Medieval preacher invoked chivalric hero as a meme in sermon

A recent scholarly examination has shed new light on the enigmatic figure of Wade, a character referenced by the medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer. While only three lines from an ancient text featuring Wade have been preserved, their discovery within a sermon by a 19th-century scholar has sparked ongoing debate about the nature of this long-lost work. Questions linger: was it an epic filled with monstrous tales or a romantic saga? Two researchers from Cambridge University argue that the lines have been significantly misinterpreted for over a century. In a fresh paper published in the Review of English Studies, they propose a new translation and suggest that the original work was, in fact, a romance. Chaucer's own writings provide evidence of Wade's existence, as he references the 'tale of Wade' in his renowned poem Troilus and Criseyde, and mentions 'Wade's boat' in The Merchant's Tale, part of his celebrated collection, The Canterbury Tales. The 16th-century editor Thomas Speght, who compiled Chaucer's works, briefly commented on Wade's boat, naming it 'Guingelot.' He hinted at Wade's 'strange exploits,' but his remarks were vague, leaving much of the story shrouded in mystery. According to literary scholar F.N. Robinson, Speght’s remarks have often been deemed frustratingly incomplete. While the full narrative of Wade remains elusive, traces of his legend persist in various texts. Notably, an Old English poem portrays Wade as the son of a king and connected to a 'serpent-legged mermaid.' Wade's legacy also appears in the Poetic Edda, mentioning his son Wayland and his brothers. Additionally, Wade is briefly alluded to in Sir Thomas Malory's Morte D'Arthur, among other contemporaneous writings. An intriguing connection to modern literature can be found in J.R.R. Tolkien's work, where he crafted the character Earendil, inspired by Wade. Earendil's mythical journey across the skies is facilitated by a magical ship named Wingelot (or Vingilot), linking the ancient and modern storytelling traditions.