Chaucer's Return from Lombardy, the Shrine of St. Leonard at Hythe, and the “corseynt Leonard” in the House of Fame, Lines 112–18

Abstract

Abstract Chaucer's reference to Saint Leonard in the House of Fame, lines 112–18, has been glossed as a humorous jest on the difficulty of marriage since the time of Skeat. This article reinterprets these lines in light of comparative textual analysis, the historical context of the cult of Saint Leonard, and the geographical context of Chaucer's travel from Lombardy in 1378. It finds that Chaucer likely passed through the port of Hythe, Kent, there visiting the Church of St. Leonard, where he would have encountered its marvelous “Eolus scepter” as part of the local maritime cult of Saint Leonard.