This SNSF Eccellenza project investigates the dissemination and reception history of The Canterbury Tales in order to uncover the origins of Chaucer’s modern fame as both canonical English author and a writer of obscene stories (i.e. stories that feature bawdy references to sex, bodily functions, or scatological language and content). Its point of departure is John Dryden’s Fables Ancient & Modern (1700), the first text to ‘modernize’ selections from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales by deliberately leaving out obscene content and translating the selected tales into contemporary English. It was also the first text to refer to Chaucer as the ‘father of English poetry’. Dryden’s alterations to Chaucer’s text and his reference to Chaucer’s status helped to launch two key literary traditions: (1) one that aimed to recover Chaucer’s ‘pure, original’ text in modern editions, and (2) one that adapted Chaucer’s work for modern readers. By examining textual censorship and adaptation in versions of The Canterbury Tales published between 1700 and 2020 alongside references to Chaucer’s reputation during this period, this project will show how Dryden’s text helped to create two popular modern conceptions of Chaucer: (1) Chaucer the canonical ‘father of English poetry’, whose works are worthy of veneration and preservation, and (2) Chaucer the master of dirty medieval humour, whose obscenity must be either omitted or translated to ensure that modern readers can better avoid or enjoy it. In so doing, this project aims to reveal how Chaucerian obscenity has both complicated and reinforced the shape of the English literary canon both in the past and in the present.
Our work is collaborative, but divided into three distinct branches:
- Prof. Doctor Mary Flannery looks at 'Chaucerian Canonicity and Chaucerian Obscenity', and is particularly interested in editorial and publication history.
- Dr Amy Brown looks at 'Fabliau Obscenity and Modern Chaucer(s)', and is particularly interested in modernisations and adaptations.
- Ms Kristen Haas Curtis examines the relationship between obscenity and gender in her doctoral project on 'Chaucerian Obscenity and the Wife of Bath'.
Read more about our team on our blog.
We are privileged to consult with an Advisory Board of leading scholars in the fields of book history, Chaucer studies, and obscenity studies:
- Associate Professor Carissa Harris (Temple University)
- Professor Stephanie Trigg (University of Melbourne)
- Professor Daniel Wakelin (St Hilda's College, University of Oxford)
