The Articulate Citizen and the English Renaissance

Abstract

While Ferguson's study of civic consciousness is primarily about early Renaissance (pp. 133-397), early chapters deal with medieval background. Ferguson singles out Langland and Gower as important figures in the first important period in history of English public discussion (4). During this period (1360-1415), a new form of public discourse emerged from pure propaganda and from more generalized complaint literature. Yet while Gower and others show an increasing sense of national identity and eagerly critiqued social maladies, their analysis of social ills generally stops short of actually providing constructive policies (42) for fixing problems. Rather than suggesting systemic reform, Gower and his contemporaries tend to point to need for personal moral reform (47). Only occasionally – as when Gower deals with topic of justice – do we see some awareness of complexity of social relationships (53). Otherwise, Gower's solution is to point out king's need for good counsel and to focus on individual vices (especially sloth and avarice; 57). Gower in fact failed to think in terms of institutions, much less of constitutions (62). While Gower's writings become increasingly more political over time, he fails to provide a fully-fledged analysis of root causes of such issues as labour crisis, problem of maintenance, and war with France. [CvD]