Margaret Schlauch, "Chaucer's Doctrine of Kings and Tyrants"

Schlauch, Margaret. "Chaucer's Doctrine of Kings and Tyrants." Speculum. Vol. 20, No. 2 (Apr. 1945). pp. 133-156

Despite her title, Schlauch does not actually attribute a fully developed "doctrine" of political thought to Chaucer. Rather, she examines political theorists of the twelfth through fourteenth centuries and demonstrates that Western European thought was beginning to focus more on the importance of the people than on the lords. This led to an alteration in political theory that made the goal of monarchy (and lordship, in general) the common good of the people. Thus, rule was more considered a burden than a position of grandeur.

As for Chaucer, Schlauch posits that the English writer was a subscriber to the theory, in a general sense. He likely witnessed upheavals in Italy brought on by tyranny and his works, particularly the Legend of Good Women, are full of denunciations of those who do not rule by the blessings of the people. Moreover, Chaucer uses tyranny as a metaphor in such subjects as love and pride (such as Troilus and Criseyde). But perhaps most telling is Chaucer's constant revisitation of "commune profit," as seen in The Clerk's Tale and The Parliament of Fowles. To Chaucer, then, the sovereign must do all he can to benefit the community, even if that requires sacrifices of his own.

Schlauch's piece is written in such a manner that it is only fully intelligible if one has a working knowledge of both Latin and Italian. Chaucer's contributions to political thought only occur in the last quarter of the work and they are sketchy at best.

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