Medieval poets were fond of personification allegory for reasons that modern readers do not always find easy to appreciate.  The lecture will explore the advantages of the allegorical mode by focusing on personifications of Old Age in some of the finest medieval English and French poets: John Gower, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland and Charles d’Orléans.

The lecture takes place in the Reception Room, Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road, Bristol on Thursday 21 October at 4.15pm.  The event is free and all are welcome.

Ad Putter is Professor of Medieval English Literature at the University of Bristol.  His areas of research expertise include metre and Middle English Language, medieval romance, the Gawain-poet, editing, Arthurian literature, the alliterative tradition, and comparative literature (English, Dutch, French and Latin).

Endowed by Mrs Frida Mond in 1924, the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Lecture is a biennial lecture dealing with Old English or Early English Language and Literature, or a philological subject connected with the history of English, particularly during the early periods of the language.  The lecture series was named after Sir Israel Gollancz (Secretary of the Academy 1902–1930).