tion of phrases. Otherwise, the maiden’s actions reveal
her involvement with the fairy realm. She is unifi ed
with nature through eating fl owers, sleeping on the
moor, and drinking from the wellspring. The wellspring
may refer to “well-wakes,” which was the pre-Christian
practice of worshipping wells. This type of ceremony is
well documented in historical sources and remaining
architectural evidence, and it even overlapped with the
coming of Christianity. Numerous saints were said to
have blessed “holy springs,” the waters of which were
said to possess healing powers. The pre-Christian well-
wakes mainly took place during Midsummer festivals
and are thus connected with fertility, making the well-
maiden a fertility symbol herself.
Germanic legends contain a number of references to
water sprites known as moor-maidens. In these stories,
the moor-maidens appear at village dances and enchant
the young men. This lyric, written in the form of a
dance, suggests this type of activity. Often the moor-
maidens appear in villages bearing gifts of wild fl owers
such as violets. In each of these legends, the moor-
maiden is allowed to mingle with humans only on cer-
tain occasions and, when she does so, must return to
the wilds of her moor by dusk or she will die. Attempts
to restrain the maiden always fail, and even if she is
persuaded to remain for a while, she will eventually
fade into the darkness, perhaps returning on the next
feast day.
See also MIDDLE ENGLISH LYRICS AND BALLADS, VIRGIN
LYRICS.
FURTHER READING
Greene, R. L. “The Maid of the Moor in the Red Book of
Ossory.” Speculum 27, no. 4 (1952): 504–506.
Manzalaoui, Mahmoud. “Maiden in the Mor Lay and the
Apocrypha.” N&Q 210 (1965): 91–92.
Waldron, Ronald. “ ‘Maiden in the Mor Lay’ and the Reli-
gious Imagination.” Unisa English Studies 29 (1991): 8–12.
Wenzel, Siegfried. “The Moor Maiden—A Contemporary
View.” Speculum 49, no. 1 (1974): 69–74.
MANNYNG, ROBERT, OF BRUNNE (ca.
1265–after 1338) Robert Mannyng of Brunne, a
Gilbertine lay brother, also studied at Cambridge Uni-
versity, where he met and befriended ROBERT I THE
BRUCE. He wrote two poems, both based on ANGLO-
NORMAN originals: HANDLYNG SYNNE, an exposition on
the SEVEN DEADLY SINS and the sacraments; and A Chron-
icle of England based on WACE’s ROMAN DE BRUT. His
work is often considered somewhat plodding, but it
marked an important step toward reestablishing the
VERNACULAR literary tradition in England.
See also CHRONICLE.
FURTHER READING
Taylor, Andrew. “Manual to Miscellany: Stages in the Com-
mercial Copying of Vernacular Literature in England.”
Yearbook of English Studies. (January 3, 2003).“MAN OF LAW’S TALE, THE” GEOFFREY
CHAUCER (ca. 1390) “The Man of Law’s Tale,” along
with its introduction and epilogue, constitute Frag-
ment 2 of The CANTERBURY TALES by GEOFFREY CHAUCER.
The introduction begins with the most precise descrip-
tion of the date and time of events in the Tales: The
narrator tells us that it is exactly 10 A.M. on the 18th of
April. His method of describing the time is a highly
sophisticated one involving the use of astronomical
devices and tables, and the narrator’s observation that
at this time every tree’s shadow was as long as the tree
itself (ll. 7–9) comes directly from the Kalendarium of
Nicholas of Lynn. Since the Kalendarium was written in
1386, we can be confi dent that at least the prologue to
“The Man of Law’s Tale” was written afterward.
Noticing that it is already 10 A.M., the Host elo-
quently urges the pilgrims not to waste time and sug-
gests, with an apt and possibly ironic use of legalistic
terminology, that the Man of Law tell his tale. The Man
of Law, or “Sergeant of the Lawe” as identifi ed in the
GENERAL PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES (GP l. 309),
acquiesces, but with the caveat that the range of tales
available to him is limited since: “Chaucer,... / Hath
seyd hem in swich Englissh as he kan... / as knoweth
many a man. (ll. 45–52). This is an interesting self-ref-
erence that presents Chaucer as an established and
well-known poet, even if he does not meet the Man of
Law’s standards; he is crude and immoral.
The Man of Law’s criticism of Chaucer’s immoral
stories includes his observation that Chaucer never
wrote a word about the wicked Canacee, who fell in
love with her brother and bore his child. Because this
story is told by JOHN GOWER (in book 3, part 1 of his“MAN OF LAW’S TALE, THE” 261