GOWER'S "VOX CLAMANTIS" AND USK'S "TESTAMENT OF LOVE"
摘要
If any connection between John Gower and Thomas Usk is conceded by literary critics it is usually the view that Gower knew the Testament of Love, but that his amusement or disdain on reading it led to his playful urging of Chaucer to get on with making his own `testament of love'.1 These words of Gower's, therefore, have long been viewed as a possible satirical reference to Usk's alignment of himself in the Testament with Chaucer as a fellow servant of love, an alignment which may not have been to Chaucer's liking.2 This account fits neatly with recent discussions about the insular nature of London's literary scene at this time, which existed as reading circles or coteries, embracing clerks, lawyers, merchants, civil servants, and scribes.3 Yet, there possibly exists a further connection between John Gower and Thomas Usk, and more particularly between the Vox clamantis and Usk's Testament. It seems that Usk knew and consciously alludes to the Vox clamantis, something which appears to have previously escaped notice. The importance of this connection is that it throws further light on the way in which the Testament should be read, its political nature, and its possible intended audience, and it augments the view that, through London's close-knit literary environment, Usk hoped to advance his career. In the Testament, Usk narrates his disastrous past involvement in London politics of the early 1380s. He had turned from being a scribe to a political activist for his employer John Northampton, mayor of London, who hoped that various forceful measures would win him re-election as mayor in 1383. However, these measures failed, and his party's continued conspiratorial attempts at regaining power led to the arrest in 1384 of its key members including Usk.4 Usk was imprisoned by Northampton's opponent, Nicholas Brembre, who was now mayor of London and whose party were keen royal supporters, providing considerable financial backing for the King. It was while he was imprisoned