Chaucer hath a blog
I just happened across Geoffrey Chaucer Hath An Extreme Blog ("A Directorie of Wondirful Thinges that are Loial to Engelonde"). I have a vague idea that I had heard of a Chaucer blog before, but I don't think I've read this one before.
And I haven't read much of it now. But here are a few bits I like, from what I've seen so far (mostly from the "Favourite Posts" list on the left side of the blog page):
- A description of the festival of Blazinge Fellow, where "many peple come togedir to express their joye and devocioun to the institutional Church and the law-makinge State in fantastic maner," concluding, of course, with "the applicacioun of flaymes to the Fellow" ("aftir a lengthi heresie trial").
- A list of Lynes of Picke-Vppe, such as "Yf thou were a latyn tretise ich wolde putte thee in the vernacular" and "Nyce bootes. Wanna swyve?" (Scroll down a page or so to see the list.)
- An entry in which Chaucer comes up with an idea for a poeme, which he decides to "Organise ynto fragmentz, for ich trowe that a worke in ‘fragmentz’ shall appeale to Vmberto Eco." Among other things, this entry includes the phrase "absolvtely fabliaux." Also descriptions of some tales, such as: "The Shipmannes Tale: Jak Sparrowe helpeth a yonge smithe to wynne his noble ladye, and the yonge smithe helpeth Jak Sparrowe to scapen from ghost pyrates. Howe avvesome ys that? Ghostes + Pyrates!"
- A description of Chaucer's tryst with the Pearl Poet, featuring the line "I wolde I knewe how of thee I might be Quitten!"