CONSTANCE ON TRIAL: ALLEGORIZING LEGAL PERSONHOOD IN JOHN GOWER'S 'THE TALE OF CONSTANCE' AND GEOFFREY CHAUCER'S 'THE MAN OF LAW'S TALE'.

The article analyses how John Gower in Confessio Amantis and Geoffrey Chaucer in The Man of Law's Tale (from The Canterbury Tales) allegorize Constance's trial to examine medieval legal personhood. Topics include the contrast between legalist and realist models of personhood;the shaping of Constance...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Medium Aevum Vol. 94; no. 1; pp. 133 - 158
Main Author:	NI, YUN
Format:	Article
Published:	Society for the Study of Medieval Languages & Literature 2025
Subjects:	Chaucer, George Gower, John, ca. 1325-1408 Personality (Theory of knowledge) Canterbury Tales: The Man of Law's Tale Medieval literature
Online Access:	View this record in EBSCOhost

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Summary:	The article analyses how John Gower in Confessio Amantis and Geoffrey Chaucer in The Man of Law's Tale (from The Canterbury Tales) allegorize Constance's trial to examine medieval legal personhood. Topics include the contrast between legalist and realist models of personhood;the shaping of Constance's agency through narrative authority;and the reflection of contemporary debates on corporate and parliamentary identity.