A New Look At Chaucer's Legal Fiction
Fourteenth century poet Geoffrey Chaucer, famous for his "Canterbury Tales," also was a member of Parliament and justice of the peace. In her new book "Chaucer's "Legal Fiction: Reading the Records," UAB English Professor Flowers Braswell, Ph.D., examines, among other things, how Chaucer embedded legal materials into his works. Braswell says Chaucer often drew on legal records for his plots, characters and themes. A 14th century customary law dealing with wayward women was clearly the inspiration for his "Shipman's Tale" about a willful wife. "Chaucer saw court rolls, writs and quitclaims as genres he could adapt. Placing the poetic and legal texts side by side sheds light on Chaucer as a poet and on those often obscure laws he incorporated into his poetry."
Contact Gail Short, Media Relations, 205-934-8931 or [email protected].
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