hym drawe:
Where of in alle mennes loke,
A part in to his honde he tooke,
Wich to his mouthe in alle haste
He put hit for to smelle and taste,
And to his ihe and to his ere,
Bot he ne fonde no comfort there:
And thanne he be gan it to despise,
And tolde vnto hem in this wise:
“I not what is with golde to thryve
Whan none of alle my wittes fyve
Fynt savour ne delite ther inne
So is it bot a nyce sinne
Of golde to ben to coveitous,
Bot he is riche an glorious
Wich hath in his subieccion
The men wich in possession
Ben riche of golde, and by this skille,
For he may alday whan he wille,
Or be him leef or be him loth,
Justice don vppon hem bothe.”
Lo thus he seide and with that worde
He threwe to fore hem on the borde
The golde oute of his honde anon,
And seide hem that he wolde none,
So that he kepte his liberte
To do justice and equite.
GOWER, _Confessio Amantis_
(2) The kyng and hise knyghtes To the kirke wente
To here matyns of the day And the mass after.
Thanne waked I of my wynkyng, And wo was withalle,
That I ne had slept sadder And y-seighen moore.
Ac er I hadde faren a furlong, Feyntise[35] me hente,[36]
That I ne myghte ferther a foot For defaute of slepynge,
And sat softly a-doun, And seide my bileve,
And so[37] I bablede on my bedes Thei broughte me a-slepe.
And thanne saugh I much moore Than I bifore of tolde,
For I seigh the feld ful of folk, That I bifore of seide
And how Reson gan arayen hym Al the reaume[38] to preche
And with a cros afore the kyng Comsede[39] thus to techan.
LANGLAND, _Piers Plowman_
3. The two extracts given below represent the older and the more modern
versions of _Chevy Chace_. Compare them with regard to diction,
vivacity, and general competence in the handling of meter.
(1) With that ther cam an arrowe (2) With that, there came an arrow
hastely keen
Forthe off a mightie wane,[40] Out of an English bow,
Hit hathe strekene the yerle Which struck Erle Douglas to
Duglas the heart,
In at the brest bane. A deepe and deadly blow:
Thoroue lyvar and longs bathe[41]
The sharp arrowe ys gane, Who never spoke more words than
these,
That never after in all his lyffe “Fight on, my merry men all;
days,
He spayke mo wordes but ane, For why, my life is at an end;
That was, “Fyghte ye, my merry Lord Percy sees my fall.”
men whyllys ye may,
For my lyff days ben[42] gan.” Then leaving life, Erle Percy
tooke
The Perse leanyde on his brande, The dead man by the hand;
And sawe the Duglas de;
He tooke the dede man be the And said, “Erle Douglas, for thy
hande, life
And sayd, “Wo ys me for the! Wold I had lost my land.
To have sayvde thy lyffe I wold “O Christ! my verray heart doth
have pertyd[43] with bleed
My landes for years thre, With sorrow for thy sake;
For a better man of hart, nare For sure, a more redoubted knight
of hande
Was not in all the north countre.” Mischance did never take.”
4. “In the union of the two [art and strength] Chaucer stood alone.”
(Saintsbury.) Compare Chaucer with Langland and Gower, and show how he
combines the strength of the former with the art of the latter.
5. The following quotations on Chaucer can each be taken as the theme
of a short discussion, and all of them can be used as the foundation of
a longer paper.
(1) Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled,
On Fame’s eternall beadroll worthy to be filed.
SPENSER
(2) He is the father of English poetry.... He followed nature
everywhere.... The verse of Chaucer is not harmonious to us....
There is the rudeness of a Scotch tune in it.[44]
DRYDEN
(3) He was a healthy and hearty man, so humane that he loved
even the foibles of his kind.... He was a truly epic poet,
without knowing it.... He has left us such a picture of
contemporary life as no man ever painted.
LOWELL
(4) Dan Chaucer, the first warbler, whose sweet breath
Preluded those melodious bursts that fill
The spacious times of great Elizabeth
With sounds that echo still.
TENNYSON
6. Point out some of the traces that the social and religious unrest
has left upon the literature of the time.
7. “There exists a general impression that our prose dates from the
sixteenth century.” (Earle.) Is this impression a correct one?