Confessio Amantis

E87120

Confessio Amantis is a lengthy Middle English poem by John Gower that blends moral instruction with a wide array of narrative tales framed as a lover’s confession.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Confessio Amantis canonical 15
Books 1–8 of Confessio Amantis 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Middle English poem
frame tale
narrative poem
alternateName The Lover’s Confession
author John Gower
centralTheme confession
ethics of love
love
morality
commissionedBy King Richard II of England
surface form: Richard II of England
completionDate c. 1390
contains biblical stories
exempla drawn from classical sources
medieval legends
countryOfOrigin England
dateWritten late 14th century
dedicatedTo King Richard II of England
surface form: Richard II of England
featuresCharacter Genius
Venus
genre courtly love literature
didactic literature
moral allegory
hasPart Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 4
Book 5
Book 6
Book 7
Book 8
Prologue
inception c. 1386
influenced later English moral and narrative poetry
influencedBy Bible
Ovid
courtly love tradition
language Middle English
laterDedicatedTo Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster
surface form: Henry of Lancaster
length over 30,000 lines
literaryMovement Ricardian poets
surface form: Ricardian poetry
literaryPeriod Middle Ages
mainCharacter Amans
manuscriptTradition survives in numerous medieval manuscripts
narrativeFrame lover’s confession to Genius
notableFor blend of moral instruction and narrative tales
extensive use of exempla
relatively clear Middle English style
setting allegorical court of Venus
structure series of tales organized by the Seven Deadly Sins

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (16)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

John Gower notableWork Confessio Amantis
John Gower hasWorkInVerseForm Confessio Amantis
John Gower knownFor Confessio Amantis
Ricardian poets associatedWithWork Confessio Amantis
Vox Clamantis relatedWork Confessio Amantis
Mirour de l’Omme followedBy Confessio Amantis
The Regiment of Princes relatedWork Confessio Amantis
Book V associatedWork Confessio Amantis
subject surface form: Book V (Vox Clamantis)
Book IV associatedWork Confessio Amantis
subject surface form: Book IV (Vox Clamantis)
Book VII relatedWorkByAuthor Confessio Amantis
Book 6 partOf Confessio Amantis
Book 6 partOfCycle Confessio Amantis
this entity surface form: Books 1–8 of Confessio Amantis
Book 6 originalWorkTitle Confessio Amantis
Amans appearsIn Confessio Amantis
The Lover’s Confession originalTitle Confessio Amantis
Book 7 partOf Confessio Amantis
subject surface form: Book 7 (Confessio Amantis)