Literary and Political Governance in Scottish Reception of Chaucer, 1424-1513 Chelsea Victoria Honeyman Department of English McGill University, Montréal June 2009 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ©Chelsea Victoria Honeyman, 2009 1 Abstract This study posits an intertextual paradigm of governance, modelled on the interdependent nature of late-medieval Anglo-Scottish cultural relations, for interpreting Chaucerian reception by Scots poets of the long fifteenth century. These poets use Chaucer to enrich their own works in ways that advance an autonomous, self-governing Scottish literary tradition. Chapter 1, establishing context for the study, comprises two sections. The first analyses how Scottish chronicles (including Bower’s Scotichronicon, Wyntoun’s Original Chronicle and the anonymous “Scottis Originale”) interpret selected details of English chronicles to suit Scottish interests; the second explores interdependency’s importance to the eponymous heroes of Barbour’s Bruce and Harry’s Wallace, who defer to friends, monarchs and moral ideals in order to further their goal of Scottish autonomy. Chapter 2 explores the Kingis Quair’s paradox of freedom through service, which applies not only to the narrator’s liberation through service to his lady but also to the poet’s literary emancipation through a transformation of motifs from Chaucer’s Troilus and Knight’s Tale. Chapter 3 examines how Robert Henryson’s Moral Fables argue for a monarch’s success through restraint; the Testament of Cresseid echoes this concept both in Cresseid’s evolution from a slave of lust to a liberated penitent and in Henryson’s creation of an alternative yet narratively consistent fate for Chaucer’s Criseyde. Chapter 4 focuses on Gavin Douglas’ Eneados and Palice of Honour; each depicts a dynamic in which Douglas’ debt to Chaucerian works such as the Legend of Good Women and the House of Fame is matched by Chaucer’s need for Douglas to perpetuate his legacy. Chapter 5 demonstrates how William Dunbar’s philosophical, petitionary, 2 occasional and courtly poems advocate self-governance as a condition for governing others; special attention is paid to poetry concerning James IV and Margaret Tudor’s marriage, wherein Dunbar articulates reciprocal responsibilities paralleling those of the new relationship between Scotland and England, and to the Goldyn Targe, wherein Dunbar establishes a similarly reciprocal relationship with Chaucer. The conclusion suggests future applications of the study of governance in Scottish poetry, particularly the evolution of the concept of literary governance with the rise of parliamentary governance in sixteenth-century Scotland. 3 Précis Cette étude avance un paradigme intertextuel de “gouvernance,” basé sur la relation interdépendante entre les cultures anglaises et écossaises pendant le Bas Moyen Âge, pour interpréter la réception chaucérienne des poètes écossais au quinzième siècle et au début du seizième siècle. Ces poètes emploient Chaucer pour enrichir leurs œuvres propres afin de promouvoir une tradition littéraire écossaise autonome. Chapitre 1, établissant le contexte pour cette étude, comprend deux sections. La première section analyse comment les chroniques écossaises (telles que le Scotichronicon de Bower, le Original Chronicle de Wyntoun et l’anonyme «Scottis Originale ») interprètent les détails choisis des chroniques anglaises pour convenir aux intérêts écossais; la deuxième section examine l’importance vitale de l’interdépendance pour les héros éponymes du Bruce de Barbour et du Wallace de Harry, deux leaders qui déférent aux amis, aux rois et aux idéales morales pour réaliser leur but d’une Écosse autonome. Chapitre 2 explore le Kingis Quair et son articulation du paradoxe d’une liberté qui se trouve dans la servitude, un paradoxe qui s’applique non seulement à la liberté achevée par le narrateur dans son service pour sa dame, mais aussi à l’émancipation du poète dans sa transformation des motifs tirés du Troilus et du Knight’s Tale du Chaucer. Chapitre 3 examine comment les Moral Fables du Robert Henryson soutiennent qu’un roi puissant, c’est un roi modéré; ce sentiment trouve un écho chez le Testament of Cresseid, qui suit non seulement Cresseid dans son évolution personnelle (d’une esclave du désir à une pénitente libérée) mais aussi Henryson dans sa création d’un destin pour Cresseid qui contraste mais complète le destin de Criseyde dans le Troilus. Chapitre 4 centre sur l’Eneados et le Palice of 4 Honour de Gavin Douglas; ces deux œuvres décrivent une dynamique dans laquelle la dette de Douglas aux œuvres chaucériennes telles que le Legend of Good Women et le House of Fame est égalée par le besoin des œuvres chaucériennes d’être préservées dans la connaissance des lecteurs par les efforts des poètes tel que Douglas. Chapitre 5 démontre comment les poèmes philosophiques, pétitionnaires, occasionnelles et courtoises de William Dunbar préconise la gouvernance de soi comme condition pour la gouvernance des autres; une attention spéciale est faite aux œuvres dédiées au mariage du Margaret Tudor James IV, dans lesquelles sont articulées des responsabilités réciproques qui trouvent des parallèles dans les relations anglo-écossaises de l’ère, et au Goldyn Targe, dans lequel Dunbar établie de la même façon une relation réciproque avec Chaucer. La conclusion suggère des applications futures de l’étude de la gouvernance dans la poésie écossaise, particulièrement en ce qui concerne l’évolution du concept de la gouvernance littéraire avec l’essor de la gouvernance parlementaire en Écosse pendant le seizième siècle. 5 Acknowledgements If medieval Scottish literature contends that self-governance is impossible without reliance on others, recent experience has proven to me that completing this dissertation would have been impossible without the support and encouragement of a great many people. I must begin by thanking my supervisor, Prof. Jamie Fumo; it was on her recommendation that I began to read the medieval Scots poets, and so this study is greatly indebted to her not only for its development and completion, but also for its very origin. I also thank Profs. Dorothy Bray, Maggie Kilgour, Erin Hurley and Sebastian Sobecki for their comments and suggestions on my work as it progressed. I am grateful to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) for the financial means to complete this project, and the Interlibrary Loan service of McGill University Library for tracking down my many requests. My friends have been sources both of cathartic commiseration and renewed inspiration, and I appreciate their provision of both as I have completed this dissertation. Deserving of special recognition are the fellow founding members of the McGill Medievalist Tea Circle—Jake Walsh Morrissey, Karen Oberer and William Sweet—and Jill McMillan, who offered listening ears, practical advice and, above all, excellent company. Finally, I am profoundly thankful for the help I have received from my family as I undertook this task. In particular, thanks are due to Ruth Honeyman and Kevin McQuinn for their loving patience and copious feedback; to Simon Honeyman for his constant encouragement and fresh 6 literary perspectives; and to Barry Honeyman and Nora Fontaine for moral support. 7 Table of Contents Abstract 1 Précis 3 Acknowledgements 5 Table of Contents 7 Abbreviations 10 Introduction: Towards a Paradigm of Governance in Interpreting Scottish Reception of Chaucer 11 Chapter 1: Scotland and Britain, Brothers in Arms: Self-Governance and Interdependency in Scottish Chronicles and Historical Romances 28 Scottish Originality: The Absorption of Foreign Authority in Scottish Origin Myths 32 Jostling Geoffrey: Scottish Chroniclers’ Response to the Historia Regum Britanniae 42 Freedom Through Friendship: Interdependent Governance in the Bruce 53 Keeping the Faith and Toeing the (Royal) Line: The Wallace’s Vision of Leadership 65 Chapter 2: Steering the (King)Ship: Literary and Political Governance in the Kingis Quair 75 The Transformation of Philosophy: The Quair’s Governance of Boethius 84 8 From the Tower to the Wheel: The Quair’s New Perspective on Chaucer 92 Chapter 3: Sage Against the Machine: Navigating Systems of Governance in Henryson’s Moral Fables and Testament of Cresseid 120 The Moral Fables: Lessons Fit for a King? 122 (Self-)Authorised Biographers: Cresseid and Henryson as Makars of the Testament 151 Chapter 4: “Joyus Disciplyne”: Gavin Douglas’ Eneados and Palice of Honour 205 The Eneados: Douglas’ Translatio Scotiae 215 The Palice of Honour: Douglas’ Renovation of Chaucer’s House of Fame 244 Chapter 5: Minding the Kingdom, Tending the Text: Governance in William Dunbar’s Poetry 274 The Kingdom of the Mind: Dunbar’s Philosophy of Individual Self- Governance 277 Order in the Court: Dunbar’s Benefice Poems 285 The Mind of the Kingdom: Scottish Governance in Dunbar’s Occasional Poems 297 . “Our rois riale most reuerent vnder crovne”: Dunbar’s Poetic Grafting of Margaret Tudor 297 . “The Thrissill and the Rois”: James IV and the Scottish Country Garden 305 9 The British “Rois of Rethoris All”: Dunbar’s Treatment of Chaucerian Authority 317 . “Lament for the Makars”: Dunbar’s Triumph over the Death of the Author 318 . A “Flour Imperiall”: The Goldyn Targe’s Transnational Chaucer 327 Conclusion: The Future of Governance in Early Scottish Literature 333 Works Cited 339 10 Abbreviations CR Chaucer Review DOST Dictionary