1st Edition
Chaucer, Gower, Hoccleve and the Commercial Practices of Late Fourteenth-Century London
By Craig E. Bertolet
Copyright 2013
184 Pages
by
Routledge
178 Pages
by
Routledge
178 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
As residents of fourteenth-century London, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Gower, and Thomas Hoccleve each day encountered aspects of commerce such as buying, selling, and worrying about being cheated. Many of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales address how pervasive the market had become in personal relationships. Gower's writings include praises of the concept of trade and worries that widespread fraud has harmed... Read more
Introduction; Chapter 1 The Commercial Polity; Chapter 2 Buying and Markets; Chapter 3 Debts and Credit; Chapter 4 Shopkeeping; Chapter 5 Innkeepers and the Hospitality Trade; conclusion Conclusion;
Biography
Craig E. Bertolet is an Associate Professor of English at Auburn University, USA.
'While a number of studies have looked at literary representations of trade in recent years, Craig Bertolet here offers a fresh approach: his focus is primarily literary in its address to Chaucer, Gower, and Hoccleve, and his use of the practice and experience of trade as his lens allows him to bring a new focus to the intersection of economy and literature. Bertolet's book combines a compelling (and occasionally eclectic) theoretical paradigm with a meticulous attention to detail and a wise critical eye.' Roger A. Ladd, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, USA 'Bertolet's work is vety useful in bringing together isolated narratives and practices to shed light on commerce as a whole.' Comitatus 'Bertolet creates a persuasive argument for the fourteenth century as a turning-point in the development of London's commercial culture, which created social and cultural tensions reflected in the literature of the period. His book offers an innovative re-assessment of three of the most important writers of late medieval England, making skilful use of documentary material in order to situate their work firmly within its socio-economic context.' Sehepunkte
