Auch die nüchterne Prosa des Astrolabe steht in vielen Beziehungen zu Chaucers Versen. Die astronomische Gelehrsamkeit des Dichters kommt in seinen Dichtungen oft zur Geltung in einer für den modernen Leser nicht besonders erfreulichen, dem Geschmack seines Jahrhunderts aber, wie Dantes Beispiel zeigt, durchaus entsprechenden Weise. Skeat hat in der Einleitung seiner Ausgabe des Astrolabe1 die interessantesten astronomischen Stellen der Chaucerschen Dichtungen gesammelt und erörtert. Vielleicht spiegelt sich Chaucers Betrachtung des gestirnten Himmels in dem berühmten Bild für die Augen des Fraters Prol. 267

His eyghen twynkeled in his heed aright,
As don the sterres in the frosty night,

wozu man vergleichen kann Astr. Part II, § 23, 1 In some wynters nyht, whan the firmament is clere and thikke-sterred, waite a tyme, til þat any sterre fix sit lyne-riht perpendiculer ouer the pol Artik etc. Doch mag wohl sein, dafs dieser Vergleich, dem wir nach Chaucer überaus häufig begegnen, 2 schon vor ihm in der englischen Dichtung heimisch war, obgleich mir kein Beispiel gegenwärtig ist.

Ausserdem sind noch folgende Übereinstimmungen in Bild und Ausdruck erwähnenswert.

Troil. II, 36 For every wyght, whiche that to Rome wente,
Halt nat o path or alwey o manere;

vgl. Astr. Prol. z. 27 Ryht as diverse pathes leden diuerse folk the rihte wey to Roome.

Troil. II, 1461 as streght as lyne; III, 179 as lyne right; vgl. Astr. Part II, § 26, 15 streyhte as a lyne.

1 A Treatise on the Astrolabe ed. by W. W. Skeat, London 1872 (Chauc. Soc.).

2 Vgl. z. B. Lindsay 'Deith of Quene Magdalene' V. 145 precious stonis brycht, Twinklyng lyke sterris, in ane frostie nycht; Tottels Miscellany ed. Arber S. 163 Her beauty twinkleth like a starre, | Within the frosty night; Robert Greene ed. Dyce 1861, S. 286 a Her eyes two twinckling stars in winter-nights; ib. S. 309a; Spenser, 'Hymne in Honour of Beautie' V. 256 Ten thousand sweet belgards, which to their sight | Doe seeme like twinckling starres in frostie night; Dryden, 'Conquest of Granada' 2nd part, III, 3 Your eyes more bright | Than stars that twinkle in a winter's night.

Franklin 246 Madame, reweth upon my peynes smerte,

For as with a swerd ye may me sle or save;

vgl. Astr. Prol. 44 with this swerd shal I slen envie. Auf die Ähnlichkeit von Hous II, 353 f. mit Astr. Prol. 31 f. hat bereits Skeat, Minor Poems S. 341, hingewiesen.

Wir haben gesehen, dafs die Verbindung zwischen Chaucers Prosa und Dichtung eine vielgliederige ist, dafs seine prosaischen und poetischen Werke in engem Zusammenhange stehen. Deshalb treten wir an die Prosa der Parson's Tale' mit der berechtigten Erwartung heran, dafs auch aus ihr, wenn anders sie ein Werk unseres Dichters ist, viele Fäden in seine Verse überlaufen. Diese Erwartung wird nicht enttäuscht. Dem Boethius verdankt Chaucer das Hauptelement seiner Philosophie, dem Melibeus manche moralisch-didaktische Bemerkung, dem Astro-! labe seine Astronomie und auf den Traktat über die sieben Todsünden, die Beichte u. s. w., der den weitaus gröfsten Teil der PT. füllt, lassen sich an sehr vielen Stellen die theologischen Kenntnisse und Anschauungen seiner Pilger zurückführen.

Am stärksten bekundet sich dieser Einfluss in der Predigt des Ablafskrämers, in welcher er neben der Wirkung des heil. Hieronymus, Innocenz des Dritten und des Johannes Sarisberiensis als vierte, deutlich erkennbare Strömung nicht nur in der Wahl der Citate, sondern auch in der Anordnung des Stoffes und im Ausdruck zur Geltung kommt. Der Ablafskrämer bietet an mancher Stelle nur eine Versifikation der Worte des Pfarrers. Man vergleiche:

*Pars. III, S. 313 After this thanne commeth swereinge, that is expres agayns the comaundementz of god ... 315 moche wors is forswering falsely;

** Pars. 313 f. God saith, thou schalt not take the name of thy lord god in vayn or in ydil. Also, oure lord Jhesu Crist saith by the word of seint Mathew, 'Ne schal ye not swere in alle manere' as saith Jeremie, co IIIIo: 'Thou schalt kepe thre condiciouns, thou schalt swere in trouthe, in doom and in rightwisnes.' This is to sayn, thou schalt swere soth;

...

Pard. 180 Tak not in ydel ne my name amys

...

Of sweryng saith the holy Jeremye,

Thou schalt say soth thin othes, and not lye,

And swere in doom and eek in rightwisnes.

Vgl. Skeat, Man of Lawes Tale etc. S. 157 zu V. 635.

**Pars. 314 And think wel this, that every gret swerer, not compellid lawfully to swere, the wounde schal not depart fro his hous, whil he useth such unleful sweringe;

Pard. 186

And forthermore. I wol the telle a plat,

The vengance schal not parte fro his hous,
That of his othes is outrageous.

Vgl. Skeat ib.

*Pars. 314 For Cristes sake, swereth not so synfully in dismembring of Crist by soule, herte, boones and body; for certes it semeth, that ye thenke, that cursed Jewes ne dismembrit nought ynough the precious persone of Crist, but ye dismembre him more;

Pard. 10

Her othes been so greet and so dampnable,
That it is grisly for to hiere hem swere.

Our blisful lordes body thay to-tere;

Hem thoughte, Jewes rent him nought y-nough... 246 And many a grisly oth than han thay sworn,

And Cristes blessed body they to-rente.

Vgl. Skeat 1. c. S. 150 zu V. 474.

**Pars. 315 But let us now go to thilke horrible sweryng of adjuracioun and conjuraciouns, as doon these false enchauntours or nigromanciens in bacines ful of water or in a bright swerd... or in the schulder bon of a scheep; Pard. Prol. 64 Than have I in latoun a schulder boon,

Which that was of an holy Jewes scheep.

Vgl. Skeat 1. c. S. 146 zu V. 351.

**Pars. 336 Now cometh hazardrie ..., of which cometh deceipt, fals othis, chidynges and alle raveynes, blasphemyng and reneying of god... wast of goodes, myspendinge of tyme and some tyme manslaughter;

Pard. 129

Hasard is verray moder of lesynges

And of deceipt, of cursed forsweringes;

Blaspheme of Crist, manslaught and wast also

Of catel and of tyme

** Pars. 339 This synne [glotonye] corruptid al this world;

Pard. 42 Corupt was al this world for glotonye.

**Pars. 339 Loke eek, what saith seint Poul of glotouns. 'Many folk, so saith he, 'gon, of whiche I have ofte said to you, and now I say it wepyng, that thei bien thenemyes of the cros of Crist, of whiche thende is deth, and of whiche here wombe is here god and here glorie'; Pard. 67 Thapostil wepyng saith ful pitously,

'There walkith many, of which you told have I;

I say it now wepyng with pitous vois,

There are enemyes of Cristes croys;

Of which the ende is deth, wombe is her god'.

**Pars. 339 Dronkenes, that is thorrible sepulture of mannes resoun... whan the spirit of a man wexith al trouble for drunkenesse and bireveth him his witte and his discressioun;

Pard. 96 For dronkenes is verray sepulture

Of mannes witt and his discrecioun.

** Pars. 341 After glotonye thanne cometh leccherie, for these two synnes ben so neih cosyns, that ofte tyme thay wol not departe;

Pard. 19

To kyndle and blowe the fuyr of leccherie,
That is anexid unto glotonye.

Die Verwandtschaft dieser beiden Todsünden betont auch der
Doktor V. 59 f., und sehr outspoken die Frau von Bath in ihrem
Prolog V. 464 ff.

Sehr häufig werden wir auch in der Merchant's Tale' an die Parson's Tale' erinnert.

*Pars. 294 Everich of these synnes hath his braunches and his twigges;

Merch. 396 For, though he kepe him fro the synnes serene

And eek from ylk a braunche of thilke tre.

*Pars. 343 And, for that many man weneth, he may not synne for no licorousnes, that he doth with his wif,

certis that oppinioun is fals; god wot, a himself with his owne knyf;

Merch. 594 For in our actes we mowe do no synne.

man may

A man may do no synne with his wif,

Ne hurt him selven with his oughne knyf:

For we han leve to play us by the lawe.

sle

Tyrwhitt (1. c. IV, 250 f.) verweist zu V. 596 auf die betreffende Stelle der Parson's Tale'.

**Pars. 351 As saith seint Poule, that a man schulde love his wif, as Crist loved holy chirche;

Merch. 140 Love wel thy wyf, as Crist loveth his chirche.

*Pars. 352 Thanne schal men understonde, that for thre thinges a man and his wyf mowe fleischly assemble. The firste is, in entent of engendrure of children to the service of god, for certis that is the cause fynal of matrimoyne. The secounde cause is, to yelden everych of hem unto other the dette of his body; for neither of hem hath power of his oughne body. The thridde is, for to eschiewe leccherie and vilenye 343 Man schulde love his wyf by discrescioun, paciently and attemperelly, and thanne is sche, as it were, his suster;

...

Merch. 199 Ther spekith many man of mariage,

That wot nomore of it, than wot my page,

For whiche causes man schulde take a wyf.
If he ne may not chast be by his lif,
Take him a wif with great devocioun
Bycause of lawful procreacioun

Of children to thonour of god above,
And not oonly for paramour and for love;
And for thay schulde leccherye eschiewe,
And yeld our dettes, whan that it is due;
Or for that ilk man schulde helpen other
In meschief, as a suster schal to the brother.
Wyf Prol. 129 Why schulde men elles in her bokes sette,

That man schal yelde to his wif his dette?

** Pars. 367 Al the riches in this world ben in adventure

and passen as a schadowe on the wal;

Merch. 69... Landes, rentes, pasture or comune

Or other moeblis ben yiftes of fortune,

That passen as a schadow on a wal.