Artistic representations of Chaucer

The 1410 Ellesmere portrait of Chaucer

For my tenth post, I thought I'd do something a little fun — not that the first nine posts haven't been fun in their own right — something a little off the beaten path of academia. 

Throughout the semester, we've been talking about Chaucer's textual representations of everything — the various pilgrims, the characters in their tales, elements of English society, himself, et cetera et cetera. However, Chaucer's representations have served more than one role in the afterlife of the Canterbury Tales. Not only has his text helped readers imagine his world, and the individuals within it, but it has also played a role in helping various artists continue the tradition of manuscript illustration of the Tales by creating their own representations. In Chaucer as Children's Literature, Velma Bourgeois Richmond surveys adaptations of Chaucer's Tales into children's literature from Victorian England through modern America, mainly around the turn of the century, and she includes a great deal of discussion about art and illustrations in those books. It's fun to look at how painters, illustrators and lithographers translate their own ideas of what Chaucer's pilgrims and characters looked like onto canvas and paper, particularly for children who aren't quite up to the task of reading the original. 

I've pulled some of these images off the Internet for you all to enjoy, along with the appropriate lines from our text. Click on links for the image sources — some of which offer prints for sale!

First, Walter Appleton Clark's illumination-like paintings that appeared in the 1904 The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer, by Percy MacKaye. 

"The Pilgrims Set Out"

Amorwe, when that day bigan to sprynge,

Up roos oure Hoost, and was oure aller cok,

And gadrede us togidre alle in a flok,

And forth we riden a litel moore than paas

Unto the Wateryng of Seint Thomas.

(p. 18, 822-826)

"The Wife of Bath"

Upon an amblere esily she sat,

Ywympled wel, and on hir heed an hat

As brood as is a bokeler or a targe ...

In felaweshipe wel koude she laughe and carpe

Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce,

For she koude of that art the olde daunce. 

(p. 13, 469-471, 474-476)

"The Knight's Tale"

In goon the speres ful sadly in arrest;

In gooth the sharpe spore into the syde.

Ther seen men who kan juste and who kan ryde;

Ther shyveren shaftes upon sheeldes thikke;

He feeleth thurgh the herte-spoon the prikke. ...

Ne in Belmarye ther nys so fel leon,

That hunted is, or for his hunger wood,

Ne of his praye desireth so the blood,

As Palamon to sleen his foo Arcite.

(p. 42, 2602-2606, 2630-2633)

"The Squire's Tale"

Whil that this kyng sit thus in his nobleye,

Herknynge his mynstralles hir thynges pleye

Biforn hym at the bord deliciously,

In at the halle dore al sodeynly

Ther cam a knyght upon a steede of bras,

And in his hand a brood mirour of glas.

Upon his thombe he hadde of gold a ryng,

And by his syde a naked swerd hangyng;

And up he rideth to the heighe bord.

(p. 152, 77-85)

"The Pardoner's Tale"

"If that yow be so leef

To fynde Deeth, turne up this croked wey,

For in that grove I lafte hym, by my fey,

Under a tree, and there he wole abyde" ...

And everich of tise riotoures ran

Til he cam to that tree.

(p. 182, 760-763, 768-769)

Next up, W. Heath Robinson's illustration of Griselda and Walter for the 1906 Stories from Chaucer Told to the Children, by Janet Kelman. Richmond writes that the two figures are separated "to sign both social difference and romantic longing in the 'Clerk's Tale'" (84). 

"She Rose to Curtsy to Him"

Upon Grisilde, this povre creature,
Ful ofte sithe this markys caste his eye,
As he on huntyng rood paraventure.
And whan it fil that he myghte hire espye,
He noght with wantowne lookyng of folye
Hise eyen caste on hir, but in sad wyse,
Upon hir chiere he wolde hym ofte avyse,
Commendynge in his herte hir wommanhede
And eek hir vertu, passynge any wight
Of so yong age, as wel in chiere as dede.

(p. 122, 232-241)

A more thorough explication of various artistic and literary re-representations of the Clerk's Tale can be found at "Retelling the Clerk's Tale."

The 1912 edition of The Modern Reader's Chaucer contains magical fantasy renderings by Warwick Goble of various tales, such as the Squire's Tale, the Tale of Sir Thopas, The Clerk's Tale and the Merchant's Tale. 

"Cancee and the Falcon"

Ther sat a faucon over hir heed ful hye,
That with a pitous voys so gan to crye
That all the wode resouned of hir cry …
She swowneth now and now for lakke of blood,
Til wel neigh is she fallen fro the tree.
This faire kynges doghter Canacee,
That on hir fynger baar the queynte ryng,
Thurgh which she understood wel every thyng
That any fowel may in his leden seyn,
And koude answeren hym in his ledene ageyn,
Hath understonde what this faucoun seyde,
And wel neigh for the routhe almoost she deyde.
And to the tree she gooth ful hastily,
And on this faucoun looketh pitously,
And heeld hir lappe abrood.

(p. 156, 411-413, 430-441)

"January Helping May into the Tree"

"Thanne sholde I clymbe wel ynogh," quod she,
"So I my foot myghte sette ypon youre bak."
"Certes, quod he, theron shal be no lak,
Mighte I yow helpen with myn herte blood."
He stoupeth doun, and on his bak she stood,
And caughte hire by a twiste, and up she gooth --
Ladyes, I prey yow that ye be nat wrooth;
I kan nat glose, I am a rude man --

(p. 149, 2344-2351)

Anne Anderson also did watercolor paintings for the 1912 Gateway to Chaucer, images of which can be found at the Children's Books Illustrators and Illustrations Gallery. Too many of those for me to post here! 

In parting, I'll leave you all with one final image, of Dorigen and Aurelius, from the Franklin's Tale, by Mary Haweis, in 1876, for Chaucer for Children.

"Dorigen and Aurelius in the Garden"

So on a day, right in the morwe tyde,
Unto a gardyn that was ther bisyde,
In which that they hadde maad hir ordinaunce
Of vitaille and of oother purveiaunce,
They goon and pleye hem al the longe day.
And this was in the sixte morwe of May,
Which May hadde peynted with his softe shoures
This gardyn ful of leves and of floures …
Upon this daunce, amonges othere men,
Daunced a squier biforn Dorigen
That fressher was, and jolyer of array,
As to my doom, than is the monthe of May.
He syngeth, daunceth, passynge any man
That is or was, sith that the world bigan ...
This lusty squier, servant to Venus,
Which that ycleped was Aurelius.

(p.162-3, 901-908, 925-930, 937-938)

For analyses of these illustrations and paintings, you should check out Richmond's book. She goes much more into depth about each artist, as well as a dozen others, and analyzes why they chose to create their representations of settings and characters the way they did. 

Richmond, Velma Bourgeois. Chaucer as Children's Literature. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, 2004.