Cambridge scholars solve a 130-year-old literary mystery, revealing the Song of Wade as a chivalric romance, not a monster epic, by decoding one word.
The Revelation of the Song of Wade
Lo, a mystery that hath long bedeviled the minds of scholars, stretching o’er a century and a third, hath at last been pierced by the keen intellects at Cambridge. The Song of Wade, once lost to the mists of time, hath been reclaimed from the realm of mythic beasts and placed firmly within the noble tradition of chivalric romance. This discovery, a beacon of light in the shadowed halls of medieval literature, not only doth solve the most vexing of enigmas within the works of the great Geoffrey Chaucer but also doth provide us a rare glimpse into the intermingling of pop culture with the solemnity of a medieval sermon. The transformation of this legend from a tale of monstrous beings to one of human valor and rivalry doth reveal the depth and complexity of our ancestors’ storytelling.
The breakthrough, heralded in The Review of English Studies upon the 15th day of July, sprang forth from the simple yet profound realization that the manuscript doth speak of ‘wolves’ rather than ‘elves’. This alteration, subtle as it may seem, shifts the narrative from the realm of fantastical creatures to the very real struggles of men clad in armor. Dr. James Wade and Dr. Seb Falk, both scholars of repute at Girton College, Cambridge, argue that the fragment of the Song of Wade, first unearthed by the esteemed M.R. James in 1896, hath been misconstrued for these long years. ‘Tis a testament to the power of a single word to alter the course of literary history.
The Sermon and Its Pop Culture Allusion
Within the sacred walls of a late-12th-century sermon, the Humiliamini, penned by the learned Alexander Neckam, we find a most unexpected guest—the Song of Wade. This sermon, part of the venerable MS 255 collection at Peterhouse, Cambridge, doth employ the legend not merely as an adornment but as a tool to captivate an audience accustomed to the tales of chivalric romance. The preacher, in a daring move, weaves the popular narrative into his discourse on humility, likening the behaviors of men to those of wolves and adders, thus drawing a parallel between the moral lessons of the sermon and the themes of the romance.
Such a blending of the sacred and the secular is rare indeed, and it speaks to the preacher’s understanding of his flock’s tastes and the need to engage them through familiar tales. The sermon’s use of the Song of Wade to illustrate the dangers of pride and the virtues of humility doth resonate with the timeless struggle of man against his baser instincts. The reference to Hildebrand, Wade’s father, as a man rather than a giant, further underscores the shift from myth to morality, from legend to lesson.
Chaucer’s Enigmatic References to Wade
Geoffrey Chaucer, that master of wit and wisdom, doth twice invoke the name of Wade in his works, leaving scholars puzzled for generations. In Troilus and Criseyde, the character Pandarus doth recount the ‘tale of Wade’ to stir the passions of Criseyde, using the chivalric romance to keep her company late into the night. The revelation that Wade’s legend was one of romance rather than epic doth clarify Chaucer’s intent, showing how the tale served as a tool for Pandarus’s machinations.
In The Merchant’s Tale, January, a knight of sixty years, doth reference Wade’s boat in his argument for marrying young women, a choice that reflects the chivalric ideals of the time. The understanding that his audience would recognize the reference as part of a romance rather than a folk tale or epic doth highlight the nuanced use of cultural references by Chaucer. The irony in his allusions to Wade’s boat, as noted by James Wade, doth reveal the depth of Chaucer’s engagement with the literary traditions of his day.
The Sermon’s Broader Implications
The Humiliamini sermon, beyond its use of the Song of Wade, doth offer a profound meditation on humility, a virtue central to medieval theology. By comparing human behaviors to those of animals, the sermon doth present a vivid tableau of the moral landscape of the time. Powerful men, likened to wolves, are condemned for their rapaciousness, while the cunning and deceitful are compared to adders and water-snakes, creatures of guile and venom.
The sermon’s reference to the real-life knight Hugh of Gournay, who switched allegiances between England and France, doth serve as a potent symbol of humility and repentance. The image of Hugh, with a noose around his neck, throwing himself upon the mercy of the French king, doth resonate with the sermon’s themes of humility and the dangers of pride. The sermon’s use of contemporary events and popular culture to convey its moral lessons doth reflect the innovative spirit of medieval preaching, seeking to engage the audience through familiar narratives.
