Cocke Lorelles Bote E-Book

anonymous

• Herausgeber: DigiCat
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Cocke Lorelles Bote, attributed to an anonymous author, is a remarkable poem that echoes the medieval tradition of courtly love while simultaneously challenging its conventions. Written in a distinctive alliterative verse, the text features rich imagery and symbolic representations that navigate the tensions between desire and disillusionment. The narrative unfolds a tale filled with complex emotions, showcasing the protagonist's yearning for an unattainable lady, encapsulating the essence of chivalric ideals while critiquing the era's romantic dogma. This exploration of love, identity, and societal constraints situates the poem within the broader context of Middle English literature, paralleling works by contemporaries such as Chaucer and the Gawain poet. The anonymity of the author evokes intrigue and speculation, shedding light on the collaborative and oral traditions prevalent during the late medieval period. The choice to remain unnamed may reflect the intricate interplay between personal experience and collective cultural expression, suggesting a satirical lens through which the author critiques societal norms. This context invites readers to consider the poem as a resonant commentary on the complexities of romantic relationships in a patriarchal society. For readers fascinated by the nuances of medieval literature and the formulaic constructs of love poetry, Cocke Lorelles Bote offers a profound exploration of idealism juxtaposed with reality. Its lyrical richness and thoughtful subtext make it an essential read for those seeking to understand the evolution of romantic narrative, ultimately providing a unique insight into the human experience of love that transcends time.

Leseprobe

Anonymous

Cocke Lorelles Bote

 

EAN 8596547379188

DigiCat, 2022 Contact: [email protected]

Table of Contents

Cover

Titlepage

Text

PREFACE.

Table of Contents

THE singularly interesting fragment of early English literature known as Cocke Lorelles Bote, is a satirical poem of four hundred and fourteen lines, in which various classes of society, chiefly of the lower order, are passed under review in rapid succession. The glimpse we obtain of each class is only momentary, but the author with some well chosen phrase, in that short time sketches their failings.

The original from which this poem is reprinted, is in black-letter, and is preserved in the Garrick Collection, British Museum. It is considered unique, but unfortunately it is imperfect at the beginning.

It was printed in London, by Wynkyn de Worde, and bears no date, but may safely be ascribed to the early part of the reign of Henry the Eighth. The idea of the “Bote,” in which so many different characters are gathered together, is supposed to have been taken from Sebastian Brandt’s “Shyp of Folys,” which was translated into English by Alexander Barclay, and printed by Pynson at the beginning of the sixteenth century. What gives weight to this suggestion, is the fact that the wood-cuts with which the original of Cocke Lorell is illustrated, are similar to those used in the “Ship of Folys.”

The hero of the poem was the leader of a notorious band of robbers which infested the metropolis, and was probably alive at the time of its publication. He is mentioned by Samuel Rowlands in “Martin Mark-all, Beadle of Bridewell, his Defence and Answere to the Belman of London,” printed in 1610, who describes him in these terms:—“After him, succeeded by general councell, one Cocke Lorrell, the most notorious knave that ever lived: by trade he was a tinker, often carrying a panne and a hammer for show: but when he came to a good booty, he would cast his profession in a ditch, and play the padder,[1] and then would away, and as hee past through the toune, crie, ‘Ha you any worke for a tinker?’ To write of his knaveries it would aske a long time: I referre you to the old manuscript remayning on record in Maunder’s Hall.[2] This was he that reduced and brought in forme the Catalogue of Vagabonds, or Quarterne of Knaves, called the five and twentie Orders of Knaves: but because it is extant, and in every mans shop, I passe them over. … This Cocke Lorrell continued among them longer than any of his predecessors before him, or after him, for he ruled almost two and twentie yeares, until the yeare An. Dom. 1533, and about the five and twenty yeare of K. Henry the Eight.”

The “Catalogue of Vagabonds” to which Rowlands alludes in the above extract as having been written by Cocke Lorell, is a tract printed by John Awdely in 1565, and of which a second edition was issued by the same printer in 1575. It is not improbable that Awdely may have himself been the compiler of the “Catalogue.” A copy of the edition of 1575 is in the Bodleian Library, the quaint title of which is as follows:—“The Fraternitye of Vacabondes. As wel of ruflyng Vacabondes, as of beggerly, of Women as of Men, of Gyrles as of Boyes, with their proper names and qualities. With a description of the crafty company of Cousoners and Shifters. Whereunto also is adioyned the XXV Orders of Knaues, otherwyse called a Quartern of Knaues Confirmed for euer by Cocke Lorell.

The Vprightman speaketh.