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In the book I try to explore the theme of unlikeness as it appears in Saint Augustine and to examine its consequences for selected works of medieval literature. If the theme does not offer a unified field theory for medieval literature, it was nevertheless a persistent idea, and it offers some light on the work of such diverse figures as the authors of 'Beowulf', 'The Apocalypse of Golias', and the 'Roman de la Rose', as well as Chrétien de Troyes and Chaucer, perhaps even Malory.
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The Literature o f Unlikeness Saint Augustine finds himself far from God in the land o f unlikeness Reproduced by courtesy o f the Trustees o f the Boston Public Library from MS. f. M ed.77 (leaf iov), an illustrated life o f Saint Augustine (Germany, ca. 1460). Pen and watercolor on paper. See Courcelle 1963 1658 and his plate 14, fig. 1; Oldham 1952; and chapter 1. The Literature o f Unlikeness Charles Dahlberg U n iv ersity Press o f N e w E n glan d H an over and L o n d o n , 1988 U n iv e rsity Press o f N e w E n glan d Brandeis University Brown University Clark University University o f Connecticut Dartmouth College University o f New Hampshire University o f Rhode Island Tufts University University o f Vermont © 1988 by University Press o f N ew England All rights reserved. Except for brief quotation in critical articles or reviews, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For further information contact University Press o f New En gland, Hanover, N H 03755. Printed in the United States o f America LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Dahlberg, Charles, 1 9 1 9 The literature o f unlikeness. Bibliography: p. Includes index. I. English literature— Middle English, 1 10 0 -1 5 0 0 — History and criticism. 2. Contradiction in literature. 3. Resemblance (Philosophy) in literature. 4. French poetry— To 1500— History and criticism. 5. Rhetoric, Medieval. 6. Beowulf. 7. Philosophy. Medieval. 1. Title. PR275.C58D34 1988 ISBN 0 - 8 7 4 5 1 - 4 2 7 - 4 82o'.9'ooi 5 4 3 2 1 87-22730 For Didi Contents Preface ix Abbreviations xiii 1 . The Land o f Unlikeness: Augustine, Boethius, Chaucer i 2. The Kingdom o f Unlikeness: Beowulf 26 3. The Rhetoric o f Unlikeness: Augustine, Dionysius the Areopagite, Alanus de Insulis 55 4. Love as Unlikeness: Andreas Capellanus, Chrétien de Troyes 73 5. The Garden o f Unlikeness: The Roman de la Rose 98 6. The Poet o f Unlikeliness: Chaucer 125 7. The Retreat from Unlikeness: M alory and Others 149 Bibliography 173 Index 195 vii Preface Although this study has been long in formation, there have been noteworthy impulses along the way. A reference to Dionysius the Areopagite in F. X . Newm ans study o f the Apocalypse o f Golias (19 6 7 :12 1) provided one. Another developed out o f work on the Variorum edition o f the Chaucerian Romaunt o f the Rose and, in particular, on the relationship between Chaucer and the Ro man de la Rose. Still another arose from the request to present this material as a faculty seminar at Queens College in the fall se mester o f 1985. For their support and encouragement, I should like to thank Professor Paul Ruggiers, general editor o f the Chaucer Variorum; Dean John Reilly o f the Arts Division, Queens College; and Professor Leo Walsh, director o f the Hon ors Program in the Western Tradition at Queens College. A more fundamental impulse has been the conviction, fostered by the work o f D. W. Robertson, that the characteristic mode o f reading and writing in the Middle Ages wa