John%20J.%20Thompson,%20

1
John J. Thompson, The Compiler in Action Robert
Thornton and the Thornton Romances in Lincoln
Cathedral MS 91, from Manuscripts and Readers in
Fifteenth-Century England, ed. Pearsall and
Griffiths (D.S. Brewer, 1983), p.115.
2
John J. Thompson, The Compiler in Action Robert
Thornton and the Thornton Romances in Lincoln
Cathedral MS 91, from Manuscripts and Readers in
Fifteenth-Century England, ed. Pearsall and
Griffiths (D.S. Brewer, 1983), p.115.
3

• The Romances Listed According to Probable
  Chronology and Dialect of Original Composition
• From J. Burke Severs, ed., A Manual of the
  Writings in Middle English, 1050-1500 (New Haven,
  1967), i.13-16.
• 1225-1300
• King Horn ca. 1225, Southwestern or South
  Midland.
• Floris and Blauncheflur ca. 1250, Southeast
  Midland.
• Arthour and Merlin ca. 1250-1300, Kent.
• Havelok ca. 1280-1300, Northeast Midland.
• Sir Tristrem late 13th century, Southeast
  Midland? Northern?
• Amis and Amiloun near end of 13th century, East
  Midland.
• Guy of Warwick ca. 1300, Warwickshire.
• Bevis of Hampton ca. 1300, Southampton.

4

• 1300-1350
• Richard Coer de Lyon soon after 1300, mixed
  Midland of London area
• (Cambridgeshire? Kent?).
• The Lyfe of Alisaunder beginning of 14th
  century, London.
• Lai Ie Freine beginning of 14th century,
  Southeastern or possibly Westminster- Middlesex.
• Sir Orfeo beginning of 14th century,
  Southeastern or possibly Westminster-Middlesex.
• Sir Isumbras early 14th century, East Midland.
• The King of Tars early 14th century, London.
• The Seege of Troye ca. 1300-25, Northwest
  Midland.
• Horn Child ca. 1320, Yorkshire.
• Sir Degare before 1325, probably Southwest
  Midland.
• Sir Perceval of Galles ca. 1300-40, Northern.
• Ywain and Gawain ca. 1300-50, Northern.
• Sir Landeval ca. 1300-50, Southern.
• Otuel a Knight before 1330-40, East Midland.
• Otuel and Roland before 1330-40, East Midland.
• Roland and Vernagu before 1330-40, East Midland.

5

• 1350-1400
• The Alliterative Alexander Fragments A, B ca.
  1340-70, Gloucestershire.
• William of Palerne ca. 1350-61, Southwest
  Midland.
• Morte Arthure, alliterative ca. 1360, Northwest
  Midland.
• Gamelyn ca. 1350-70, Northeast Midland.
• Arthur ca. 1350-1400, Southern.
• Chevalere Assigne ca. 1350-1400, East Midland.
• Gest Historiale of the Destruction of Troy ca.
  1350-1400, NW Midland.
• Athelston ca. 1355-80, East Midland.
• The Awntyrs off Arthure at the Terne Wathelyne
  after 1375, Northern.
• Apollonius of Tyre ca. 1376-81, Southwest
  Midland.
• The Fillingham Firumbras ca. 1375-1400?, East
  Midland.
• Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ca. 1375-1400,
  Northwest Midland.
• Titus and Vespasian, couplet version 1375-1400,
  London or its environs.
• The Ashmole Sir Firumbras ca. 1380, Southwestern.

6
1350-1400 (cont)

• Chaucer's tales.
• Gower's tales.
• Siege of Jerusalem, alliterative version,
  1390-1400, Northwest Midland.
• Le Bone Florence of Rome late 14th century,
  North Midland.
• Sir Cleges late 14th century, North Midland.
• lpomadon, tail rime late 14th century, North
  Midland-Lancashire.
• Sir Degrevant late 14th century, North or
  Northeast Midland.
• Sir Triamour late 14th century, North or
  Northeast Midland.
• Sir Amadace late 14th century, Northwest
  Midland.
• Generides late 14th century, Midland.
• The Knight of Curtesy and the Fair Lady of
  Faguell late 14th century, London or its
  southern environs.
• Roberd of Cisyle late 14th century, Southeast
  Midland.
• Sir Launfal later 14th century, Southeastern.
• The Sege of Melayne ca. 1400 or somewhat
  earlier, Northern.

7
1350-1400 (cont)

• Duke Roland and Sir Otuel of Spain ca. 1400,
  Northern.
• Emare ca. 1400, Northeastern.
• Sir Gowther ca. 1400, Northeast Midland.
• The Earl of Toulous ca. 1400, Northeast Midland.
• Le Morte Arthur, stanzaic ca. 1400, Northwest
  Midland.
• The Sawdon of Babylon ca. 1400, East Midland.
• The Song of Roland ca. 1400, East Midland.
• The Laud Troy-Book ca. 1400, East Midland.
• Sir Torrent of Portyngale ca. 1400, East
  Midland.
• Syre Gawene and the Carle of Carelyle ca. 1400,
  nr. Shropshire.

8
1400-1500

• Lydgate's Troy-Book 1410.
• Lydgate's Siege of Thebes 1420-22.
• Lovelich's History of the Holy Grail ca. 1420,
  Southern or South Midland.
• The Lyfe of Ipomydon, couplets before 1425, East
  Midland.
• Lovelich's Merlin ca. 1425, Southern or South
  Midland.
• The Avowynge of King Arthur ca. 1425, Northern.
• King Ponthus ca. 1400-50, London?
• The Prose Alexander 1400-50, Northern.
• The Prose Siege of Troy 1425-50, Southern.
• The Alexander Buik 1438, Scottish.
• Amoryus and Cleopes 1448-49, Norfolk.
• The Alliterative Alexander Fragment C ca. 1450,
  Northumbrian.
• Eger and Grime ca. 1450, Northern.
• The Prose Siege of Thebes ca. 1450, Southern.
• The Weddynge of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell ca.
  1450, East Midland.
• The Prose Merlin ca. 1450.

9
1400-1500 (cont)

• Ipomedon, prose ca. 1460, mixed dialect.
• Malory's The Book oj Arthur and His Knights (Le
  Morte Darthur) 1469-70, North Midland.
• The Jeaste oj Syr Gawayne ca. 1450-1500,
  Southern or South Midland.
• The Taill of Rauf Coilyear ca. 1465-1500,
  Scottish.
• Caxton's The Recuyell of the Historyes of Troye
  1469-76?, London.
• Caxton's History of Jason 1476-78, London.
• Caxton's Godefroy of Boloyne 1481, London.
• Caxton's Charles the Grete 1485, London.
• Caxton's Paris and Vienne 1485, London.
• Caxton's Blanchardyn and Eglantine 1489-91,
  London.
• Caxton's The Foure Sonnes of Aymon 1489-91,
  London.
• Caxton's Eneydos 1490, London.
• The Cambridge Alexander-Cassamus Fragment 15th
  century.

10
1400-1500 (cont)

• Partonope of Blois, couplet version 15th
  century, Southern.
• Gilbert Hay's Buik of King Alexander 15th
  century, Scottish.
• Lancelot of the Laik late 15th century,
  Scottish.
• Roswall and Lillian late 15th century, Scottish.
• The Dublin Alexander Epitome late 15th century.
• Golagrus and Gawain not long before 1500,
  Scottish.
• The Grene Knight ca. 1500, South Midland.
• The Turke and Gowin ca. 1500, North or Northwest
  Midland.
• The Squyr of Lowe Degre ca. 1500, East Midland.
• Melusine ca. 1500.
• The Romauns of Partenay ca. 1500, Northeast
  Midland.
• The Three Kings' Sons ca. 1500.
• Two Scottish Troy Fragments probably 15th
  century, Scottish.

11
After 1500

• Clariodus 16th or 15th century, Scottish.
• Valentine and Orson ca. 1502.
• R. Copland's Helyas, Knight of the Swan 1504.
• De Worde's edition of the prose Lyfe oj Joseph
  1511?
• Pynson's edition of De Sancto Joseph 1516.
• Pynson's edition of Here Begynneth the Lyfe of
  Joseph 1520.
• Pynson's edition of A Praysing to Joseph 1520.
• De Warde's edition of the prose William of
  Palerne (frag) 1520-29.
• The Carle off Carlile ca. 1500-50, Lancashire.
• Lord Berners' The Bake qf Duke Huon of Burdeux
  ca. 1530.
• Lord Bcrners' Arthur of Little Britain before
  1533

12
Cursor Mundi (c. 1300)
13
(No Transcript)
14
Man of Laws Prologue, 45-89 But nathelees,
certeyn,I kan right now no thrifty tale
seynThat Chaucer, thogh he kan but lewedlyOn
metres and on rymyng craftily,Hath seyd hem in
swich Englissh as he kanOf olde tyme, as knoweth
many a manAnd if he have noght seyd hem, leve
brother,In o book, he hath seyd hem in
another.For he hath toold of loveris up and
dounMo than Ovide made of menciounIn his
Episteles, that been ful olde.What sholde I
tellen hem, syn they been tolde? In youthe he
made of Ceys and Alcione,And sitthen hath he
spoken of everichone,Thise noble wyves and thise
loveris eke.Whoso that wole his large volume
seke,Cleped the Seintes Legende of Cupide,Ther
may he seen the large woundes wydeOf Lucresse,
and of Babilan TesbeeThe swerd of Dido for the
false EneeThe tree of Phillis for hire
DemophonThe pleinte of Dianire and of
Hermyon,Of Adriane, and of Isiphilee --
The bareyne yle stondynge in the see --The
dreynte Leandre for his ErroThe teeris of
Eleyne, and eek the woOf Brixseyde, and of the,
LadomyaThe crueltee of the, queene Medea,Thy
litel children hangynge by the hals,For thy
Jason, that was of love so fals!O Ypermystra,
Penelopee, Alceste,Youre wifhod he comendeth
with the beste! But certeinly no word ne
writeth heOf thilke wikke ensample of
Canacee,That loved hir owene brother synfully
--Of swiche cursed stories I sey fy! --Or ellis
of Tyro Appollonius,How that the cursed kyng
AntiochusBirafte his doghter of hir
maydenhede,That is so horrible a tale for to
rede,Whan he hir threw upon the pavement.And
therfore he, of ful avysement,Nolde nevere write
in none of his sermonsOf swiche unkynde
abhomynacions,Ne I wol noon reherce, if that I
may..
15
Lee Patterson, "What Man Artow?' Authorial
Self-Definition in Thopas and Melibee," SAC
(1989) 117-175 (135).

• It is the positive that is missing from this
  picture, a social identity commensurate with
  Chaucer's literary practice he is the originator
  of a national literature in a culture that lacks
  both the concept of literature and a social
  identity for those who produce it. Lacking a
  recognizable role within the social whole,
  Chaucer is obliged to locate himself outside it.