March Books 28) The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer

[nwhyte]

This is the Penguin edition of the Canterbury Tales, translated rather bravely into modern English verse, and omitting the bulk of Chaucer's own Tale of Melibee and also the Parson's Tale (which is admittedly very boring). I have a number of general observations:

1. It is striking how many of the Tales are unfinished, either interrupted by other

Comments

[unwholesome_fen]

Have you read Terry Jones' book Chaucer's Knight, by the way? It gives you a different take on things (he considers that more of it is satire than is at first apparent).

[nwhyte]

I am aware of Jones' book, though I haven't read it. (Incidentally I was alarmed to find myself footnoted in one of Jones' more recent works - Medieval Lives, I think.) But I think Chaucer's dislike tof the Knight is fairly palpable.

[drasecretcampus]

Putting the knight first sets the collection up for satire, especially one undercutting a prominent society member. He's been in some dodgy campaigns, is Jones's argument.

[owlfish]

It came as something of a shock to read your post and find out that John North has died - and two-and-a-half years ago at that! I feel remarkably out of it to not have heard in all that time, given I have cited him in conference papers in that interval, and had been recently thinking that it had been long enough since his last that surely he had another book due out, and I would need to consult with him should I ever go back to a particular project. Only, of course, I can't now. I'm glad you mentioned it.

[nwhyte]

Yes, I was very sorry to discover this - also rather recently, and I'm sorry to have shocked you with the news. Back in the day when I was following such things he really was my guru.

[beamjockey]

Has Chaucer met Doctor Who?

[nwhyte]

In Marc Platt's novel Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible, Ace is exploring the Tardis and makes an interesting discovery: "In a dusty library, stacked with books and parchments, was a medieval manuscript entitled The Doctour of Science's Tale. It was inscribed Fare ful wel, Doctour, and signed Geoffrey Chaucer. Year of our Lord, 1388."

I leave the fanfic explanation to others.

[beamjockey]

Evidently Marc Platt is making a transparent attempt to gain prestige for his profession-- author of Doctor Who stories-- by claiming that the great Chaucer was the author of the first* Doctor fanfic.

*At least until Homer's version turns up.

[steve_mollmann]

It is striking how many of the Tales are unfinished, either interrupted by other characters or simply not completed by Chaucer - the Shipman's Tale being the most egregious example, ending in mid-sentence.

I had a colleague who, had he not elected to leave graduate school, would have written his dissertation on the idea of "failure" as portrayed in medieval literature, including Chaucer. He was most fascinated by "The Cook's Tale," falling into the critical camp that believes it breaks off deliberately.