Scientific Imagery in Chaucer [The Canon's Yeoman's Tale]

Chaucer's knowledge of medieval science and philosophy is deeply embedded in his literary work. It is an integral and inseparable part of his poetic vision and expression. Chaucer's “star-wisdom” is crucial to his profound, humorous, and compassionate understanding of the human predicament on “this litel spot of erthe.” His use of the contemporary sciences in presenting the physical and spiritual condition of man, medieval and universal, reflects the observations, ideas, and methodology of great Arabian masters whose names occur throughout the body of Chaucer's works: Alkabucius, Alocen, Arsechiel, Averrois, Avycen, Haly, Razis. So do the names of the two most important medieval transmitters: Constantyn (Constantinus Africanus), the earliest translator of medical treatises from the Arabic, and Piers Alfonce (Petrus Alfonsi), the pioneer of Arabic studies on English soil whose interests and gifts, like Chaucer's, encompassed the intellectual discipline of the scientist, the imaginative sweep of the poet, the moral insight of the philosopher, and the accumulated wisdom of folklore. Chaucer's mastery of the medieval sciences, astronomy, astrology, dream-lore, medicine, is a commonplace of Chaucerian scholarship. But the precision with which scientific imagery is used in his works is still a surprising, not fully comprehended factor. The precision is an important aspect of Chaucer's poetic genius and technique. It can only be probed within the rigorous framework of Arabic learning. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203951347/9785c435-241d-4479-816b-588786a7e2e7/content/dian_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>