Call for Papers: Thomas Hoccleve and his “Maistir Gower,” 2020

The International Hoccleve Society is pleased to be sponsoring a session at the Fifth International Congress of the John Gower Society, which will be held 29 June to 1 July 2020 at the University of Notre Dame.

Thomas Hoccleve and his “Maistir Gower:” Words, Books, Heritage

Near the end of the Prologue to his Regiment of Princes, Thomas Hoccleve laments the fact that Death has not only slain “my maistir Chaucer” (1962) but also “My maister Gower…whos vertu I am insufficient / for to descryve” (1975-77). Historically, critics have made much of Hoccleve’s subservient relationship to Chaucer as well as his insufficiency to describe many things. They have paid comparatively less attention to Hoccleve’s relationship with Gower. This session aims to change that.

The Fifth International Congress of the John Gower Society offers an ideal opportunity to explore Hoccleve’s relationship with the man whom Charles Blyth called “Hoccleve’s other Master.” Since the publication of Blyth’s article by that name three decades ago, there have been significant developments in the study of both Gower and Hoccleve: new documents pertaining to their lives have been discovered, the value of their poetry has been re-considered from different perspectives, and the transmission of their work has attracted much interest. This session’s aim is to bring some of these developments to bear on our understanding of any aspect of the relationship between these two authors.

The theme for the congress is “Gower in Contexts: His Words, His Books, His Heritage.” In their call for papers, the congress organizers encourage prospective presenters to understand this theme to include interpretative, linguistic or stylistic discussions of poetry; the study of publication (manuscript and print); and the identification of sources and influence.

Proposals should be no more than 250 words in length and should be sent to David Watt at the University of Manitoba (david.watt@umanitoba.ca) by August 25, 2019. Please feel free to be in touch beforehand if you have any questions or suggestions.