The researchers solve the medieval mystery that has confused scholars for over 130 years

Decorate an forgotten English story, solve a mestery and expose a meme of medieval preacher.

A medieval literary mystery that has confused the scholars, including Mr. James, for more than 130 years, was ultimately unmootain. Cambridge researchers now argue that the Wade songA work lost for a long time of English literature was not an epic loaded with monsters as formerly believed, but an chivalrous romance. This conclusion resolves one of the most confusing references in Chaucer’s writings and also offers unusual evidence of a medieval preacher based on popular culture in a sermon.

The results, published in The review of English studiesstems from the recognition that a crucial manuscript refer to “wolves” rather than “elves”, overthrowing a long -standing hypothesis.

Dr. James Wade and Dr Seb Falk, both scholarship holders of the Girton College, Cambridge, argue that the only surviving piece of the Wade song– First discovered by Mr. James in Cambridge in 1896 – was “radically misunderstood” since his discovery.

“Changing the Wolves Elves makes a massive difference,” said Seb Falk. “This takes this legend from monsters and giants in the human battles of chivalrous rivals.”

James Wade said: “We do not know why Chaucer said Wade in the context of the courteous intrigue. Our discovery gives much more sense to that.”

“Here we have an end of 12^th– Sermon of the century deployment of a meme of the successful romantic history of the day, “said Seb Falk.” This is a very early proof of a preacher weaving pop culture in a sermon to keep his audience hooked. »»

“Many church leaders were concerned about the themes of chivalrous – adulterous romance, bloodshed and other scandalous subjects – it is therefore surprising to see a preacher abandon such” adult content “in a sermon,” said James Wade.

For the first time, the researchers also linked the sermon, Humiliaminito the famous medieval writer Alexander Neckam (1157-1217). The 800 -year -old text is part of MS 255, a Peterhouse Cambridge collection of medieval sermons.

Discoveries have made 130 years apart

In 1896, while examining the Latin sermons at the Cambridge Peterhouse Library, Mr. James was surprised to meet written passages in English. Uncertain of their meaning, he turned to his scholarly colleague from Cambridge Israel Gollancz, and together they concluded that the lines came from a lost romance of the 12th century, which they named Wade song. James noted that he would publish a more in -depth analysis, but no additional comments would have appeared.

For almost 130 years, no new evidence has emerged. In the meantime, the researchers perplexed on the sermon’s reference to Wade, trying to rebuild what the complete legend could have been.

“Many very intelligent people have torn off their hair from spelling, punctuation, literal translation, meaning and context of a few lines of text,” said James Wade.

Now Wade and Seb Falk suggest that three crucial words have been misinterpreted due to errors introduced by a scribe who copied the sermon. The most important problem occurred when the letters “Y” and “W” were confused. Correct this error and other errors modifies the translation spectacularly, by moving it from:

“Some are elves and some are additions; Some are sprites that live in the waters: there is no man, but Hildebrand only.

has:

“Thus, they can say, with Wade:“ Some are wolves and some are additions; Some are sea snakes that live in water. There is no man except Hildebrand.

Hildebrand is traditionally described as Wade’s father. In some popular tales and epic traditions, Hildebrand is described as a giant. However, if the story of Wade is interpreted as an chivalrous romance, as this study suggests, then Hildebrand was more likely considered an ordinary man.

Chaucer and Wade

THE Wade song was extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages. For several centuries, his central character remained a major romantic hero, among other famous knights such as Lancelot and Gawain. Chaaucer spoke twice in the Wade in the middle of this period, in the late 1300s, but these references disconcerted generations of Chaucer researchers.

At a crucial time in Trousus and Crisisyde, Pandarus tells the “story of Wade” at Crisisyde after supper. Today’s study argues that Wade’s legend served Pandarus because he did not only need to keep crisis at the end, but also to stir his passions. By showing that Wade was a chivalrous romance, Chaucer’s reference has much more sense.

In “ The Merchant’s Tale ”, the main character of Chaucer, January, a 60 -year -old knight, refers to the Wade boat by arguing that it is better to marry young women than old. The fact that his audience would have understood the reference in the context of chivalrous romance, rather than popular tales or epics, is significant, according to researchers.

“This reveals a Chaucerian characteristic irony at the heart of its allusion to the Wade boat,” said James Wade.

The sermon

To give meaning to the fragment, the researchers paid more attention Humiliamini Sermon in its entirety that researchers have already done so.

“The sermon itself is really interesting,” said Seb Falk. “It is a creative experience at a critical moment when preachers were trying to make their sermons more accessible and captivating.”

“I went once to a wedding where the vicar, hoping to call on an audience he thought, was not often to go to the church, cited the song Black Eyed Peas where the love? In an obvious attempt to seem cool.

The sermon offers a lesson in humility, a central concern of medieval theologians, but the fact in an unusual manner. It focuses on a degraded Adam and compares human behavior to animal features. He presents powerful men who become wolves because they plunder what does not belong to them. And he compares the actions of cunning, misleading and raptor with those of additions or water snakes.

“This sermon still resonates today,” says James Wade. “It warns that it is us, humans, who constitute the greatest threat, not monsters.”

The preacher brings a second news reference to underline this point, telling the story of a real knight and a crusader named Hugh de Gournay, who changed camp four times between England and France. History does not appear in any other surviving source, but the way the preacher tells it, he must have known that his listeners would recognize him.

“It is a daring image,” said Seb Falk: “The repentant Hugh wrapping a knot flowing around his neck and throwing himself on the mercy of the French king is a powerful and really fresh symbol of chivalrous humility.”

The researchers noticed multiple similarities in the arguments and writing style of Alexander Neckam, leading them to believe that he probably wrote the Sermon.

But whether it is the Neckam itself or a acolyte, the author must be familiar with Wade and confident that his planned audience would obtain the reference.

Seb Falk said: “This sermon demonstrates a new scholarship, rhetorical sophistication and inventiveness, and it has strategic objectives. It is the ideal vehicle for the quote from Wade which served an important objective.”

Extract from the new translation of the sermon referring to Wade

‘Dear [brothers]As for the fact that he says: “Humble yourself”, etc. – It could be considered that the humility which is against the powerful hand of God is of a particular genre. Because there are three types of humility: the humility of guilt; humility of punishment; and the humility of penance.

Now, by the humility of the guilt of our first parent [Adam] was so humiliated that, although he was master of the whole world in front of his sins and reigned over everything that was in the world, after his sin, on the other hand, he could not even defend himself against a worm without value, that is to say, by a chip or a louse. Whoever was similar to God before sin was made different by sin; Since “by this poison, a rose has sometimes been transformed into an epikenard”.

Thus, Adam was, of a human, made as if he was not human; Not only Adam, but almost everyone becomes like non-humans. Thus, they can say, with Wade: “Some are wolves and some are additions; Some are sea snakes that live in water. There is no man except Hildebrand.

Likewise, today, some are wolves, such as powerful tyrants who, if they can rightly take things from those subjected to them, take them; But if not, [do so] in all means. Some imitate snakes, of which there are three types. Others become lions, like the proud to which God opposes; Quite called pride of the art of preaching. Others are foxes, like cunning detractors and flattering people who speak with a double heart, who have honey in their mouths but bile in their hearts. Others are greedy like pigs, whose prophet says “their gorges are open tombs”; And so everyone is judged in the same way. Indeed, this humility is bad and perverse.

Reference: “The Lost Song of Wade: Peterhouse 255 revisited” by Seb Falk and James Wade, July 16, 2025, The review of English studies.
DOI: 10.1093 / res / hgaf038

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