A poem composed probably late 12th century, this has been seen by Anne Baldwin as an allegory, a satire of the dispute between church and state, the Becket Dispute in particular, with Henry II as the Nightingale and Becket as the Owl. The Owl wins the dispute. Others have debunked this theory.
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Q: Was the poem "The Owl and the Nightingale" about the Becket dispute?
A: There is a fascinating scholarly theory that The Owl and the Nightingale is an allegory for the Becket dispute, the famous 12th-century conflict between King Henry II and Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
While it is one of the most prominent political interpretations of the poem, it is not the only one, and many scholars believe the poem is intended more as a general satire of human nature or a showcase of legal rhetoric.
The "Becket Dispute" Interpretation
In this reading, the two birds represent the opposing sides of the struggle between Church and State:
The Nightingale as Henry II: The Nightingale is often seen as representing the secular world, pleasure, and courtly life. She is "merry" and associated with the blossoming of summer, reflecting the refined, courtly culture of the Plantagenet king.
The Owl as Thomas Becket: The Owl represents the ecclesiastical (church) side—sombre, moralistic, and focused on repentance and the afterlife. Her "mournful" song is seen as the voice of the Church reminding people of their sins, much like Becket’s rigid defense of church rights.
The Evidence for this Theory:
The "King Henry" Prayer: The poem includes a prayer for the soul of "King Henry." If this refers to Henry II (who died in 1189), it places the poem squarely in the era when the Becket controversy was the defining political event of English history.
Legal Structure: The birds use precise legal terminology from the 12th and 13th centuries. The Becket dispute was, at its heart, a legal argument over whether the Church or the State had jurisdiction over "criminous clerks" (priests who committed crimes).
The Unresolved Ending: The poem ends with the birds flying off to seek judgment from a man named Nicholas of Guildford. This reflects the reality of the Becket dispute, which remained a messy, unresolved conflict that eventually led to Becket's martyrdom.
References
En.wikipedia.org. 2011.
The Owl and the Nightingale
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Owl_and_the_Nightingale
Southampton.ac.uk. 2013.
The Owl and the Nightingale: Translation.
Henry II and "The Owl and the Nightingale"
Anne W. Baldwin
The Journal of English and Germanic Philology
Vol. 66, No. 2 (Apr., 1967), pp. 207-229
Published by: University of Illinois Press
Article Stable URL:http://www.jstor.org/stable/27705311
Antonio Bravo García; Santiago González y Fernández-Corugedo; F. García García; Santiago González Fernández-Corugedo (1991). The Owl and the Nightingale: A Critical Text of B.L. MS Cotton Caligula A.IX, Ff.233r-246r. Contrasted with B.Ox. MS Jesus College 29, Ff.156r-168v. Universidad de Oviedo. ISBN 978-84-7468-279-3
Christopher Page (January 1990). The Owl and the Nightingale: Musical Life and Ideas in France 1100-1300. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-06944-2
Karen M. Gasser (1 January 1999). Resolution of the Debate in the Medieval Poem: The Owl and the Nightingale. Edwin Mellen Press. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-0-7734-7962-3.
Kathryn Hume (1975). The owl and the nightingale: the poem and its critics. University of Toronto Press.
Laura C. Lambdin; Robert T. Lambdin (2002). A Companion to Old and Middle English Literature. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 118–. ISBN 978-0-313-31054-6
The Allegorical Interpretation of the Owl and the Nightingale
by Alphonse Mattlin Mattlin
by Alphonse Mattlin Mattlin
http://ecommons.luc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1659&context=luc_theses
The Date of "The Owl and the Nightingale"
Henry Barrett Hinckley
Modern Philology
Vol. 17, No. 5 (Sep., 1919), pp. 247-258
http://www.jstor.org/stable/433116
The Date of "The Owl and the Nightingale"
Henry Barrett Hinckley
Modern Philology
Vol. 17, No. 5 (Sep., 1919), pp. 247-258
http://www.jstor.org/stable/433116
Kathryn Huganir (1931). The owl and the nightingale; sources, date, author. Haskell House.
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