Group 1
Book 1 Metrum 1: “For eelde is comyn unwarly upon me, hasted by the harmes that Y have, and sorwe hath comandid his age to ben in me.” ||
“But now, for Fortune cloudy hath chaunged hir deceivable chere to meward.”
Book 1 Metrum 2: “This man, that whilom was fre, to whom the hevene was opyn and knowen.” || “His nekke is pressyd with hevy cheynes and
bereth his chere enclyned adoun for the grete weyghte, and is constreyned to loken on the fool erthe!"
Book 1 Metrum 6: Yif thow wolt usen grapes... to streyne and presse the stalkes of the vyne in the first somer sesoun." || "God tokneth and
assigneth the tymes."
Book 1 Metrum 7: "And the fleetynge streem, that roleth doun... is areestid and resisted ofte tyme by... a stoon." || "Yif thou wolt loken and
deman soth with cleer light, and hoolden the weye with a ryght path, weyve joie, dryf fro the drede fleme thow hope, ne lat no sorwe aproche...
for cloudy and derk is thilke thought."
Book 2 Metrum 1: "She, cruel Fortune, casteth adoun kynges...leygheth and scorneth the wepynes of hem... thus sche prooeveth hir strengthes."
Book 1 Prosa 1
a woman full of great reverence
full of great age
wisdom
well dressed
An older woman who was wise and full of wisdom who was well dressed. She held small books in her right hand, and in her left hand a scepter.
Book 1 Prosa 2
sick from a deceived heart
comlaining
The complaining man was sick from a broken heart.
Book 1 Prosa 5
exiled from Athens
feeble of thought
needs bitter medicine
Sorrow and anger and weeping pulls him apart. He is desperate for a cure.
Book 1 Prosa 6
searching for cause of malady
feigning concern
She has found the cause of the malady or the entry of recovering of his health.
Book 2 Prosa 1
deceived by Fortune
false treachery
manipulative
He has seen something new and unfamiliar. Fortune was the cause of much sorrow to him. Obey Fortune for you are a fool.
Consolation of Philosophy is a work written by Boethius. It was written in prose around 524 A.D. While Chaucer worked from a translation into
French, he also worked from a Latin version making some corrections. The Latin source could have been a corrupt version of Boethius’ original
and Chaucer could have misinterpreted some of the work. There were thirty copies printed at that time and Chaucer translated it so that more
people could enjoy it. I think people of his time were reading it because it was entertaining and I think that more people would read it today if
somebody were to translate it into modern English. Chaucer wanted to experiment with new words, which is another reason why he translated the
work.
Boece contains a great many nonce words, many of the new formations derived within English or new adoptions from French or Latin, suggesting
that, as Elliott puts it, “Chaucer was seriously experimenting with the new words for their own sake.” Chaucer either chose new adoptions or used
contemporary patterns of word formation to meet the demands of translating Latin into English. Donner, Morton, The Chaucer Review, Vol. 18,
No. 3. Published by the Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park and London. Source, JSTOR.
False assumptions about Chaucer’s Latin source text and his reliance upon it have bedeviled discussions of the work and have produced some
extraordinarily negative comments on Chaucer’s abilities as a Latinist. Furnivall long ago made the genial injunction to his readers to buy a twoschilling copy of Boethius to compare with Chaucer’s text (Ch Soc 1st ser. 75, page v): he assumed that Chaucer should have had access to and
used exclusively the same text as Boethius as that printed in modern critical editions. The same assumption has governed a number of discussions
of Chaucer’s failure as a Latinist, usually accompanied by lists of his blunders; see Hugh F. Stewart, Boethius, 1891, 222-26; Mark Liddell,
Nation 64, 1897, 124; Liddell’s notes to his edition in the lobe h; most extensively, Jefferson, Ch and the Consolation, 16-25; and Robinson’s
notes; the explanatory notes to Boece were written by Ralph Hanna III and Traugott Lawler.
written around 524 A.D.
worked from translations into French and Latin
thirty copies printed
wanted to experiment with new words
contains many nonce words
failure as a Latinist
lists of blunders
-probably translated around 1382
-alternates prose n verse which is typically of latin manuscripts.
-done in the same period as a Knights Tale, which explains its influence in the tale. The influence in a Knight's Tale is what leads people to
believe this was around the time it was translated. This information came from the link below.
it's importance to our culture/ why is it worth reading~ Chaucer's translation of Boece stands as a pivotal link in a chain that connects the early
stages of the English language to modern concepts of fate and fortune by drawing on philosophy trace through Ancient Rome to Ancient Greece.
Boethius modeled Consolation of Philosophy on Aristotle's Protreptikon and Cicero's Hortensius, two works that were lost in the midst of
centuries of time. While Boethius was trying to link Rome to Ancient Greece, Chaucer ultimately linked English culture to both ancient cultures.
it's relation to other works by Chaucer~ Boethius had an immense impact on the Christian notions of fate within Chaucer's writing. It added
psychological depth to his characters particularly Troilus, "The Knight's Tale", and "The Franklin's Tale". As mentioned previously in our report,
his translation shows immense influence from French transcriber -Jean de Meun
Howard R. Patch notes that Chaucer’s portrayal of Lady Fortune can be seen as echoed throughout his work. He specifically notes that the way in
which Theseus stumbles upon Palamon and Arcitite in the woods, exemplifies the way his Boethius view on chance.
Barbra Nolan notes that the narration style in the prologue to the Canterbury tales embodies a Platonic dialogue, perhaps influenced by his work
with Boeth.
Chaucer and his scribes as Both Authors and Translators.
Stanley J. Kahrl notes that the Squire’s Tale, is parallel to a part of Boethius’s consolation of Philosophy involving caged birds.
"Chaucer and his scribes as Both Authors and Translators"
Bibliography
Donner, Morton. "Derived Words in Chaucer's "Boece:" The Translator as Wordsmith." The Chaucer Review 18 (1984): 187-203.
Machan, Tim William. "Scribal Role, Authorial Intention, and Chaucer's Boece." The Chaucer Review 24 (1989): 150-162.
Boitani, Piero, and Jill Mann. The Cambridge Companion to Chaucer. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge UP, 2003. 96, 228, 239-40. Print.
Mugglestone, Lynda. The Oxford History of English. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. 47-48. Print.
Stanley J. Kahrl, “Chaucer's "Squire's Tale" and the Decline of Chivalry” The Chaucer Review, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Winter, 1973), pp. 194-20
Howard R. Patch “Chaucer and Lady Fortune” The Modern Language Review, Vol. 22, No. 4 (Oct., 1927), pp. 377-388
Barbara Nolan “"A Poet Ther Was": Chaucer's Voices in the General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales” PMLA, Vol. 101, No. 2 (Mar., 1986),
pp. 154-16