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Middle English Literature, Fall 1999

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Re: poverty of the church

From: Iansito
Date: 11/2/99
Time: 12:10:21 AM
Remote Name: 12.78.105.100

Comments

I think your idea about "fortune" and how it relates to this debate is well-founded. The issues over poverty, the rights of monastic orders, and even medieval philosophical concepts are all socially and ideologically based. Even though "fortune" is absent from the novel, it certainly isn't absent from the medieval mental climate. Fortune, like the debate on poverty is essentially a conceptual tool for power, whether it be religion or otherwise. I wonder if we could find some parts of the text where these notions are made explicit?

Last changed: October 28, 2001