Too Much of Too Little: Guthlac and the Temptation of Excessive Fasting
Chaucer's Summoner tells the tale of a corrupt friar who, while trying to obtain a donation from his bedridden and irate patron Thomas, demonstrates his hypocrisy by giving Thomas's wife a very specific dinner order and immediately following it up with a long sermon on the importance of fa...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2008
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| In: |
Traditio
Year: 2008, Volume: 63, Pages: 89-127 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Chaucer's Summoner tells the tale of a corrupt friar who, while trying to obtain a donation from his bedridden and irate patron Thomas, demonstrates his hypocrisy by giving Thomas's wife a very specific dinner order and immediately following it up with a long sermon on the importance of fasting. Like most medieval preachers, Friar John appeals to biblical exempla: “Lo, Moyses fourty dayes and fourty nyght Fasted, er that the heighe God of myght Spak with hym in the mountayne of Synay. With empty wombe, fastynge many a day, Receyved he the lawe that was writen With Goddes fynger; and Elye, wel ye witen, In mount Oreb, er he hadde any speche With hye God, that is oure lyves leche, He fasted longe and was in contemplaunce. … Our Lord Jhesu, as hooly writ devyseth, Yaf us ensample of fastynge and preyeres.” |
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| ISSN: | 2166-5508 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Traditio
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/trd.2008.0002 |
