The Reeve of
Bawdeswell – a character in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
CHAUCER & BAWDESWELL Robin Taylor, Feb. 1998 An article, said to be
from The Byntre & Bawdeswell Magazine
dated January 1908 says:
“Mr Walter Rye, the learned antiquarian has been able to identify
John Chaucer of On reading Walter Rye's book "Chaucer, A
Norfolk Man" which he published In 1915 after a lifetime of researching
the poet, one is left with little doubt Chaucer was well acquainted with His grandfather was a Customs Officer at Various
individuals from Bawdeswell crop up from time to time in old records. Thomas de
Baldeswell who was admitted Freeman of London In
1312 on the same day as William de Knapton (his
sister-in-law was once betrothed to Chaucer's father)... a remote family
acquaintance and a bit before he was born. Another
of the name Thomas de Baldeswell who became a
Freeman of Lynn in 1382 and afterwards an assessor of Taxes at A
third possibility. It is thought Chaucer might have been at The
poet is also believed to have been a friend of the Countess of Pembroke who was
Patron of Bawdeswell Church Living - sponsoring the local clergyman. How he
came to use the village's name in his story can only be guessed at. A
possible theory is that in his work as a Collector of Revenue in the Eastern
Counties for the King, and through various people connected with the village,
he would know of Bawdeswell and the sound of the name suited the rather bawdy
character of his Reeve. Walter
Rye never turned up any connection between Bawdeswell and Chaucer other than
that he was a I
throw in the suggestion that Chaucer must have travelled between King's Lynn
and Maybe
he just liked the name of the place or he based his Reeve on one of the
people that came from Bawdeswell - either Thomas de Baldeswell
the Tax Assessor whom he would have met at Lynn in the course of his own
work, or the Franciscan monk at Oxford whom he might have known, or somebody
he met whilst passing through. I am indebted to Dr Andrew Macnair for the loan of 'Chaucer A Chaucer's " |