Preface

PREFACE This volume of Proceedings aspires to preserve, in however imperfect and fragmentary a manner, something of the remarkable intellectualrangeand vitality of the fifth biennial congress of the New Chaucer Society, which convened in Philadelphia in March of 1986. To plan alargeinternationalcongress ofasocietywhich by its fundamen­ tal nature is composed of a very large number of scholars of diverse but firm opinions is a task that every Chaucerian should have the opportunity to attempt once and the indulgence never to have to attempt twice. I under­ took the task in the spirit of professional piety, and learned once again that no good deed goes unpunished. The extraordinary vitality of Chaucerian studies today is not easily represented even by a large program with many concurrent sessions. Many worthy ideas, brought forward by worthy teach­ ers and scholars, had to be denied. I felt the unpleasant constraints of format even more acutely when, as titular editor of this volume, I had the formal responsibility of choosing the papers to be included, or as some others seem to view the matter, to be excluded. I was reminded of one of the better apocryphal remarks attributed to Louis XIV, who is supposed to have observed, upon elevating someone or another to the higher nobility, that whenever he filled a position he made a hundred people unhappy and one person ungrateful. The truth of the matter, of course, is that papers presented at the congress were of such a quality that they easily could have commanded anothervolume this size ifonly the resourcesfor theirpublica­ tion were available. It is important that the reader appreciate what these Proceedings are, as well as what they are not. They attempt to give some general indication of the intellectual climate of the congress, and to suggest something ofthe range ofthe papers, panels, and plenary sessions. Wehave included all three of the special, and specially stimulating, ceremonial presentations-Beryl Rowland's presidential address, Derek Pearsall'sBien­ nial Chaucer Lecture, and Russell Peck's "keynote address." On the other hand they are not a schematic microcosm of the meeting, in which each of the sessions or topics is presented. Possibly because my own part in the congress and in putting together these Proceedings has been limited, I have a sizeable number of people to thank. The outstanding collateral event of the meeting was undoubtedly the remarkable exhibition, put together by Prof. David Anderson with the cooperation of the University of Pennsylvania and the Rosenbach Museum, Vll FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS under the title "Sixty Bokes Olde and Newe." The exhibition may well have been the largest and most clearly focused display of medieval manuscripts of Chaucerian relevance ever mounted in America, and Anderson's im­ pressive scholarly catalogue, with contributions by a wide range of medi­ evalists, is itself a monument of permanent value. Prof. Anderson was also responsible, along with his colleague Siegfried Wenzel, for the smoothness of the "local arrangements" which helped so many to their stay in Philadelphia. Other members of the Program Committee, who at a later stage were also very helpful in working on the Proceedings, were Derek Pearsall, Florence Ridley, and Beryl Rowland. Thomas Heffernan, the editor of Studies in the Age ofChaucer and my co-editor of the present volume, was unfailingly helpful; and, as always,JohnFisher,our Executive Director, was energetic behind no less than in the midst of every scene. Though the publication of these Proceedings is the happy memorial of a happy event, I must end this brief preface by noting that during the final months of their preparation three of the great Chaucerians of our century died: Morton Bloomfield, E. T. Donaldson, and Donald Howard. All three of these men had served the New Chaucer Society, as they had served the profession at large, with special distinction. At an earlier stage of planning - before the forbidding interference of serious illness - both Morton and Talbot were scheduled to organize sessions, or to read papers, for the Philadelphia meeting. Don Howard did organize a session - the highly stimulating session on "Chaucerian Biography" and his own paper published here will give some suggestive foretaste of his forthcoming biography of Chaucer, happily brought to essential completion...