medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Marjorie Schulenburg wrote:
>
> One of reminded of the Prioress's Tale in the Canterbury Tales, of the
> little Christian boy who wandered among the Jews and was brutally murdered
> and hidden away. He was attempting to learn a new song in praise of Mary
> before his death, and as his mother sought to find him, she also asked the
> aid of BVM. When the child was ultimately found, the wounds in his neck
> opened and allowed him to sing Alma redemptoris posthumously to the
> amazement and edification of all who witnessed. He was eventually given a
> proper Christian funeral at which He proclaimed that it was Mary who
> enabled him to sing up until the hour of his interment.
A peculiarly repellent tale, of course, and one has to wonder at Chaucer's
motives for including it. As his depiction of the Prioress is not
overwhelmingly positive, one rather hopes that he was being ironic. (As was
Richard of Devizes two hundred years earlier.)
John Briggs
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