US EditionMedieval Preacher Invoked Chivalric Hero as a Meme in Sermon
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, UNITED KINGDOM, JUL 15 – Scholars corrected century-old transcription errors to reveal the Song of Wade as a chivalric romance and identify Alexander Neckam as the medieval sermon author, reshaping literary history.
- Dr. Seb Falk and Dr. James Wade, both at Girton College, Cambridge, published on July 15 a study resolving a 130-year-old medieval manuscript puzzle about the Song of Wade.
- Their work builds on M.R. James's 1896 discovery of English verses embedded in a late-12th-century Latin sermon from a Peterhouse Cambridge manuscript.
- The researchers showed that correcting three scribal errors changes key terms from 'elves' to 'wolves', recasting the Song of Wade as a chivalric romance focused on human rivals, not mythic monsters.
- Falk called the sermon a 'creative experiment' that deploys a popular romantic meme to warn that humans pose greater threats than monsters, a point Wade said still resonates.
- This finding suggests medieval preachers used contemporary stories to engage listeners, while also clarifying Chaucer’s cryptic references to Wade’s legend in courtly contexts.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Scholars Solve Mystery of Medieval Manuscript That Baffled Experts for 130 Years
Canterbury Tales, William Caxton edition. Credit: Coldupnorth / CC BY-SA 4.0 A team of scholars has solved a literary riddle that has baffled experts for nearly 130 years, uncovering the true meaning behind a puzzling reference in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. The breakthrough comes from a fresh examination of a fragment of an ancient medieval manuscript, once dismissed as too cryptic to decode. The mystery centered on Chaucer’s menti…
Chaucerian mystery solved as scientists decode lost English legend after 800 years
Scholars have been left puzzled for 130 years by a medieval literary mystery - but now, two experts believe they have finally solved it. In the Middle Ages, the Song of Wade was a widely-known folk tale, and was believed to be a "monster-filled epic".But a pair of researchers from Cambridge University believe the tale is actually a chivalric romance.Their work has helped to solve the most famous mystery in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, who a…
Lost English legend decoded, solving Chaucerian mystery and revealing a medieval preacher's meme
A medieval literary puzzle which has stumped scholars, including M.R. James for 130 years has finally been solved. Cambridge scholars now believe the Song of Wade, a long-lost treasure of English culture, was a chivalric romance not a monster-filled epic. The discovery solves the most famous mystery in Chaucer's writings and provides rare evidence of a medieval preacher referencing pop culture in a sermon.
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