Date of Award
4-1990
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Medieval Studies
First Advisor
Dr. Thomas Seiler
Second Advisor
Dr. Otto Grundler
Third Advisor
Dr. Clifford Davidson
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The Pistill of Swete Susan is an alliterative poem written in the fourteenth century by an unknown English author. Although the original manuscript has been lost, the poem is known to scholars through five extant manuscripts. The various manuscripts have been examined textually, but the poem itself has not been examined critically. The story is based on an Apocryphal text, the History of Susanna. While borrowing heavily from this text, the author has produced a work which is medieval in context and which provides insight into medieval concepts of justice, evil and love. This paper presents a translation and critical analysis based on the MS. Phillipps. It concludes with a discussion of authorship and the theory that the author may have been a member of the Franciscan order.
Recommended Citation
Carmicheal, Yvonne Daulton, ""The Pistill of Swete Susan": Translation and Commentary" (1990). Masters Theses. 1058.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/1058