An Aesthetic of Permeability: Three Transcapes of the Book of the Duchess

Abstract

On September 12, 1368, Blanche of Lancaster, daughter of Henry, duke of Lancaster, died of plague1 at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, England.2 Only nine years earlier she had married John of Gaunt, fourth son of King Edward III. Previously earl of Richmond, Gaunt earned through wedlock title of earl of Lancaster and, on Henry's death, that of duke. When Blanche's sister died without issue in 1362, Gaunt became the richest man in England and, with his brothers away and his father soon to retire, was the dominant figure at court.3 Serving at that court was Geoffrey Chaucer, who had worked for Gaunt's sibling Lionel and had been transferred by 1367 to act as a valet tus in king's household.4 Records show that Chaucer received annu ities as an esquire of royal familia and remuneration for tasks rendered during Gaunt's military expeditions to France.5 For this reason, com mentators have justifiably suggested that Chaucer, Gaunt, and Blanche are likely to have met and must have known each other for some ten years.6 Nonetheless, at least one critic has remarked that: