Geoffrey Chaucer’ın Canavarları: Canterbury Hikâyeleri’nde Genel Giriş ve Kȃhya’nin Hikâyesi’ndeki Değirmenci Karakterleri

Year 2019, Issue: 41, 127 - 142, 19.06.2019

Nazan Yıldız

https://doi.org/10.21497/sefad.586610

Abstract

Ortaçağ âlemi elyazmalarının kenarlarını ve Ortaçağ insanının hikâyelerini
süsleyen mantikorlar ve sentorlar gibi kompozit canavarlarla doludur.   Ortaçağ’ın canavarları aynı zamanda toplumun
Ötekileriydiler. Ortaçağ’ın Ötekileri genellikle “Biz” (insanlar) ve “Onlar”
(canavarlar) dikotomisiyle başlayan canavar çalışmaları altında incelenebilir.
Ortaçağ’ın Ötekileri sadece canavarlarla sınırlı değildi ve bu gruba kâfirler,
putperestler, homoseksüeller, vebalılar ve cadılarla beraber canavar Öteki
olarak görülen Müslümanlar ve Yahudiler de dâhildi. Atipik toplumsal
konumlarıyla, Ortaçağ’ın ruhban sınıfı, soylular ve köylülerden oluşan üç
sınıfından hiç birinde yer bulamayan değirmenciler de Ortaçağ’ın bu canavar
Ötekiler veya “Onlar” grubuna dahildiler. 
Onlar istenmeyen sonradan görmeler ve 1381 Köylü Ayaklanmasının önde
gelen isyancılarıydılar. Canavarsı varlıklarına uygun bir biçimde, kronikler
ayaklanmaya katılan değirmencileri hayvansı özelliklerle resmettiler. Tarihteki
emsallerine benzer bir şekilde Chaucer’ın Canterbury
Hikâyeleri’ndeki Değirmenci karakterinin de en öne çıkan özelliği yüzündeki
kıllar ve kocaman ağzıyla hayvansı görünüşüdür. Değirmenci saldırgan ve
kargaşaya yol açan karakteriyle bir insandan ziyade kafasıyla kapıları- gerçek
anlamda toplumsal sınırları- deviren vahşi bir hayvana benzer. Bu Genel Giriş’teki Değirmenci karakterine
benzer bir şekilde, Kâhya’nın Hikâyesi’ndeki
değirmenci de hayvansı bir görünüşe ve toplumsal düzene karşı bir tehdite
dönüşen asi bir mizaca sahiptir. Bu bağlamda, bu makale Chaucer’ın Genel Giriş’teki Değirmenci karakterini
ve Kâhya’nın Hikâyesi’ndeki
değirmenci karakterini insan-hayvan karışımı ve başkaldıran Ötekiler olan
Ortaçağ’ın canavarları olarak incelemektedir.

Keywords

Canterbury Hikâyeleri, Chaucer’ın Değirmenci karakteri, canavar, öteki kavramı, Chaucer’ın Kâhya’nın Hikâyesi öyküsü

The Monsters of Geoffrey Chaucer: The Miller in The General Prologue and the Miller in The Reeve’s Tale in The Canterbury Tales

Abstract

The medieval universe was
captivated by composite monsters like manticores and centaurs which adorned the
margins of manuscripts and tales of medieval man. Medieval monsters were at the
same time the Others of the society. Medieval Others are largely treated under
the monster studies which begin with the dichotomy of “Us” (human beings) and
“Them” (monsters). The Others of the Middle Ages were not limited to beasts,
but embraced Saracens and Jews as the monstrous Others alongside heretics,
pagans, homosexuals, lepers and witches. With their atypical social positions,
millers were among those monstrous Others or “Them” of the Middle Ages as they
could not be fitted into any of the three estates; namely the clergy, the
nobility and the commoners. They were the unwanted upstarts and leading rebels
of the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
In accordance with their monstrous presence, the
chronicles depicted the millers of the revolt with animal-like qualities.
Similar to their historical counterparts, the most notable feature of Chaucer’s
Miller in The Canterbury Tales is his
animal-like appearance with a hairy
face and a gigantic mouth. Aggressive and disruptive, rather than a human, the
Miller looks like a wild animal bringing down doors-literally social
boundaries- with his head. Parallel to the Miller in The General Prologue, the miller in The Reeve’s Tale possesses an animal-like appearance and a
disobedient nature that grows into a threat to the social order. In this
respect, this paper discusses Chaucer’s Miller in The General Prologue and his miller in The Reeve’s Tale as medieval monsters who are man-animal composites and defiant Others.

Keywords

The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer’s Miller, monster, otherness, the Reeve’s Tale

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