Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

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Record Number: 11451 Author(s)/Creator(s): Seymour , M.C. Contributor(s): Title: Chaucer's Revision of the Prologue of "The Legend of Good Women" [suggests that Chaucer revised the prologue in 1399 or 1400 in order to present the text to the new king, Henry IV; he excised some portions to make it more accessible and added material on the duties of lordship and his own literary achievements]. Source: Modern Language Review 92, 4 (October 1997): Pages 832 - 841. Description: Article Type: Journal Article Subject (See Also): Chaucer, Geoffrey, Poet- Legend of Good Women- Prologue Literature- Verse Manuscripts Patronage, Literary Revision Scribes and Scriptoria Award Note: Geographic Area: British Isles Century: 14- 15 Primary Evidence: Manuscript; Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, MS Gg. 4. 27 Fols 445-52. The illuminated manuscript dates to around 1420 and originated in East Anglia. Illustrations: Table: Abstract: The revised Prologue in Cambridge University Library MS Gg. 4. 27 is examined bibliographically and textually. The text is shown to be an imperfect scribal copy and the revision largely a matter of rearrangement of lines within less than half the poem, with some careful rewriting to smooth these adjustments. Its purpose may have been politic as well as poetic, Chaucer revising the poem as his last production as an offering to Henry IV, crowned 13 October 1399. [Reproduced by permission of the Modern Humanities Research Association.] Related Resources: Author's Affiliation: Conference Info: - , - Year of Publication: 1997. Language: English ISSN/ISBN: 00267937

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