The complete works of John Gower, volume 3: The English works

About this book

The third volume of John Gower’s complete works gathers his English poems, opening with a sprawling allegory that personifies Avarice as a relentless courtier. The passage launches into a dense, alliterative meditation on greed, weaving together Latin marginalia, moral commentary, and vivid descriptions of a mirror‑made treasure that tempts even the most powerful rulers. Gower’s narrative proceeds through a series of episodic scenes, Roman conspiracies, hidden coffers, and courtly debates, each linked by the recurring theme of covetousness and its destructive consequences. The text’s structure is less a conventional plot than a moral tapestry, stitched together by repeated references to “Covoitise,” “the king,” and the fate of Rome, inviting the reader to follow a chain of ethical exempla rather than a single storyline.

Written in Middle English with occasional Latin glosses, the work reflects the late‑fourteenth‑century poetic style of the Middle Ages, marked by elaborate diction, moral didacticism, and a penchant for allegorical personae. Readers who relish historical poetry, medieval moral philosophy, or the challenge of navigating archaic language will find Gower’s intricate verse rewarding, while those preferring straightforward narratives may find the dense, sermon‑like quality demanding.

Opening lines

Dame Avarice is noght soleine, Which is of gold the Capiteine; Bot of hir Court in sondri wise[2] After the Scole of hire aprise [Sidenote: Hic tractat confessor super illa specie Auaricie, que Cupiditas[3] dicitur, quam in amoris causa pertractans Amanti super hoc opponit.] Sche hath of Servantz manyon, Wherof that Covoitise is on; Which goth the large world aboute, To seche thavantages oute,[4] Wher that he mai the profit winne[5] To Avarice, and bringth it inne. 1980 That on hald and that other draweth,[6] Ther is no day which hem bedaweth, No mor the Sonne than the Mone, Whan ther is eny thing to done, And namely with Covoitise; For he stant out of al assisse [Sidenote: =P. ii. 194=] Of resonable mannes fare. …

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