Senex amans
Encyclopedia
A senex amans is a stock character
of classical Greek and Roman comedy
, medieval literature
(e.g., fabliau
) and drama. It is an old jealous man married to a young woman and thus often an object of mockery. He is variously ugly, impotent, puritanical, and foolish to be cuckold
ed by a young and handsome man. Often the term "senex amans" is applied to the very motif involving the three.
The classic example of a senex amans is Januarie (January) in the Merchant's Tale
(part of the Canterbury Tales). He is nigh on 60 (a worthy age for then) and he marries a young girl (under 20).
The senex amans is not always a one-dimensional figure presented for derision. The morality within the tale itself is somewhat ambiguous, with the corrosive irony directed at January coupled with a more generalised sympathy and understanding.
Stock character
A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...
of classical Greek and Roman comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, medieval literature
Medieval literature
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages . The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as secular works...
(e.g., fabliau
Fabliau
A fabliau is a comic, often anonymous tale written by jongleurs in northeast France between ca. 1150 and 1400. They are generally characterized by an excessiveness of sexual and scatological obscenity. Several of them were reworked by Giovanni Boccaccio for the Decamerone and by Geoffrey Chaucer...
) and drama. It is an old jealous man married to a young woman and thus often an object of mockery. He is variously ugly, impotent, puritanical, and foolish to be cuckold
Cuckold
Cuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...
ed by a young and handsome man. Often the term "senex amans" is applied to the very motif involving the three.
The classic example of a senex amans is Januarie (January) in the Merchant's Tale
The Merchant's Prologue and Tale
"The Merchant's Tale" is one of Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. In it Chaucer subtly mocks antifeminist literature like that of Theophrastus . The tale also shows the influence of Boccaccio , Deschamps' , Roman de la Rose by Guillaume de Lorris , Andreas Capellanus, Statius and Cato...
(part of the Canterbury Tales). He is nigh on 60 (a worthy age for then) and he marries a young girl (under 20).
The senex amans is not always a one-dimensional figure presented for derision. The morality within the tale itself is somewhat ambiguous, with the corrosive irony directed at January coupled with a more generalised sympathy and understanding.