Verses in Sermons: Fasciculus Morum and its Middle English Poems by Siegfried Wenzel

Abstract

REVIEWS As a whole, the volume offers little that is both new and striking, but much that is solid and interesting, especially when the authors are not formulating or drawing upon suspect generalizations but are giving concrete analyses of specific literary works. Melczer's statement of the need for interdisciplinary piecework is particularly important, and Rid­ ley's study of Dunbar in the context ofthe court ofJames IV shows that one does not have to wait for congresses orcollaborators to take advantage of the methods and results of other fields of scholarship. H. A. KELLY University of California, Los Angeles SIEGFRIED WENZEL, Verses in Sermons: Fasciculus Morum and its Middle English Poems. Cambridge, Mass.: The Mediaeval Academy of America, 1978. Pp. 234. $20.00. This latest contribution by Siegfried Wenzel to our understanding of the rhetoric of preaching and its possible impact on imaginative litera­ ture will appeal not simply to those who are interested in didactic literature per se, but also to the broader audience concerned with lyric forms and meditative poetry in general. Wenzel begins his introduction with the bold statement that "Mid­ dle English lyrics owe a profound and multiform debt to contemporary religious beliefs and institutions," and he then proceeds to develop this thesis throughout his work. First ofall, he describes the "Little Bundle of Morality," a Latin treatise which was meant to teach friars the art of effective oratorical delivery (an outline is provided at the end). He then proceeds to put the Fasciculus in an historical and aesthetic perspective, and finally he offers a complete critical edition of the 61 English poems that are scattered through some of the manuscripts of the treatise (their number being exceedingly variable, as is shown in a table on pages 106-07). Wenzel's work is, as a whole, the most complete commentary on the text to date, and his edition ofthe poetry surpasses those ofhis predeces183 STUDIES IN THE AGE OF CHAUCER sors because of its completeness and accuracy; indeed, the entire book, with its many difficulties in a variety of languages, is remarkably free from errors in any. The book is divided into three main chapters. In the first, Wenzel places the Fasciculus in the Franciscan tradition, where it stands as an important English contribution to the literature of the Seven Deadly Sins. Wenzel then describes the twenty-eight manuscripts of the trea­ tise, including R, which serves as the base for his own edition of the poems. He shows that the work, in several forms, was widely read throughout England in Chaucer's day, functioning as a clergyman's guide. Wenzel next wrestles with the problem ofdating, settling on the latter years of the reign of Edward I as the most likely time for its composition. The author then reveals himselfas an excellent detective as he sifts through the evidence offering four different candidates for authorship. He decides, in a way that is perfectly reasonable, that the greatest claim belongs to Robert Selk. The first chapter ends with a very interesting discussion ofthe fortune of the Fasciculus through references to it by other people, and concludes with some generalizations on the art ofpopular preaching. Wenzel notes that many allusions in these works are drawn from natural science, but, rather surprisingly at first glance, few from the world of the clergy; the greatest number ofallusions is related to the world ofthe common man, and this makes sense when one considers the audience. The world ofthe Plowman provides the backdrop for the world ofthe Parson, precisely as Chaucer portrayed the characters in his Prologue, side by side. When one considers Chaucer's own great predicators-such as the Pardoner or Chauntecleer-one sees that the milieux of the barnyard and the tavern are never very farremoved from the ecclesiastical forum. This blending of the lowly with the sublime, which formed the center for Auerbach's great essay on Sermo humilis, and which reached its optimum of expres­ sion in Dante's Comedy, can be seen rather more humbly in this English work. Chapter II explores that phenomenon ofblending the poetic with the prosaic that is shown in the Fasciculus. Wenzel documents the wide­ spread practice of writing...