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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2020
“His studie was but litel on the Bible,” Chaucer's remark concerning the Physician, has been applied by critics to Chaucer himself. The prevailing view is doubtless that expressed by Tatlock: “The more one investigates Chaucer's reading, the more convinced one becomes that his familiarity with the Bible (and other quotable literature, like Cato and Seneca) was largely at second-hand.” Up to this time, however, investigation of Chaucer's biblical material has been slight, as a glance at Miss Hammond's Manual will prove.
1 Development and Chronology of Chaucer's Works, p. 202, note 4.
2 The Lollard Bible, p. 224.
3 That the number of French missals has perhaps been underestimated may be inferred from the statement of A. C. Paues, A Fourteenth Century Biblical Verson, p. xix (1902): “No hindrance can have been put in the way of translations of the Bible into French or of the use of the Scriptures amongst those classes in England who were familiar with the French tongue, and whose means enabled them to purchase the costly, often finely illuminated manuscripts. Copies of entire or partial Biblical translations—above all the favorite Book of Psalms, the Apocalypse, the 'Bible historiale'—mostly executed by English scribes, still abound in our public and private Libraries, not to mention the many copies of English provenance which have found their way into continental collections.” Compare the similar view of Miss Margaret Joyce Powell, The Pauline Epistles, p. lvi: ' French versions were current among the upper classes in England before Wyclif's time.“ In a note (p. lvi) the author quotes S. Berger, La Bible francaise au Moyen Age, pp. 115, 145 f., 23 f., as mentioning several French biblical translations made in the fourteenth century or earlier.
4 The Lollard Bible, p. 220.
5 The Atheneum, February 4, 1921.
6 Note that Chaucer nowhere says Redeth the porthors, although porthors scans as well as Bible. Why does Chaucer use porthors only once (B 1321) and then not in reference to a storehouse of biblical information?
7 They run through Genesis, Deuteronomy, Judges, I. Kings (I. Samuel in the A. V.), Tobit, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus, Matthew, Luke,' John, Acts, Romans, I and II Corinthians, Ephesians, I Thessalonians, Hebrews, James, I John, I Peter, and the Apocalypse.
8 Gower's Complete Works, I, lvi.
9 Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Judges, I, II, III, and IV Kings, Tobit, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Ecclesiasticus, Isaiah, Daniel, I Maccabees, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Romans, I Corinthians, Colossians, James, I and II Peter, and the Apocalypse.
10 Macaulay, op. cit., C. Amantis 7: 4027-4147.
11 For interesting researches in this field and the charming by-paths of mediaeval hymns, see especially the work of Carleton Brown, Mod. Lang. Notes, XXX: 231 ff.; Mod. Philol; III, 467 ff.; ib. IX, 1 ff.; P. M. L. A. 486.; Chaucer Soc. 2nd Ser. No. 45.
12 The impress upon Chaucer of biblical material in the Roman de la Rose must be considered important, however much or little of his translation is extant.
13 See Kölbing's, “Zu Chaucer's Cecilien Legende,” Engl. Stud. I, 215 ff.
14 See W. M. Rossetti, Chaucer's Troylus and Creseyde compared with Boccaccio's Filostrato, Chaucer Society, 1873.
15 See Lowes, P. M. L. A. XX, 790-4.
16 P. M. L. A. XX, 795, Note 1.
17 Deschamps versifies the sections of the chapters of the treatise in this order: 1.1; 1 3; 1 5; 1 6; and 8; 1:7; 1:9; 1:10; 11:6; 1:16; 1:12; 1:19; 1:20; 1:22; 1:23; 1:24; 1:23; 1:29; 1:14 etc; Otares Complètes D'Euslache Deschamps, Soc. d. Anc. Textes franc., Tom. 2.
18 The difference of the poets will appear in these passages based on De Contempla Mundi 1:23.
Semper enim mundanae laetitiae tristina repentina succedit. Et quod incipit a gaudio, desinit in moerore. Mundana quippe felicitas multis amaritudinibus est respersa. Noverat hoc qui dixerat: Risus dolore miscebitur, et extrema gaudii luctus occupat. Experti sunt hoc liberi Job, etc.
Deschamps (ibid., pp. 276-7)
Mais regardez tous les delis
Du monde et des hommes jolis
En armes ou en mariage:
A joie commencent toudis
Et finent en plours et en cris:
Trop y a de dueil et de rage;
Certes ce sont deduit sauvage
Qui trop s'i fiè il est honnis.
Si corpz muert et li esperis
En descent en l'ombreuse cage.
Chaucer (B 421-427)
O sodeyn wo! that ever art successour
To worldly bliss! Spreynd is with bitternesse
The ende of the joye of our worldly labour!
Wo occupieth the fyn of oure gladnesse,
Herke this conseil, for thy sickernesse,
Upon thy glade day, have in thy mynde
The unwar wo or harm, that comth behynde.
19 Altengl. Sprachp. I, 373-375.
20 Herrig's Archiv. LXXXVI: 30.
21 See Works, V, 212,
22 Chronology, p. 190, note 2.
23 For a recent reference to the publication, promised by the Chaucer Society, of the Melibé et Prudence, from the MSS. by Dr. Mary Noyes Colvin, see J. Leslie Hotson, Studies in Philology, XVIII. 436.
24 See Sundby's edition, Chaucer Society, Second Series, No. 8, p. 10, 1.29.
25 For slight, yet interesting changes, chiefly in pronouns, see J. Leslie Hotson op. oit., who believes Chaucer made these with great significance.
26 The whole sermon I accept as genuine. Against this view are Simon, Eilers, and ten Brink; for it, Fumivall, Koch, Düring, Köppel, Miss Petersen and Spies, to mention only scholars who have given the matter especial consideration.
27 Sources of the Parson's Tale, p. 80.
28 Chaucer's Religiöse Grundstimmung, Halle, 1913.
29 The renderings are as follows:
Chaucer:
Looke, that in the staat of innocence, when Adam and Eve naked were in Paradys and no thyng ne hadden shame of hir nakednesse, how that the serpent, that was moost wily of all othere bestes that God hadde maked, seyde to the womman, 'Why comaunded God to you ye sholde not eten of every tree in Paradys?' The woman answered, 'Of the fruyt,' quod she, 'of the trees in Paradys we feden us, but soothly of the fruyt of the tree that is in the myddel of Paradys God forbad us for to ete, and nat touchen it lest peradvanture we sholde dyen.' The serpent seyde to the womman, 'Nay, nay, ye shal not dyen of deeth; for so the, God woot that what day that ye eten ther-of youre eyen shul opene, and ye shul been as goddes, knowynge good and harm.'
The womman thanne saugh that the tree was good to feedyng, and fair to the eyen, and delitable to the sighte. She took of the fruyt of the tree and eet it, and gaf to hire housbonde, and he eet, and anoon the eyen of hem bo the openeden; and whan that they knew that they were naked they sewed of fig leaves a maner of breeches to hiden hire members.
30 The Parson's Text. Jer. VI. State super vias et videte, et interrogate de semitis antiquis, quae sit via bona et ambulate in ea; et invenietis refrigerium animabus vestris. (From the unknown sources of the Tale.) Stondeth upon the weyes and seith and axeth of olde pathes, that is to seyen of olde sentences, which is the goode way, and walketh in that way, and ye shall fynde refresshynge for youre soules. But there are far more striking differences elsewhere:
Gen. Pro. 514:
He was a shepherde, and not a mercenarie.
Reeve's Tale, A 3919-3920:
He kan wel in myn eye seen a stalke But in his owene he kan nat see a balke.
Wycliffe (Genesis III: 1-7):
But and the serpent was feller than alle lyvynge beestes of the erthe which the Lord God hadde maad. Which serpent seide to the womman, Why comandide God to you that ye schulden not ete of ech tree of paradis? To whom the womman answerde, We eten of the fruyt of trees that ben in paradis: sothely, God comandide to us that we schulden not ete of the fruyt of the tree, which is in the myddes of paradys, and that we schulden not touche it lest peranventure we dien. Forsothe the serpent seide to the womman, Ye schulen not die bi deeth; for whi God woot that in what euere dai ye schulen ete thereof your iyen schulen be opened and ye schulen be as Goddes, knowynge good and yvel. Therefor the womman seiy that the tre was good and swete to ete and fair to the iyen and delitable in biholdyng; and she took of the fruyt thereof and eet and gaf to hir hosebande and he eet. And the iyen of both weren opened and whaune thei knowen that they weren naked, thei sewiden the heves of a fige tree and made breches to hem silf. (Forshall and Madden's edition of Wycliffe's Bible, I, 83.)
Wycliffe's First Version.
Stondeth up on weies and seeth and asketh of the olde pathes what is the goode weie; and goth in it and yee shul fynde refreshynge to your soules.
Wycliffe's First Version, John X: 13: For sothe the marchaunt fleeth, for he is a marchaunt.
Second Version:
For sothe the hired hyne fleeth, for he is a hired hym.
Wycliffe's First version, Mat. VH:3: …. but what seest thou a festu (or a litil mote) in the eye of thin brother, and thou seest not a beem in thin owne eye.
31 Translation of the Psalms had long been considered more permissible than that of other parts of the Bible (see the Lollard Bible, p. 132, note, and Wescott, General View of the History of the English Bible, Second Edition, p. 12; Paues, A Fourteenth Century English Biblical Version, p. x.
32 See the edition of Hampole's Psalter by H. R. Bramley, p. 28.
33 This Psalm occurs in the Prymer. See Carleton Brown, P. M. L. A. XXI:486 ff; also the same author, Chaucer Soc. Publications, 2nd Ser. No. 45, p. 127, for a complete list of the contents of a Prymer.
34 Ib. p. 109.
36 Ib. p. 103.
36 Skeat, Works, I: 263.
37 Ib. 454. The text is Col. II: 14.
38 Chaucer and the Roman de la Rose, pp. 30-31.
39 For these four instances I am indebted to Dr. Carleton Brown. Apropos of Dalida it is important to note the striking absence in Chaucer of French forms of biblical names. For example, in rendering Abigail delivra Nagal son mari de David (Melibeus B 2285; Le Ménagier I: 195), he keeps the Nabal of Albertanus and the Vulgate (I Reg. XXV: 14). See Sundby, op. cit. p. 17. ll. 12-13.
40 Michel, Le Roman de la Rose, Tome Second, vv. 17, 614-17, 625.
41 Ib. vv. 12, 570-12, 573.
42 Skeat suggests the parallel to the Romaunt of the Rose, ii. 6887-6922. See Michel, op. cit., vv. 12, 540-12, 556 for corresponding lines in French.
43 Op. cit., p. 191, note 2.
44 Did Chaucer's memory lead to the curious instance of his correction in Melibeus, B. 2305? Albertano in rendering, Si quis autem vestrum indiget sapientia, postulet a deo. (Jac. 1.5), changes vestrum of the Vulgate to nostrum (Sundby, op. cit., p. 31, ll. 13-14). The French translator follows with se aucun de nous, but Chaucer follows the Vulgate, Seint James eek seith, If any of you have need of sapience, etc.
45 Originals and Analogues, Second Series, No. 7, 10, 15, 20, 22, p. 155. 46 Op.cit.,V. 228.
47 Bocatii de Certaldo: de Casibus Virorum Illustrium libri novem MDXLIIII.
48 Petersen, Sources of the Parson's Tale, p. 19.
49 Raymund is napping here. He means the seventh chapter.
50 Petersen, op. cit., p. 48.
51 Ib., p. 40.
52 See Mat. XXI: 7: Et adduxerunt asinam et pulum et imposuerunt super eos vestimenta sua etc.
53 Petersen, op. cit., p. 52.
54 See Anglia XIII: 174 ff.
55 See Chaucer Society Essays, Part III, pp. 298-306.
56 Op. cit., p. 179.
57 See Chaucer Society Essays, Part III, p. 298.
58 In order of appearance they are 2 Cor. 3:6; Luc. 5: 10; Col. I: 25; Ephes. 4: 31; Joan 4: 34; 1 Tim. 6:8; Marc. 9: 28; Mat. 5:3; Ps. 44; 2; Jac. I: 22; Luc. 10: 7; Ecclus. 4: 35; Prov. 22: 24, 25; 3 Reg. 18: 42; Mat. 23: 7, 8.
59 This list, which differs slightly from that in a modern Vulgate, is based on a thirteenth or fourteenth century Vulgate in the Harvard Library.
60 See Moore, Studies in Dante, First Series, for the list of Dante's biblical passages.
61 Vol. VI: pp. 381-384.
62 Op. cit., V: 477.
63 Op. cit., and Sources of the Nun's Priest's Tale.
64 See R. A. Law's interesting discussion of Chaucer's use of this phrase, P. M. L. A., XXXVII, 208 ff.
65 See Lounsbury. Studies in Chaucer, II: 186-188.
66 Skeat, op. cit., III: 333 fears that “Chaucer was really thinking of the centurion” in the Legend of Lucretia (ll. 200-203), though he speaks of a woman's faith. But that he could really give a good account of the Syro-Phoenician woman's faith he proves in the Second Nun's Tale (G 59-61). Again, Skeat, op. cit., V: 294, notes Chaucer's slight mistake in associating the barley breed (D 145-6) with St. Mark's account of the miracle. The interesting point is that Chaucer has such definite associations with the panes hordeaceos of the Vulgate (Joan VI: 9) that the hordeo and hordeum of St. Jerome recall the Gospel story.
67 Deanesly, op. cit., pp. 206-7; 223.
