The Wife of Bath's Tale
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"The Wife of Bath's Tale" is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages. The wife of Bath is one of Chaucer's most
The Wife of Bath's Tale in the Ellesmere manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, c. 1405–1410.
Lollardy
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Lollardy was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that was active in England from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a C
The Wife of Bath's Tale
…proving success. While sexuality is a dominant theme in The Wife of Bath's Prologue, it is less obvious that her sexual behaviour can be associated with Lollardy. Critics such as Helen Cooper and Carolyn Dinshaw point to the link between sex and Lollardy. Both describe the Wife's knowledge and use of Scripture…
In this 19th-century illustration, John Wycliffe is shown giving the Bible translation that bore his name to his Lollard followers.
Lollards' prison in Lambeth Palace, overlooking the River Thames in London
A late 14th-century beginning of the Gospel of John, starting with a large letter "I" in blue, from a pocket Wycliffe translation. It may have been used by a roving Lollard preacher
John Oldcastle being burnt for insurrection and Lollard heresy.