Review
"A hugely important book."—Nigel Saul, author of Richard II
"More of a contextual study than a biography, it contains a great deal of valuable material and intriguing speculation."—Jonathan Bate, author of Song of the Earth
"Lighthearted, intelligent, panoramic and defiantly unbeholden to conventional interpretation, [Who Murdered Chaucer?] is based on an impressive array of primary and secondary sources."—Alexander Rose, author of Kings of the North
Book Description
In this spectacular work of historical speculation Terry Jones investigates the mystery surrounding the death of Geoffrey Chaucer over 600 years ago. A diplomat and brother-in-law to John of Gaunt, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, Chaucer was celebrated as his country's finest living poet, rhetorician and scholar: the preeminent intellectual of his time. And yet nothing is known of his death. In 1400 his name simply disappears from the record. We don't know how he died, where or when; there is no official confirmation of his death and no chronicle mentions it; no notice of his funeral or burial. He left no will and there's nothing to tell us what happened to his estate. He didn't even leave any manuscripts. How could this be? What if he was murdered?
Terry Jones' hypothesis is the introduction to a reading of Chaucer's writings as evidence that might be held against him, interwoven with a portrait of one of the most turbulent periods in English history, its politics and its personalities.
About the Author
Terry Jones is the author of several acclaimed works on the Middle Ages including Chaucer's Knight, Crusades, and Medieval Lives, the basis for his popular PBS series. A former member of Monty Python, he lives in London.
Terry Dolan is Professor of English at University College, Dublin, and a lexicographer and broadcaster.
Juliette Dor is Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Liege.
Alan Fletcher is a lecturer in Medieval English Literature at University College, Dublin.
Robert F. Yeager teaches Old and Middle English literature at the University of West Florida.
Who Murdered Chaucer?: A Medieval Mystery FROM THE PUBLISHER
"In this work of historical speculation Terry Jones and a team of international scholars investigate the mystery surrounding the death of Geoffrey Chaucer over 600 years ago. An important public figure, a diplomat and the brother-in-law to John of Gaunt - one of the most powerful men in the kingdom - Chaucer was celebrated as his country's finest living poet, rhetorician and scholar: the pre-eminent intellectual superstar of his time. We have a great deal of information about his life. And yet nothing at all is known of his death." "In 1400 his name simply disappears from the record. We don't know how he died, where or when; there is no official confirmation of his death and no chronicle mentions it; no notice of his funeral or burial. He left no will and there's nothing to tell us what happened to his estate. He didn't even leave any manuscripts. How could this be?" "What if he was murdered? What if he and his writings had become politically inconvenient in the seismic social shift that occurred with the overthrow of the liberal Richard II by the reactionary, oppressive regime of Henry IV? Would the dogs of suppression, unleashed by the ruthlessly ambitious Archbishop Arundel, have been snapping at the heels of a dangerous poet?" This hypothesis is the introduction to a reading of Chaucer's writings as evidence that might be held against him, interwoven with a portrait of one of the most turbulent periods in English history, its politics and its personalities.
FROM THE CRITICS
William Grimes - The New York Times
Who Murdered Chaucer? lays its cards on the table right off. In the first sentence of the introduction the authors admit that "this book is less of a Whodunnit? than a Wasitdunnatall?" In other words, the murder referred to in the title may very well not have occurred, which makes this hefty, beautifully illustrated volume a very long shaggy-dog story.
Library Journal
Claiming that this work is more a "wasitdunnatall" than a whodunnit, former Monty Python member Jones and his coauthors (all professors specializing in medieval English literature) offer a well-researched argument that Chaucer may not have died peacefully. While Chaucer thrived during the reign of Richard II, who was a patron of the arts and tolerant of religious dissent, the authors suggest that under Henry IV, who usurped the throne from Richard, Chaucer became a marked man. Thomas Arundel, the tyrannical Archbishop of Canterbury under Henry IV, is considered the main suspect in Chaucer's possible murder. The authors use works by Chaucer and his contemporaries to substantiate many intriguing hypotheses. Although this work succeeds in planting a seed of doubt about the circumstances surrounding Chaucer's demise, the evidence produced is not overwhelmingly convincing. Recommended with reservations for academic and larger public libraries.-Erica Swenson Danowitz, American Univ. Lib., Washington, DC Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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