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The Biblical Characters of Chaucer's Monk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Dudley R. Johnson
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Extract

Of the seventeen tragedies which Chaucer's Monk bewails, seven (or eight, if Lucifer merits inclusion in the category) have as protagonists characters drawn from the Bible. It has generally been assumed that for the greater part of the Biblical information in The Monk's Tale Chaucer used the Vulgate, while he gleaned a few details from Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum et Feminarum Illustrium, which served as model for the collection of tragedies. There are, however, in Chaucer's work various divergencies from, or augmentations of, the Biblical narratives which can be explained neither by the Vulgate nor by the Boccaccean collection. In an article entitled “Vincent of Beauvais and Chaucer's Monks Tale,” Miss Pauline Aiken has presented her theory that the influence of Vincent's Speculum Eistoriale may be detected in eight of the Monk's tragedies, but that “among the sources of this tale the first place is to be assigned to the Vulgate Bible.” I should like to propose another source for the Biblical portions of The Monk's Tale: a French version of the Scriptures, the Bible Eistoriale of Guyart Desmoulins.

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 66 , Issue 5 , September 1951 , pp. 827 - 843
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1951

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References

Note 1 in page 827 See Robert K. Root, “The Monk's Tale,” in Sources and Analogues of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (Chicago, 1941), pp. 615–644 (hereafter abbreviated to SA); Grace W. Landrum, “Chaucer's Use of the Vulgate,” PMLA, xxxix (1924), 75–100; the notes in Robinson's Complete Works; etc.

Note 2 in page 827 Speculum, xvii (1942), 56–68. The eight tragedies showing the influence of Vincent are Samson, Nebuchadnezzar, Nero, Julius Caesar, Adam, Belshazzar, Alexander, Croesus. As Miss Aiken acknowledges, the evidence for the influence of Vincent is much more positive in the first four of these tales.

Note 3 in page 827 On Desmoulins and his Bible, see Samuel Berger, La Bible française au moyen âge (Paris, 1884), pp. 157–220; and the article, “Françaises (Versions) de la Bible,” in F. Vigouroux, ed. Dictionnaire de la Bible, ii, ii, cols. 2355–59.

Note 4 in page 828 See Berger, pp. 109–156; Vigouroux, Dictionnaire, ii, ii, cols. 2354–55. 5 See Margaret Deanesly, The Lollard Bible (Cambridge, 1920), pp. 221 and 278 n, 6 The MSS. described in Seymour de Ricci, Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada (New York, 1935 and 1937), are as follows: The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York: 322–323, Bible Hisloriale, late 14th cent.; 394–395, Bible Hisloriale, ca. 1430; 494, Bible du XIIIe siècle, ca. 1260. The Spencer Collection, New York Public Library: 4, Bible Bisloriale, ca. 1410. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore: Bible Hisloriale, ca. 1380. The Yale Library MS. of the Bible Historiale was acquired in 1950 and hence is not noted in de Ricci.

Note 7 in page 829 This is edited in Henry Bergen's edition of Lydgate's Fall of Princes, EETS, Extra Ser. 121 (1923–27), iv, 138–139.

Note 8 in page 829 See SA, p. 625, and Robinson, p. 853, n. to 1. 2007. The phrase also appears in the Speculum Historiale (as Miss Aiken notes, Speculum, xvii, 57), in the Historia Scholastica, and in the Bible Historiale as the place where God created Adam.

Note 9 in page 829 Miss Aiken notes that the expression “digito Dei” occurs in the Speculum Historiale. Vincent, however, states that God's commandment was written in Adam's heart by His finger, not that Adam was created thereby.

Note 10 in page 829 I cannot agree with Miss Aiken that the Speculum Historiale gave Chaucer the statement, “welte al paradys savynge ? tree,” which might equally well be derived from his general knowledge or from the Bible (Genesis ii.16–17) in either of the versions here under discussion. Both Comestor and Desmoulins, however, more than the Vulgate, stress Adam's rulership of Paradise.

Note 11 in page 830 Speculum, xviii, 58–59.

Note 12 in page 830 Root's edition of Boccaccio's “De Sansone,” from which I take my quotations, appears in SA, 626–628.

Note 13 in page 830 Judges xiv.1–7. When, at a later time, Sampson goes to take the Philistine woman as his wife, he discovers the carcase of the slain lion, filled with honey.

Note 14 in page 831 Judges xiv.20; MS. 394, fol. 111v.

Note 15 in page 831 les . . . queue] lia les queues ensemble (Bible du XIIIe s., MS. 494, fol. 164v). Cf. 1. 2032, “hir tayles he togydre bond.”

Note 16 in page 831 tisons] brondons (MS. 494, fol. 164v). Cf. 1. 2034, “brond.”

Note 17 in page 832 Cf. Skeat's Chaucer, V, 229, n. to 1. 3225.

Note 18 in page 833 1475 edition, fol. 130v.

Note 19 in page 833 Ibid., fol. 32v Cf. Daniel iv.

Note 20 in page 833 Landrum, “Chaucer's Use of the Vulgate,” PMLA, xxxix, 93; Robinson, p. 854, n. to 1. 2152.

Note 21 in page 833 Jewish Antiquities, tr. Ralph Marcus (Cambridge, Mass., & London, 1937), vi, 261–262.

Note 22 in page 834 Migne, Patrologia Lalina, Vol. 198, col. 1447.

Note 23 in page 834 Speculum Historiale Vincenti Belvacensis (Augsburg, 1474), ii, cap. cxxi. This quotation is given in a slightly different form by Miss Aiken, Speculum, xvii, 59.

Note 24 in page 835 It is quite possible that Chaucer knew and used the popular Historia Scholastica; see T. R. Lounsberry, Studies in Chaucer (London, 1892), ii, 372–375. 25 MS. 394, fol. 175v and 176r. Cf. Historia Scholastica, cols. 1424–25. 26 MS. 394, fol. 177r. Cf. Historia Scholastica, col. 1426.

Note 27 in page 835 I am unable to understand Root's statement that Nebuchadnezzar “did not win Jerusalem twice” (SA, 632).

Note 28 in page 836 MS. 394, fol. 194v. Cf. Vulgate, Daniel iii.48: “et constituit eum principem super omnes provincias Babylonis, et praefectum magistratum super cunctos sapientes Babylonis.”

Note 29 in page 836 SA, 632.

Note 30 in page 836 PMLA, XXXIX, 93.

Note 31 in page 836 For example, MS. 394, fol. 194r: lx by vi; MS. 501, fol. 103r: quarante by huit; MS. 464, fol. 461v: xl by vii; etc.

Note 32 in page 836 MS. 394, fol. 194r. I do not believe that the error could have arisen from the corresponding sentence in the Historia Scholastica, col. 1450: “Et adoraverunt omnes praeter socios Danielis.” The mistake is attributed by Miss Aiken (Speculum, xvii, 60) to ambiguous phraseology in Vincent's account of Daniel.

Note 33 in page 838 1475 ed., fol. 32v. See SA, p. 632.

Note 34 in page 838 Miss Aiken (Speculum, xvii, 60) observes that Vincent of Beauvais' version of the story “follows the Vulgate closely and therefore resembles Chaucer's” and that the King's name is spelled Balthasar. Vincent, however, says nothing about Daniel's words to Belshazzar concerning Nabugodonosor (11. 2210 ff., cf. Daniel v.18 ff.). Desmoulins also spells the name Balthasar. The Historia Scholastica makes no mention of Belshazzar's wife and concubines, his glory and honor, and his pride (11. 2227, 2211, 2212; cf. Daniel v.18, 20, 23).

Note 35 in page 838 MS. 394, fol. 195r. Historia Scholastica, cols. 1455–56.

Note 36 in page 839 MS. 394, fol. 197r. Historia Scholastica, cols. 1463–64.

Note 37 in page 839 1475 ed., fol. 38v: In luxuries principes.

Note 38 in page 839 1475 ed., fol. 76r.

Note 39 in page 839 The death and remorse of Antiochus are also recounted in I Maccabees vi, but Chaucer apparently did not use this chapter.

Note 40 in page 839 PMLA, xxxix, 93.

Note 41 in page 840 In the books of Maccabees, the MSS., with the exception of the Yale copy, show a pronounced similarity to the Bible du troisième siècle version. The Yale MS. is conspicuously different; therefore I believe it is closer to Desmoulins' original version than the others. If Chaucer consulted the Bible Historiale for his tales of Alexander and Antiochus (derived from I and II Maccabees respectively—he used a MS akin to the former type. My quotations will henceforth be taken from MS. 395, for the Antiochus story fol. 180r, if not otherwise noted.

Note 42 in page 840 vers (MS. 323)] vertus (MS. 395).

Note 43 in page 840 peser (MS. 323)] passer (MS. 395)

Note 44 in page 841 Quotations taken from MS. 395, fol. 163v.

Note 45 in page 841 1475 ed., fol. 56r. SA, 641 notes two additional mentions of Alexander in the De Casibus. Miss Aiken (Speculum, xvii, 62–63) observes that the facts additional to the Bible may be found in the Speculum Historiale.

Note 46 in page 842 MS. 394, fol. 216v. Cf. Historia Scholastica, col. 1498.

Note 47 in page 842 MS. 394, fol. 216r. Cf. Historica Scholastica, col. 1497.

Note 48 in page 842 SA, 615.

Note 49 in page 842 SA, 616.