Chaucer's Language

Simon Horobin

• Publisher: Red Globe Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780230293786
• eBook ISBN: 9781137274571
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Linguistics
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

Assuming no previous linguistic knowledge, Simon Horobin introduces students to Chaucer's language and the importance of reading Chaucer in the original, rather than in a modern translation. This updated edition includes references to most recent scholarship, suggestions for future research and an extensive glossary with sample quotations.

1

Why study Chaucer’s language?

All living languages are subject to change. Linguistic change may happen in various different ways for a variety of different reasons, affecting the pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary of a language. We are often made aware of such changes by the media, who lament the corruption and decay of the English language as reflected in such changes as the spread of estuary English, the spelling of text and email messages, and the inclusion of slang terms in dictionaries. Yet all these changes are simply reflections of the fact that languages are in a continual process of flux, adapting to reflect changes taking place in the society within which they are used. So, for instance, the revolution in information technology has led to the coining of new words such as download and email which have become adopted into English and are thus included in new editions of dictionaries. If we take a broader historical perspective, then we can see that over the past 500 years the English language has undergone numerous changes that have radically altered its structure, making it increasingly difficult for us to read texts written in English of earlier periods. Chaucer was aware of the inevitability of language change and its effects, and he considers these in the proem to Book 2 of Troilus and Criseyde:

Ye knowe ek that in forme of speche is chaunge	also
Withinne a thousand yeer, and wordes tho	then
That hadden pris, now wonder nyce and straunge	absurd
Us thinketh hem, and yet thei spake hem so,	them
	(2.22–5)

Linguistic change means that to read Chaucer today we need a good understanding of his language and how it differs from our own. This is most evident in the case of vocabulary, as many of the words used by Chaucer have since fallen out of use and become obsolete. An example of this is the word ek found in the above quotation, where it means ‘also’. This is a common word in Chaucer and therefore its meaning needs to be learned, just as today we learn common French words to help us to read texts written in that language. In fact the number of such words used by Chaucer is comparatively small and many are still recognizable to us. So, for instance, in the above extract, the majority of the words are probably sufficiently familiar for someone with no knowledge of Chaucer’s language to make some sense of what is being said.

However, while the familiarity of Chaucer’s words can be helpful, it can also cause problems. The availability of Chaucer’s work in editions with modernized spelling, or translated into modern English, encourages the view that Chaucer’s work is more similar to presentday English (PDE) than is really the case. The similarity of Chaucer’s language to our own is also frequently emphasized by writers on the history of English, often as support for the view that Chaucer was responsible for creating the English literary language that we use today. In his book The Adventure of English, Melvyn Bragg describes how, in Chaucer’s work, ‘English speakers talk directly to us, through skilful stories told by a group of pilgrims’ (2003, 69). The suggestion is that Chaucer’s characters speak in a language that can be easily understood by a modern reader, thereby ignoring the linguistic divide that separates us from Chaucer’s language. This view of Chaucer as a modern writer is further encouraged by current trends in Chaucer criticism that tend to emphasize the similarity between Chaucer’s works and modern literature, rather than its difference. This has the effect of de-emphasizing the linguistic differences between Chaucer’s language and our own, which may cause problems when it comes to reading his works. While Chaucer’s works are indeed relevant to a modern audience, their language differs from that of PDE in a number of ways; it is important that we are aware of such differences when reading Chaucer to prevent us misunderstanding his meaning.

The most obvious way in which Chaucer’s language may appear similar to our own is in the survival of many of his words into PDE. But here we must be careful, as a word may have kept the same appearance but have changed its meaning. This becomes apparent if we consider the phrase ‘nyce and straunge’ in the above passage. On the surface this phrase does not appear to cause many problems as it is easily recognized as the equivalent of ‘nice and strange’. But what does that mean? Can words be described as being ‘nice and strange’? So, while the apparent familiarity of these words might trick us into thinking that there is no difficulty, we must remember that words that look like PDE words may have had different meanings in Middle English (ME). This means that, even though the word nyce looks familiar, we must check in a dictionary to see how it was used in ME. The Riverside Chaucer gives two main senses for this word: (1) foolish; (2) scrupulous. The first thing to notice about this definition is that neither of these meanings is the same as the main meaning in PDE of ‘agreeable, pleasant, satisfactory’. Whenever we encounter the word nyce in Chaucer’s works, we must therefore be careful not to give it our PDE meaning.

Armed with the Riverside Chaucer’s definition, we can now return to our passage and see which of these two senses is the more appropriate in this context. Clearly, the intended sense here is ‘foolish’, although we might prefer to gloss this particular example as ‘ridiculous’ or ‘absurd’. By looking the word up in the glossary, we are able to determine the correct meaning of this word in this particular context. However, there are other examples of the word nyce that may cause us further problems. For instance, later in Book 2 of Troilus and Criseyde, Pandarus makes the following appeal to his niece Criseyde:

‘Wel,’ quod Pandare, ‘as I have told yow thrie,	thrice
Lat be youre nyce shame and youre folie,	folly
And spek with hym in esyng of his herte;
Lat nycete nat do yow bothe smerte.’
	(2.1285–8)

In this example, neither of the definitions given by the Riverside Chaucer seems particularly appropriate. ‘Foolish shame’ might seem the most fitting translation, although this would make the following noun folie ‘folly’ seem redundant. In this case we need a more comprehensive definition, as provided by the Middle English Dictionary (MED). Instead of the two senses offered by the Riverside Chaucer, there are four major senses listed for this word in the MED; these can be summarized as follows: (1) foolish, frivolous, absurd; (2) sluggish, weak, timid; (3) fastidious, fussy, dainty; (4) extravagant, self-indulgent. Given this greater range of meanings, it becomes apparent that sense 2, not given in the Riverside glossary, is the most appropriate meaning for the example given above. Pandarus is instructing Criseyde to put aside her timid shame rather than her foolish shame, which would imply a much more judgemental and dismissive attitude.

This example has shown us that we need to be wary of words that may seem familiar to us because their meanings have often changed. We also found that we should not rely entirely on the single-word glosses provided by editors, but turn to a more comprehensive dictionary, such as the MED, for a detailed definition of a word. The greater range of definitions provided by the MED means that we have to work harder to determine the correct meaning for a particular use of a word, forcing us to analyse the context more closely. This might seem an unnecessary amount of extra effort, but it is extremely important if we are to appreciate fully Chaucer’s writing.

There are many other words like nyce which have survived into PDE with similar spellings but with different meanings. Another good example is the word buxom, as in the following rhetorical question in the Merchant’s Tale: ‘For who kan be so buxom as a wyf?’ (E 1287). It would be easy to view this as a reference to a woman’s physical appearance, reading buxom according to its present-day meaning ‘plump’ or ‘busty’, but this meaning is not recorded before the sixteenth century; the ME meaning of the word is concerned with moral behaviour and means ‘obedient’ or ‘submissive’. Such distinctions are clearly important as they radically alter our perception of attitudes to women in the Middle Ages. While physical appearance, and especially youth, is clearly important to the lecherous old bachelor in the Merchant’s Tale, he is primarily looking for obedience and subservience in his future bride.

Another word that survives into PDE with a different meaning is sely, which is PDE silly, meaning ‘foolish’. However, in ME the word can mean ‘holy’, as in the description of the saintly heroine in the Man of Law’s Tale as ‘this sely innocent, Custance’ (B1 682). It can also have the meaning ‘simple’ or ‘innocent’, as in the Host’s reference to ‘sely men’ who are at the mercy of the deceit and trickery of women. There is clearly a link between the meaning ‘simple or ‘innocent’ and the PDE meaning ‘foolish’; it is easy to see how the modern meaning has developed from the ME one. In fact, there are instances in Chaucer where the word seems to be used in a similar way to that of PDE silly. In the Reeve’s Tale the two students who are tricked by the miller are described as being ‘sely clerkes’. We could read this sympathetically as ‘innocent’, but the tone seems more critical; the ridiculous image of the students charging around the fens trying to catch their runaway horse makes the sense ‘foolish’ seem particularly appropriate.

In the case of silly, it is apparent that in some instances the PDE meaning is appropriate, while in others, senses found only in ME are correct. This situation forces us to be particularly alert to the subtle shifts in meaning and connotation that can only be gauged from a close reading of the immediate conte...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Tables
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• 1. Why study Chaucer’s language?
• 2. Writing in English
• 3. What was Middle English?
• 4. Spelling and pronunciation
• 5. Vocabulary
• 6. Grammar
• 7. Language and style
• 8. Discourse and pragmatics
• 9. Using theMiddle English Dictionary
• Conclusion
• Appendix: sample texts
• Glossaries
• Bibliography
• Index