Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery
by Terry Jones, Robert Yeager, Alan Fletcher, Juliette Dor, Terry Dolan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alan Fletcher, Juliette Dor, Robert Yeager, Terry Dolan, Terry JonesEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-06-13
ISBN: 0312335881
Number of pages: 416
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Book Reviews of Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery
Book Review: A Great Book -- SEMINAL, not conclusive
Summary: 5 Stars
This seminal literary history was researched and written by five different scholars, all at different schools. Because they unearthed so many historical indicators to challenge the accepted view of Chaucer and his age, we can expect many more scholars to follow in their footsteps, and go beyond them. Their "if, perhaps" and "maybe" are entirely appropriate for a thesis or two which cannot yet be demonstrated conclusively.
Years ago, I read every known word of Chaucer's. I even thought I understood his poetry. Ha! His complaint to his purse seemed clever, but a little off key. But it makes perfect sense that he needed money, as he said, to get out of town and thus stay alive. The Retraction never seemed at all right to me. But again, Jones, et al. made it become clear. But my biggest lack of understanding pertained to the church characters which he satirizes so wittily, so effectively. All of that was utterly enjoyable, and it seemed he was hitting some easy targets, albeit with unusual skill and artistry. Never did I realize that he was a serious participant in a major religious struggle.
In those "years ago" I read all the Middle English prose and poetry I could get my hands on, for a graduate exam. Langland was nice, but I only sort of read him. His dialect was difficult for me. But after "Who Murdered C," I went back into "piers Plowman." I'm hardly into it, and already the words and ideas I (as a modern Protestant) had taken for granted take on whole new meanings. For just one example among many, in Passus I, ln. 88-94, Langland has the character Holy Church tell the Dreamer that everyone who can read should spread the word that anyone who speaks only truth, does only truth, and harbors no evil thoughts -- all these persons, both Christians and non-Christians, are like God. This is NOT anything like the orthodoxy of his day. I find it a devastating work of controversy
"Who Murdered Chaucer" brought about a paradigm shift in my thinking.
If you do not care for the grinding of personal axes, this might be a good place to stop reading.
I protest the kind of education that taught me not to see much practical value in great literature. In eight years of college studies in English and American literature I never touched on, for instance, Jefferson's writings. He was a GREAT stylist as well as a many-faceted genius; and of course his writings bear directly on what sort of nation we started out to be. The only reason I see for this neglect is that he wrote about the real world. That explains the absence of Thomas Paine, James Madison, and certain writings of Lincoln, etc. We all read Henry Adams' "Education," and never heard a word about his delightful and [Ugh, dare I say it?] informative history of Jefferson's and Madison's administration. In our education, it was never stated EXPLICITLY that the only worthwhile literature did not seek to influence the real world. Call it "New Criticism", call it Ars Gratia Artis, but it was there implicitly.
My shallow understanding, or lack thereof, never raised objections from my professors. But during the past twenty-five years, I've been reading some really great works which shaped the world. Jones, et al. have contributed to deeper understanding. Thank you.
The national honors society to which I belong, bemoans every year that fewer college students are studying the liberal arts. My opinion is that the trend would turn around -- at least for literature -- if the professors would learn to teach literature that has meaning outside of their shrinking coterie.
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