The Woman 's Friend By Gavin Douglas

1407 Words3 Pages

Could the man deemed ever the woman 's friend by Gavin Douglas ever, actually be a rapist (SOURCE)? Do the Canterbury Tales act as a vessel to prove his innocence or further damn him, and clarity can they bring to Cecily Champagne’s written release of Geoffrey Chaucer from responsibility for all actions about her raptus? Ever since the discovery of Cecily Champagne’s May 4, 1380, the release of Chaucer, there has been fervent speculation about the nature of her accusations against Chaucer (SOURCE). When coming to a conclusion regarding the raptus of Cecily Champagne it is important to understand and consider; Emilly Champagne;s release of Chaucer, historian beliefs, the differing translations of the term raptus, the trends of rape in the Middle Ages, Chaucer 's Canterbury tales, and psychoanalytic data on the minds of those who do and do not rape. It is by understanding and considering these elements that we can come to a personal conclusion of whether or not Chaucer raped Emilly Champagne.
On May 4, 1380, Cecily Chaumpaigne went to the Chancery of Richard II and brought a deed of release which was enrolled on the close rolls. Cecily Champagne 's deed had been witnessed on May 1, 1380, three days before her bring the deed to the Chancery of Richard II, by multiple prominent members of the occur of Richard II(SOURCE). The witnesses included William Beauchamp, John Clanvowe, William Neville, John Philpot, and Richard More.The deed read “omnimodas actions tam de raptus meo tam de aliqua alia re vel causa" (SOURCE). Roughly translated this means “I release Geoffrey Chaucer from all the measures relating to my raptus or other causeS” (SOURCE). Besides the deep itself, a microscopic amount is known about the accusations brought forth by...

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...dept for champainge, which at the time was more than half of Chaucers annual income. Additionally, Pearsel describes how some evidence has been presented that shows that chaucer was in fact attejptng to raise money during the times of the release. On November 28, 1380, when he received his semiannual installments of money on two depts., he also paid £14 in expenses for the Lombardy trip of 1378; then on March 6th, he received £22 of compensation for his journey to France in 1377. The years following the release, chaucer sold his fathers house on june 18, 1381. Although acnowlodging that some of these financial events may have purly been coincidental, the person states that the magmatute of the evidence, likely point to chauver ffacing an increase indepts, mainly that of Grove whos could have made the initial payment of 10, with other depts. Being made to cecilly.

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