Confessio Amantis, Volume 1

by John Gower, Russell A. Peck, Russell a Peck

Book Overview

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1580441025
• ISBN13: 9781580441025
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: Medieval Institute Publications
• Length: 346 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.9" x 9.9"

Customer Reviews

For those with a special interest in mediaeval literature

First, a word of warning about this edition. It simply reproduces Gower's original text and does not contain any introduction, glossary or explanatory notes. It is not, therefore, suitable for anyone not already familiar with Middle English. Unlike, however, his contemporaries William Langland (a Midlander) and the so called "Pearl Poet" (a Northerner), Gower wrote in the south-eastern dialect which formed the basis for modern standard English, so anyone who knows Chaucer in the original should have no difficulty with his language. John Gower is, together with Chaucer, Langland and the Pearl Poet (whose true identity is unknown) one of the key figures in the English literature of the late 14th century. These authors are sometimes known as the "Ricardians", after King Richard II in whose reign they produced most of their works, and the period has been seen as representing a rebirth of English as a literary language. Ever since the Norman Conquest three centuries earlier, English, although it remained the mother-tongue of the great majority of the population, had been overshadowed by Latin and French as a written language. Indeed, Gower himself (unlike Chaucer or Langland) wrote works in both those languages, "Vox Clamantis" in Latin and "Le Miroir de l'Homme, later renamed "Speculum Meditantis", in French. "Confessio Amantis" ("The Lover's Confession") is in fact his only major work in English. Like Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales" or Boccaccio's "Decameron" "Confessio Amantis" is a collection of tales set within a narrative framework. It is divided into eight books and takes the form of the confession made by a lover, named at first only as "Amans" (Latin for "lover") but later identified as Gower himself, to Genius, a priest of Venus. It is based upon the sort of confession a penitent might make to a Christian priest, and Genius leads Amans through the seven deadly sins, urging him to confess his "sins against love" and telling him a series of moral stories exemplifying the sins under discussion. (The one sin which is not fully dealt with is lust. In the eyes of a priest of the Goddess of Love this presumably does not count as a sin). There are also a number of lengthy digressions from the main theme, especially the whole of Book VII which consists of a lengthy discourse on the education given by Aristotle to Alexander the Great and a treatise on good kingship. As with a number of literary works from the mediaeval and Renaissance periods the result is a blend of Christianity and paganism. Most of Genius' tales are taken from Classical mythology, but some come from history, some from the Bible and some from Christian legends of the saints. It can seem incongruous to the modern mind that a pagan priest is preaching the Christian gospel to a worshipper of Venus, but doubtless the fourteenth-century mind was less troubled by such matters. The concept of the "seven deadly sins" also forms the basis of Chaucer's "Parson's Tale", and a number of t

Shiznit

Gower`s contribution to the developement of the English literature is very important . Though he spoke French and Latin , two languages very popular in the fourtheenth century he found it important to write in English . In " Confessio Amantis" Gower leaves behind the morality and admitting with honesty that he was not born to set the world right starts telling stories about Love . Anyway , he tries to mingle the parts of the courtly lover poet and that of a Christian moralist; the courtly lover must learn to be a good and virtous man The book is a collection of more than a hundred stories of various length and of very diverse origin , from Ovid to the Bible , all told in a captivant and pleasant style .

John Gower and a New Vision of the World

JOHN GOWER -Confessio Amantis Gower`s contribution to the developement of English literature is very important . Though he spoke French and Latin ,two languages very popular in the fourteenth century he found it important to write in English . In "Confessi Amantis "Gower leaves behind the morality and admitting with honesty that he was not born to set the world right starts telling stories about Love . Anyway , he tries to mingle the parts of a lover poet and that of a Christian moralist ; the lover must learn to be a good and virtous man . The book is a collection of more than a hundres stories of various length and of very diverse origin , from Ovid to the Bible , all told in a captivant and pleasant style .

Gower - the courtly lover poet and the moralist

Gower`s contribution to the developement of the English literature is very important . Though he spoke French and Latin , two languages very popular in the fourtheenth century he found it important to write in English . In " Confessio Amantis" Gower leaves behind the morality and admitting with honesty that he was not born to set the world right starts telling stories about Love . Anyway , he tries to mingle the parts of the courtly lover poet and that of a Christian moralist; the courtly lover must learn to be a good and virtous man The book is a collection of more than a hundred stories of various length and of very diverse origin , from Ovid to the Bible , all told in a captivant and pleasant style .