Tuesday, November 02, 2021

Notes about my past life

 A detail of Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales," with medieval illustrations.

Source of Image <Takamiya Collection in Beinecke Library, Yale>


Recently, I have come across some news in the field of medieval studies. One of them is the discovery of a large-scale tannery in the Fountains Abbey in Yorkshire. <Tannery Discovered in Fountains Abbey>> 

I do not remember I have been to Fountains Abbey during the 4 years when I was in York. What a shame! Isn't it? At that time, having been too much engrossed in the new relationship, I consciously avoided going anywhere without his company. Skipping my own graduation ceremony was another unreasonable decision that I made at the end of my PhD course. It looks a mystery to me now why I would choose to stay in Japan with my newly-wed spouse rather than making the trip alone to England to see witness the end-result of my 4-year efforts. 

All these "compromises for love" seem ridiculous to me now. How much I would want to rewind to the past and tell myself to make a right decision for my own interest. 


Last week, a couple of email exchange with another emeritus scholar here reminded me, almost to the degree of remorse, of the kind of academic career that I had pursued before coming to Japan. Apart from the unfriendly job market here, I know that I did not make as many efforts as I should/could have. Suddenly a strong urge to stay engaged surged, so I decided to recite and memorise Middle English poems by heart. The local search for the cassettes of the recording of The Canterbury Tales in Middle English has shaken me. I thought I always have it somewhere near me, but nothing can be found. The search then was expanded to the Internet as it had never occurred to me that I will just go of this item, an possession that is integrated to my early academic self. Some goole search for the studio which produced the recording went fruitless. I was in shock. Fortunately, I was able to locate the university studio once again. Everything has turned digital now, but the voices and performers are different in the new recordings. 

The Creative Works in BYU

General Prologue (The Canterbury Tales) App

Crossroad: Carolingian Medicine