England and Bohemia in the Age of Chaucer

England and Bohemia in the Age of Chaucer

Author: Peter Brown

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer

Published: 2023-09-05

Total Pages: 303

ISBN-13: 1843845792

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New essays examining Bohemia as a key European context for understanding Chaucer's poetry. Chaucer never went to Bohemia but Bohemia came to him when, in 1382, King Richard II of England married Anne, daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV. Charles's splendid court in Prague was renowned across Europe for its patronage of literature, art and architecture, and Anne and her entourage brought with them some of its glamour and allure - their fashions, extravagance and behaviour provoking comment from English chroniclers. For Chaucer, a poet and diplomat affiliated to Richard's court, Anne was more muse than patron, her influence embedded in a range of his works, including the Parliament of Fowls, Troilus and Criseyde, the Legend of Good Women and Canterbury Tales. This volume shows Bohemia to be a key European context, alongside France and Italy, for understanding Chaucer's poetry, providing a wide perspective on the nature of cultural exchange between England and Bohemia in the later fourteenth century. The contributors consider such matters as court culture and politics, the writings of Richard Rolle, artistic style, Troy stories, historiographic writing and travel narrative; they highlight the debt Chaucer owed to Bohemian culture, and the affinities between English and Bohemian literary production, whether in the use of Petrarch's tale of Griselde, the iconography of the tapster figure, or satires on the Passion of Christ. The contributors consider such matters as court culture and politics, the writings of Richard Rolle, artistic style, Troy stories, historiographic writing and travel narrative; they highlight the debt Chaucer owed to Bohemian culture, and the affinities between English and Bohemian literary production, whether in the use of Petrarch's tale of Griselde, the iconography of the tapster figure, or satires on the Passion of Christ. The contributors consider such matters as court culture and politics, the writings of Richard Rolle, artistic style, Troy stories, historiographic writing and travel narrative; they highlight the debt Chaucer owed to Bohemian culture, and the affinities between English and Bohemian literary production, whether in the use of Petrarch's tale of Griselde, the iconography of the tapster figure, or satires on the Passion of Christ. The contributors consider such matters as court culture and politics, the writings of Richard Rolle, artistic style, Troy stories, historiographic writing and travel narrative; they highlight the debt Chaucer owed to Bohemian culture, and the affinities between English and Bohemian literary production, whether in the use of Petrarch's tale of Griselde, the iconography of the tapster figure, or satires on the Passion of Christ.


Anne of Bohemia

Anne of Bohemia

Author: Kristen L. Geaman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-04-19

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1000579581

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This volume examines the life of Anne of Bohemia, the first queen of Richard II (1377–1399), and situates her within the context of medieval queenship by arguing that Anne ably fulfilled the political role of the queen consort through her intercession, patronage, and piety. Much previous scholarship on Anne has focused on her relationship with famous poets, such as Geoffrey Chaucer, but from analyzing government documents it becomes clear that Anne used her wealth and status to enact power. Through financial, religious, and cultural patronage, Anne rewarded supporters and servants and influenced court life. The examination of sources such as a letter from Anne to her half brother, and an apothecary bill that contains some fertility medicines suggests that the queen both desired and tried to have children. As such, the volume questions the public imagination of Anne and shows that, in this example, although she died childless, Anne and Richard attempted to have children throughout their marriage. With the inclusion of tables listing Anne’s acts of intercession and her land holdings and land grants, Anne of Bohemia is a useful tool for students and scholars interested in queenship studies, medieval women’s history, and the history of the English monarchy.


Richard II

Richard II

Author: Anthony Goodman

Publisher: Clarendon Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 9780199262205

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Richard II had a dramatic kingship. This text, written by leading historians, aims to re-evaluate the much-maligned figure.


A New Companion to Chaucer

A New Companion to Chaucer

Author: Peter Brown

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-06-10

Total Pages: 565

ISBN-13: 1118902254

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The extensively revised and expanded version of the acclaimed Companion to Chaucer An essential text for both established scholars and those seeking to expand their knowledge of Chaucer studies, A New Companion to Chaucer is an authoritative and up-to-date survey of Chaucer scholarship. Rigorous yet accessible, this book helps readers to identify current debates, recognize historical and literary context, and to understand how particular concepts and theories affect the interpretation of Chaucer’s texts. Chaucer specialists from around the globe offer contributions that range from updates of long-standing scholarship on biography, language, women, and social structures, to original research in new areas such as ideology, the afterlife, patronage, and sexuality. In presenting conflicting perspectives and ideological differences, this stimulating volume encourages readers to explore additional paths of inquiry and engage in lively and informed debate. Each chapter of the Companion, organized by issues and themes, balances textual analysis and cultural context by grounding the reader in existing scholarship. Key issues from specific passages are discussed with an annotated bibliography provided for reference and further reading. Compiled with all students of Chaucer in mind, this important volume: Presents contributions from both established and emerging specialists Explores the circumstances in which Chaucer wrote, such as the political and religious issues of his time Includes numerous close readings of selected poems Provides points of entry to a wide range of approaches to Chaucer’s works Incorporates original research, fresh perspectives, and updated additions to Chaucer scholarship A New Companion to Chaucer is a valuable and enduring resource for scholars, teachers, and students of medieval literature and medieval studies, as well as the general reader interested in interpretations and historical contexts of Chaucer’s writings.


The Czech Legend of St Catherine of Alexandria

The Czech Legend of St Catherine of Alexandria

Author: Alfred Thomas

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer

Published: 2024-04-16

Total Pages: 135

ISBN-13: 1843847159

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The first complete translation of a fascinating piece of Czech literature. The virgin martyr St Catherine was one of the pre-eminent and most popular saints in the Middle Ages, her legend spreading far and wide throughout Europe. A Bohemian version of her Vita was written in the second half of the fourteenth century, probably for the court of Emperor Charles IV in Prague; it is a fascinating account of her life and passion, with many unique features. However, partly because of the language barrier, it has received relatively little attention. This book provides the first complete translation of this important text. It is accompanied by a full, interdisciplinary introduction, which places the legend in its cultural and historical context, and emphasizes both the importance of the Dominican friars as court writers and the prominence of royal and noble women as patrons and consumers of their work. It also highlights the numerous representations of Catherine in contemporary art. Meanwhile, elucidatory notes to the translation illuminate its most important features.


Writing Plague

Writing Plague

Author: Alfred Thomas

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-04-22

Total Pages: 279

ISBN-13: 3030948501

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Writing Plague: Language and Violence from the Black Death to COVID-19 brings a holistic and comparative perspective to “plague writing” from the later Middle Ages to the twenty-first century. It argues that while the human “hardware” has changed enormously between the medieval past and the present (urbanization, technology, mass warfare, and advances in medical science), the human “software” (emotional and psychological reactions to the shock of pandemic) has remained remarkably similar across time. Through close readings of works by medieval writers like Guillaume de Machaut, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Geoffrey Chaucer in the fourteenth century, select plays by Shakespeare, and modern “plague” fiction and film, Alfred Thomas convincingly demonstrates psychological continuities between the Black Death and COVID-19. In showing how in times of plague human beings repress their fears and fantasies and displace them onto the threatening “other,” Thomas highlights the danger of scapegoating vulnerable minority groups such as Asian Americans and Jews in today’s America. This wide-ranging study will thus be of interest not only to medievalists but also to students of modernity as well as the general reader.


Richard Ii of England

Richard Ii of England

Author: Source Wikipedia

Publisher: Booksllc.Net

Published: 2013-09

Total Pages: 24

ISBN-13: 9781230777283

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Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 23. Chapters: Anne of Bohemia, Cultural depictions of Richard II of England, Isabella of Valois, Lords Appellant, Peasants' Revolt, Richard II (play), Richard the Redeless, Thomas of Woodstock (play), White Hart, Wilton Diptych. Excerpt: Richard II (6 January 1367 - ca. 14 February 1400) was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard, a son of Edward, the Black Prince, was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III. Richard was the younger brother of Edward of Angouleme; upon the death of this elder brother, Richard-at four years of age-became second in line to the throne after his father. Upon the death of Richard's father prior to the death of Edward III, Richard, by agnatic succession, became the first in line for the throne. With Edward III's death the following year, Richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten. During Richard's first years as king, government was in the hands of a series of councils. The political community preferred this to a regency led by the king's uncle, John of Gaunt, yet Gaunt remained highly influential. The first major challenge of the reign was the Peasants' Revolt in 1381, which the young king played a major part in suppressing. In the following years, however, the king's dependence on a small number of courtiers caused discontent in the political community, and in 1387 control of government was taken over by a group of noblemen known as the Lords Appellant. By 1389 Richard had regained control, and for the next eight years governed in relative harmony with his former opponents. Then, in 1397, he took his revenge on the appellants, many of whom were executed or exiled. The next two years have been described by historians as Richard's "tyranny." In 1399, after John of Gaunt died, the king disinherited Gaunt's son, Henry of Bolingbroke, who had previously...


Queens of the Age of Chivalry

Queens of the Age of Chivalry

Author: Alison Weir

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Published: 2022-12-06

Total Pages: 544

ISBN-13: 1101966734

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Packed with dramatic true stories from one of European history’s most romantic and turbulent eras, this epic narrative chronicles the five vividly rendered queens of the Plantagenet kings who ruled England between 1299 and 1409. “A thorough and illuminating survey of the Plantagenet dynasty.”—Publishers Weekly The Age of Chivalry describes a period of medieval history dominated by the social, religious, and moral code of knighthood that prized noble deeds, military greatness, and the game of courtly love between aristocratic men and women. It was also a period of high drama in English history, which included the toppling of two kings, the Hundred Years War, the Black Death, and the Peasants’ Revolt. Feudalism was breaking down, resulting in social and political turmoil. Against this dramatic milieu, Alison Weir describes the lives and reigns of five queen consorts: Marguerite of France was seventeen when she became the second wife of sixty-year-old King Edward I. Isabella of France, later known as “the She-Wolf,” dethroned her husband, Edward II, and ruled England with her lover. In contrast, Philippa of Hainault was a popular queen to the deposed king’s son Edward III. Anne of Bohemia was queen to Richard II, but she died young and childless. Isabella of Valois became Richard’s second wife when she was only six years old, but was caught up in events when he was violently overthrown. This was a turbulent and brutal age, despite its chivalric color and ethos, and it stands as a vivid backdrop to the extraordinary stories of these queens’ lives.