Although Geoffrey Chaucer and William Langland together dominate fourteenth-century English literature, their respective masterpieces, The Canterbury Tales and Piers Plowman, could not be more different. While Langland's poem was immediately popular and influential, it was Chaucer who stood at the head of a literary tradition within a generation of his death. John Bowers asks why and how Chaucer, not Langland, was granted this position. His study reveals the political, social, and religious factors that contributed to the formation of a literary canon in fourteenth-century England.

Through extensive manuscript evidence, Bowers tracks the reputations of the two writers into the fifteenth century, when studies of fourteenth-century literature became more clearly configured in terms of a double, antagonistic dynamic. Langland remained the largely invisible presence against which the official Chaucerian tradition was constructed. Never really separate, the two literary traditions constantly interacted, with the reputation of Chaucer the court poet eclipsing that of Langland the dissenter and critic. By examining the historical and social contexts within which these traditions arose, Bowers helps us to understand how some texts and writers become canonical and how others become marginalized.

About the Author

John M. Bowers is professor of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Reviews

"This brave and ambitious study seeks to bring together two writers who were kept apart not only by the very stark differences in their styles and the subjects they chose to write about, but by centuries of reception which tended to preserve, and even accentuate, this difference. . . . In putting so many of those hypotheses before us, and exploring them with such detail and imaginative energy, however, Bowers has certainly given all students of Chaucer and Langland a lot to think about." -The Review of English Studies

"In this innovative and readable new book, John Bowers begins with the simple question of why Chaucerand not Langland achieved the position of English poetical patriarch. . . . Bowers's new study will excite interest in the early history of the reception of Chaucer and Langland, and should inspire some--perhaps many--to seek out the riches of these two magnificent poets." -The Weekly Standard

"Rewriting a long-standing master narrative in Middle English literary studies, Bowers argues that the title 'father of English literature' belongs to William Langland, not Geoffrey Chaucer. . . . Whether or not they are convinced by this radical and occasionally shocking revisionism, readers will find this a fascinating account of the genesis and propagation of the idea that English literature begins with Chaucer as well as a useful reminder of Langland's critical role in shaping the tradition." -Choice

"Describes how Chaucer, a court poet, eclipsed Langland, a social critic and dissenter in terms of literary reputation in the century after their deaths; topics include how Langland's Piers Plowman was linked with the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and the heretical Lollard movement." -The Chronicle of Higher Education

"John M. Bowers begins his newest book with a simple question: why has Geoffrey Chaucer, not William Langland become the poet whom many, beginning with Dryden, have dubbed "the Father of English Poetry"? . . . Bowers arranges his ambitious study as a weaving together of the two poets' lives, works, and legacies. In spite of the sheer scope of his arguments, as well as the breadth of scholarly criticism he invokes in making them, he ably integrates his study of the two poets into a sweeping narrative of tradition formation and perpetuation." -Comitatus

"John Bower's new book is destined to stir controversy and response. In an extensive and discursive argument richly supported by references to works and authors from the late fourteenth century to the mid-sixteenth century, he explores the literary and cultural dynamics that elevated Chaucer and relegated Langland in literary history. . . The end result is that this is a book one reads actively, fully engaged with the argument from the first page, agreeing, objecting, thinking." -Arthuriana

"Bower's book reads wonderfully as a collection of enjoyable, rich essays, each spotlighting a certain aspect of late-fourteenth-century English literary history." -Rocky Mountain Review

". . . a radical reorientation of how those two authors are read both with and against one another in a strikingly original (and polemical) assessment . . . this is a perfect book for graduate students (or anyone else) who want an up-to-date, one-stop resource for many of the major trends in Chaucer and Langland scholarship of the last fifty years. . . . Chaucer and Langland should provide a touchstone for critical conversation about Chaucer and Langland for years to come." -Speculum

"Bowers, a Ricardian specialist, cheerfully joins the ranks of those striving to make the 'dull' fifteenth century a thing of interest (if not beauty) and of (sober) joy for the 'longe nightes blake' (if not 'for ever'). [Bowers's] thesis is that Langland was better known and more influential in his day, but the Lancastrian followers of Chaucer, aided by his son Thomas, set up the latter as the canonical national poet of political and religious orthodoxy, leaving Langland to the Lollards and their sympathizers: 'Established on the basis of manuscript transmissions and poetic imitations, a virtual antagonistic relationship merges between the two literary traditions' . . . a lively and engaging book." -Medium Aevum

"John Bowers has produced what is in many ways an admirable and ambitious volume of new literary history. He makes what could truly be called a master narrative by pushing to extremes the tendencies and implications of recent scholarship. This ingenious work will provoke thought, citation, and occasional outrage." -David Lawton, Washington University

Book Information
ISBN 9780268022020
Author John M. Bowers
Format Paperback
Page Count 418
Imprint University of Notre Dame Press
Publisher University of Notre Dame Press
Weight(grams) 613g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 24mm