Though never quite matching the popularity and scholarly acclaim of his friend and contemporary Geoffrey Chaucer, the English poet John Gower produced an impressive body of poetry in Anglo-Norman French, Latin, and Middle English and has earned his reputation as one of the great English poets of the fourteenth century. His Confessio Amantis, or “The Lover’s Confession,” ranks among the Middle English texts most frequently copied before the advent of the printing press. The poem both follows and builds upon the model of fourteenth-century Christian confessions by shaping the lover’s account into a frame narrative for a collection of shorter poetic tales, pairing courtly-love reinterpretations of the seven deadly sins with moralizing narratives drawn from biblical, classical, and medieval sources. Volume 2 of this three-volume edition presents Books 2, 3 and 4 of Gower’s poem, including translations of Latin components, alongside a comprehensive bibliography, glosses, and explanatory notes.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Confessio Amantis Book 2: Envy i. On Envy Sorrow for Another's Joy Tale of Acis and Galatea ii. Joy Over Another’s Grief Tale of the Travelers and the Angel iii. Detraction Tale of Constance Tale of Demetrius and Perseus iv. False-Semblant Tale of Deianira, Hercules, and Nessus v. Supplantation Tale of Geta and Amphitrion Tale of the False Bachelor Tale of Pope Boniface vi. The Pallor of Envy Charity and Pity as Remedy Tale of Constantine and Sylvester Book 3: Wrath i. On Melancholy Tale of Canace and Machaire Tale of Tiresias and the Snakes ii. Contention Patience of Socrates Of Jupiter, Juno, and Tiresias Tale of Phebus and Cornide Jupiter and Laar iii. Hate Tale of King Namplus and the Greeks iv. Contek and Homicide Tale of Diogenes and Alexander Tale of Pyramus and Thisbe On Daunger Tale of Phebus and Daphne Tale of Athemas and Demephon Tale of Orestes v. Evil of War Tale of Alexander and the Pirate On Crusades Tale of Telaphus and Teucer Book 4: Sloth i. On Lachesce, or Procrastination Tale of Aeneas and Dido Tale of Ulysses and Penelope The Great Clerk Grosseteste The Foolish Virgins ii. Pusillamité, or Cowardice Pygmalion and His Statue Tale of Iphis and Iante iii. Forgetfulness Tale of Demophon and Phyllis iv. Negligence Tale of Phaeton Tale of Icarus v. Idleness Tale of Rosiphelee Tale of Jephthah’s Daughter vi. Decerte, or Meritoriousness Tale of Nauplus and Ulysses Examples of Prowess: Protesilaus Saul Education of Achilles Tale of Hercules and Achelons Penthesilea, Philemenis, Aeneas Gentilesse vii. On the Uses of Labor Discoverers and Inventors Alchemy Three Philosopher Stones First Alchemists Letters and Language viii. Somnolence On Dreams Tale of Ceix and Alceone Prayer of Cephalus Tale of Argus and Mercury ix. Tristesse and Despondency Tale of Iphis and Araxarathen Explanatory Notes Textual Notes Bibliography Illustration Figure 1, MS Bodley 902, Fol. 8r.