Chaucer and the Norse and Celtic Worlds [Paperback]

Through an examination of Old Norse and Celtic parallels to certain works of Chaucer, McTurk here identifies hitherto unrecognized sources for these works in early Irish tradition. He revives the idea that Chaucer visited Ireland between 1361 and 1366, placing new emphasis on the date of the enactment of the Statute of Kilkenny. Examining Chaucers House of Fame, McTurk uncovers parallels involving eagles, perilous entrances, and scatological jokes about poetry in the Topographia Hibernie by Gerald of Wales, Snorri Sturlusons Edda, and the Old Irish sagas Fled Bricrend and Togail Bruidne Da Derga. He compares The Canterbury Tales, with its use of the motif of a journey as a framework for a tale-collection, with both Snorris Edda and the Middle Irish saga Acallam na Sen??rach. McTurk presents a compelling argument that these works represent Irish traditions which influenced Chaucers writing. In this study, McTurk also argues that the thirteenth-century Icelandic Laxd??la Saga and Chaucers Wife of Baths Prologue and Tale each descend from an Irish version of the Loathly Lady story. Further, he surmises that Chaucers five-stress line may derive from the tradition of Irish song known as amhr??n, which, there is reason to suppose, existed in Ireland well before Chaucers time.Contents: Preface; Author's note; Chaucer and Snorri; Chaucer, Gerald of Wales, and Ireland; Chaucer and the Irish saga tradition; The Wife of Bath, the Hag of Beare, and Laxd??la Saga; Chaucer and Irish poetry; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.Through an examination of Old Norse and Celtic parallels to certain works of Chaucer, McTurk here identifies hitherto unrecognized sources for these works in early Irish tradition. He revives the idea that Chaucer visited Ireland between 1361 and 1366, placing new emphasis on the date of the enactment of the Statues of Kilkenny. Examining Chaucer's House of Fame, McTurk uncovers parallels involving eagles, perilous entrances, and scatologicalls*