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E
UR
A
MERICA
might encounter.
When commenting on the significance of Petrarch to
humanism, Robinson writes, “To the centuries before Petrarch the
world was a place in which to prepare for a life beyond; the
noblest subject of thought was theology; the saving of the soul was
the one important task” (1970: 227). Yet with Petrarch the world
became different: life becomes more meaningful in itself, for no
longer is it just a prelude to the next life. This shift in worldview,
of course, cannot be attributed to a single individual or even a
small group of people, but Petrarch can be more credited with the
change than any other person (Robinson, 1970: 227). For Petrarch,
literary pursuit takes pride of place in the ennoblement of this life
because, he believes, now and future can be connected by a body of
canonical works. Perhaps it is this longing that urged Petrarch to
open his Oration with the citation from the
Georgics
: “Sed me
Parnasi deserta per ardua dulcis raptat amor” (1953: 1242).
43
In the case of Chaucer, the image of fame is even more
unflattering, since it is a powerful manifestation of human
thoughtlessness and folly. The popular wisdom is belittled by
Chaucer as everybody only uncritically receives information and
immediately sends out a further distorted version of it. However,
the issue of posthumous fame occupied Chaucer’s mind throughout
his lifetime.
The House of Fame
aside, the
Troilus and Criseyde
also
bears eloquent testimony to Chaucer’s lingering concern with his
status in the following ages, since in its concluding Book Chaucer
compares his rewrite of the Trojan legend with previous
masterworks. In a short poem titled “Chaucers Wordes unto Adam,
His Owne Scriveyn,”
44
Chaucer reveals his worry about possible
43
“But sweet love propels me over Mount Parnassus’ heights”
(Virgil, 2005: 50).
44
Adam scriveyn, if ever thee bifalle
Boece or Troylus for to wryten newe,
Under the long lokkes thou most have the scale,
But after my makyng thow wryte more trewe;
So ofte adaye I mot thy werk renewe,
It to correcte and eke to rubbe and scrape,
