Chaucer's Justinus and Placebo

Why do you think Chaucer included Justinus and Placebo? What does the

latter’s debate contribute to the overall Tale?

A number of factors come together to distance the reader from the

characters in the tale, not least the complicated and ambiguous series

of lenses through which they are viewed. They are all types or

allegories to lesser or greater degrees. Justinus and Placebo are

examples are personification allegories, representing the abstract

properties of good and bad advice. This is drawn from court satire and

contemporary advice literature in which the recipient, usually a

prince, is told how to choose good counsellors and to avoid flatters

whose motive is the advancement of their own careers. This element in

the tale may have some topical resonance for Chaucer’s original

audience as the King at the time, Richard II, notoriously surrounded

himself with self-seeking young favourites against the advice of the

elder statesmen at court.

The background behind these constructs can be best seen by examining

the extracts in which the characters appear. Both characters are

introduced (line 257-306) where they are offering advice about

marriage which eventually turns into a debate between Justinus (Latin

for the ‘Just man’ or ‘just one’) and Placebo (Latin for "I will

please"). Placebo tells him that he showed the Wisdom of Solomon in

seeking advice. Placebo has been at court all his life and, despite

his unworthiness, has made progress in his career by never disagreeing

with his social superiors. This debate introduces the major points of

debate drawn in throughout the tale: whether marriage, especially in

old age, is a risk or a benefit, and what is the true purpose of

marriage.

Both Justinus and P...

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...surrogate in the tale. Furthermore, Justinus’ refusal to

refer to learned authorities to support his argument, in order to save

time, dramatises a certain exasperation with the futility of trying to

convince a deluded character like January.

With all this in mind, what do the two constructs add to the tale?

Primarily they both add to the marriage debate. However, while both

Placebo and January can cite literary references to back up their

claims for their respective positions, only Placebo has the weight of

experience to support his claims against marriage. The debate between

January and Placebo is a relatively dry collection of classical and

biblical anecdotes, but it serves to frame the comic sex farce to come

as a more serious look at marriage.

Bibliography

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http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/webcore/murphy/canterbury/11merchant.pdf