Chaucer's 'To His Purse': Begging, or Begging Off?

Chaucer’s “To His Purse”: Begging, or Begging Off? R. F. YEAGER. The short “Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse” has received attention formally as the origin of the “begging poem” genre in English, and historically as the only evidence of Chaucer’s acceptance of the usurpation of Henry IV. Both lines of assessment converge, in that, as the traditional readings have it, Chaucer was in dire financial straits in 1399, and wrote the new ruler a clever bit of flattery, ultimately restating Henry’s own various claims to the crown, for which he was rewarded monetarily. This article argues that, on the contrary, far from acquiescing to the Lancastrian take-over, Chaucer put “To His Purse” together under some duress from Henry’s court, which, in order to bolster its tenuous claims, demonstrably sought supportive expressions from important literary figures including Gower and Christine de Pisan; that Chaucer was not in serious debt in 1399; that it is highly possible all of “To His Purse” except the envoy was writte...