Conor McKee’s article in this month’s issue of The Chaucer Review indicates major problems with the view that Chaucer is responsible for the surviving Middle English translation of the Romance of the Rose. Whilst the latter parts of the text have long been considered dubious, the first 1705 lines were widely held as authentically Chaucerian until now. McKee’s article argues that the Victorian scholar W.W. Skeat, who is responsible for the acceptance of the early part of the text, based his position on a misapplication of rhyme tests derived from the work of Cambridge University Librarian Henry Bradshaw. The article explains the nature of these philological tests and their proper application based on Bradshaw’s unpublished working papers.

Conor McKee is a PhD candidate at the Faculty of English and Pembroke College.

Link for further information: https://muse.jhu.edu/article