ABSTRACT
Inthefirstchapterofthisbook,adistinctionbetweenanalogiesandanalogues ledtotherecognitionofananalogicalparallelismbetweenSnorri'sprose EddaandChaucer'sCanterburyTalesandtothepositingofananalogous relationshipbetweenChaucer'sHouseofFameandthestoryinSnorri'sEdda of66inn'stheftofthepoeticmead.Inthesecondchapter,wheretheconcept ofsources(asopposedtoanalogiesoranalogues)wasintroduced,itwas suggestedthattheTopographiaHibernieofGeraldofWalesandoraltraditions relatingtotheshrineofStBrigidinKildareweresourcesforTheHouseof Fame.Itwasfurthersuggestedthatbehindthesesourceslayastorywhich alsoinfluencedSnorri'sstoryofthetheftofthepoeticmead,andthatChaucer becameacquaintedwiththeminthecontextofaperiodoftimespentinIreland intheserviceofPrinceLionelbetween1361and1366.Inthethirdchapter itwassuggested,inthelightofthepossibilitythatChaucerwasindeedin Irelandatthattime,thattheIrishsagasTogailBruidneDaDergaandAcallam naSen6rachweresourcesforTheHouseofFameandTheCanterburyTales respectively.Inthefourthchapter,itwasarguedthattheIrishstoryofthe LoathlyLady,whichhaslongbeenacknowledgedasasourcefortheWifeof Bath'sTale,mayberecognisedasasourceforherPrologueaswellasherTale ifherPrologueandTaleareseenashavingbelongedtogetherfromthestart; thattheMiddleEnglishnarrativesmostcloselyrelatedtotheWifeofBath's Talearebestviewednot,astheycommonlyhavebeen,asanaloguestothe Tale,butratherasderivativesofit;andthatthethirteenth-centuryIcelandic LaxdrelasagaisananaloguetotheWifeofBath'sPrologueandTaleinsofar asitwasinfluencedbytheIrishLoathlyLadystoryindependentlyoftheline oftransmissionthroughwhichthatsamestoryinfluencedChaucer.Inthefifth andfinalchapterP.A.Breatnach'sargumentsthatamhranpoetryexistedin Irelandlongbeforethetimeofitsearliestrecordedexampleswereenlistedin supportofthesuggestionthatChaucermayhavebeeninfluencedbyamhran poetryinhisuseofthefive-stresslineandofassonance.
