ABSTRACT

The Routledge Research Companion to John Gower reviews the most current scholarship on the late medieval poet and opens doors purposefully to research areas of the future. It is divided into three parts. The first part, "Working theories: medieval and modern," is devoted to the main theoretical aspects that frame Gower’s work, ranging from his use of medieval law, rhetoric, theology, and religious attitudes, to approaches incorporating gender and queer studies. The second part, "Things and places: material cultures," examines the cultural locations of the author, not only from geographical and political perspectives, or in scientific and economic context, but also in the transmission of his poetry through the materiality of the text and its reception. "Polyvocality: text and language," the third part, focuses on Gower’s trilingualism, his approach to history, and narratological and intertextual aspects of his works. The Routledge Research Companion to John Gower is an essential resource for scholars and students of Gower and of Middle English literature, history, and culture generally.

part I|81 pages

Working theories: medieval and modern

chapter 2|16 pages

Gower and gender

chapter 3|19 pages

Gower and rhetoric

chapter 4|19 pages

Gower’s religions

part II|134 pages

Things and places: material cultures

chapter 7|5 pages

Gower’s French manuscripts

chapter 11|18 pages

Gower’s Southwark

chapter 12|8 pages

Gower’s courts

chapter 13|14 pages

Gower, business, and economy

chapter 14|25 pages

Gower and science

chapter 16|12 pages

Iberian Gower

part III|133 pages

Polyvocality: text and language

chapter 17|14 pages

Gower’s languages

chapter 18|16 pages

Voices and narrators

chapter 19|13 pages

Gower and the forms of history

chapter 20|15 pages

Gower’s classicizing vocations

chapter 21|15 pages

Gower and romance

chapter 22|16 pages

Gower and Chaucer

chapter 23|9 pages

The French works: the ballades

chapter 25|13 pages

English works

chapter 26|14 pages

The Latin works