Middle English

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Middle English Chaucer Style

• by Dan Foley

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The Canterbury Tales

• Chaucers Masterpiece Never Finished
• 31 Pilgrims 4 Stories Each Chaucer Old
• Source of this Slideshow
• Certain words strong as ever
• Others have had vastly different changes in
  meaning
• Others have faded out forever without explanation
• Use of OED and ME along with Geoffrey

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The Survivors
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Survival Gay

• Upon his arm he baar a gay bracer
• Anglo-Norman, Old French
• Beginning as Nobel, beautiful, excellent (epithet
  of praise for a woman) (1325) Also bright in
  color, showy (1375)
• Of persons, light hearted, carefree, merry (1380)
• Then taking on an ironic meaning for excellent,
  beautiful, fine (1581)
• This is the big Change
• For both persons and others meaning lewd
  dedicated to social pleasures, dissolute,
  promiscuous, hedonistic, frivolous, flamboyant,
  uninhibited (1597) or of a prostitute
• Taken on the modern, homosexual in (1922)

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Survival Wood

• What sholde he studie, and make hymselven wood,
  (1374)
• What does this mean?
• Not only related to trees
• N. Crazy Mad Insane
• V. To go Mad
• Comes from Scandinavian compound - Brain-Wood
  (Frenzied of the Brain)
• Gone by 1600s
• 1985 first instance of get wood

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Survival War (Aware)

• Ful fetys was hir cloke, as I was war
• Originally had several meanings
• N. to fight, to battle etc. (we all know)
• Also meant Aware in this case (1370s)
• OED not sure about war origin, no use of it in
  old Germanic
• Possibly coming from ware meaning watchful
  (893) However now is obsolete
• Adj. worse in all senses (Scottish)
• Connection?

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Survival Purtreye (Portray)

• Juste, and eek daunce, and weel purtreye and
  write.
• An easy one
• French, Anglo Saxon Roots
• To paint, or adorn (1330)
• Later taking on the Modern Instance of to show,
  to depict

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The Forms of the Dead
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Dead and Gone Clepe

• This worthy lymytour was cleped Huberd (1386).
• Coming from Clip (to clink or ring) and Clap (a
  hard noise - Norse)
• A call or cry, appeal after, proclaim
• Last use end of the 1500s
• Perhaps no more use for it?
• Several other words take its place

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The Living Dead? eke

• And eek his face, as it hadde been enoyte.
  (1370s) gone by (1850s)
• Forms Eke, eek, ek, eake, ec
• Possible Aryan roots, but unknown
• Used in terms of connecting nouns and pronouns,
  introducing sentences, modifying the predicate
• Adv. Also, in addition
• V. To increase, lengthen
• N. An addition, increase
• Today V. to supplement with great effort?
• As in The Sox eked out the win against the
  Yankees
• Also a male salmon (1887) No idea

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Real Dead Ba

• How mekly lokith Wilkyn our scheep! Com ner, my
  spouse, let me ba thy cheke (1386)
• It means to kiss
• Coming from English?
• Most likely a nursery or onomatopoeia word
• Like opening the mouth, grape (kissed like your
  grandma does)
• Last known use in 1529
• Reasons Unknown

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So Ridiculously Dead Geldyng

• I trowe he were a geldyng or a mare (1370)
• Only instance found
• Referring to the Pardoner
• Meaning eunuch, or a castrated
• Chaucer (referring to) Translates to I think
  he was a eunuch or a homosexual
• One of the strangest phrases in literature

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The End