The Noblewoman's Portrait

The Noblewoman’s Portrait

Part III of the Series New Road to Canterbury

By Lord Damon de Scardburghe (aka Lord Dmitri Skomorochov) Apprentice to Countess Dulcia MacPherson

Calligraphy and Illumination by Honorable Lady Bres O’Seachnasaigh

Enim meus magister. Ignosce mihi placent. Close your eyes for a moment, and imagine...

Nearing the end of the 14th century, herds of

people were making their way in pilgrimage to the

shrine of Thomas Becket, in Canterbury. Geoffrey

Chaucer wrote the well-known Canterbury Tales,

describing a group of pilgrims who made the journey,

and the tales they told. However, the road to

Canterbury had hundreds of pilgrims every year

make the journey to Becket’s shrine.

These are the stories of the New Road to

Canterbury, a collection of new characters and new tales, describing some of the other pilgrims that

Chaucer neglected, but who could have been there,

along with the others.

This is the third in my New Road series. This is

the portrait of the most regal member of the

travelling part, the Noblewoman.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait II Table of Contents

Cover Page I

Introduction II

Table of Contents III

Project Summary IV

Writing Process V

‘The Noblewoman’s Portrait’ Poem VI

‘The Noblewoman’s Portrait’ Modernized Spellings VIII

‘The Noblewoman’s Portrait’ Modern English IX

The Canterbury Tales X

The Noblewoman XII

Chaucer’s English XV

Chaucer’s French XVII

Chaucer’s Poetry and Pronunciation XVIII

Chaucer’s Syntax XX

Glossary XXI

Line Frequency XXII

Rough Drafts XXIII

Works Cited XXVI

Reference Photocopies

Portions of this report have been re-used and edited from previous projects in the New Road series.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait III Project Summary

Type of Work:

Written Work - Poem

Poetic Style:

“Riding Rhyme” – Enjambed Couplets

Meter:

Decasyllabic

Rhyme Scheme:

aabbccdd

Language:

Middle English

Period:

Late 14th Century London, England

Subject Matter:

Character Introduction

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait IV Writing Process

This is the third project in my New Road to Canterbury master project, introducing the fourth pilgrim (out of a planned eight). For the focus of this project, I decided that I was fairly comfortable with writing in Middle English, so therefore didn’t personally translate any additional Chaucer pieces.

Instead, I focused more on the specific details of 14th century life in London, and the details that would matter in the lives of my pilgrims.

The pilgrim being introduced in this project is the Noblewoman, the highest ranking member of pilgrimage, and the leader of the expedition. In addition to the books listed as references for this project, I also read several books centered on the time period, customs, and realities of this era; studying everything from period maps of Southern England, to the genealogy of some of the noteworthy citizens of the time, to the specific religious beliefs of the common people.

I also spent time looking into some of the issues that were mentioned by my previous rounds of judging. One suggestion I received was to include rough drafts of my progress, to show earlier versions of the piece, and how they progressed. I have included some of the drafts at the end of the report.

Another issue mentioned by the judges was to describe the specifics of the poetic style that I was using. I have included a page in the front of the packet calling out the poetic style (enjambed couplets), meter (decasyllabic), rhyme scheme (aabbccdd), and other useful details.

Also discussed was a desire to see me clarify how I interpreted

Chaucer’s syntax and sentence structure. In order to present that information properly, I have completely reworked my previously written section, “Chaucer’s Vocabulary”, into a new section to explain how I put all of the pieces of the language together.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait V The Noblewoman’s Portrait

Alre-fyrst came a maystresse of gentil birth,

A roial wyf unliche aught else on erthe.

Sche was a wimman of elde, with heer of golde,

To any lauerding a sighte to behold.

Well-dressed she was, in a gown of blewe,

With kirtle beneath of the ocher hue,

Y-wimpled with a tretis ueil and calle,

Eche cloth in the curraunt facion, att alle.

Her grace was ylik a swan perfet,

By name she was yclept Elizabet.

A Cresten woman of honour and lewte,

To her kine-dom, her god and her deute.

Such a woman of sothnesse and sahtnesse,

Neuere did sche need a pardoners bisynesse.

Maried was sche, to a knict of renome,

Hir second housband, Stephen was his nome.

Both welden baronage, ful passyngly,

Her noblesse de robe, him noblesse d'epee.

As his wif sche was notable, but best on hir own, as a lady alre-mest

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait VI

Of maysterful wit and regal quayntis.

Sche cun sermone wit lutel fayntise,

And y-glosed to the real moot to materes of worth. She was, as a widewe, notable for gret dignete and skyl.

A wyf of muche abilitie, sans faille,

Innen London, sche was well familier wit muchel of the souereyn toun chauncelers,

John Bussy, Henry Green, and Whittington,

Tom Knollys, Tom Berkeley, and Tom Holland.

Ryfe were the gentil-men who sohte her wit,

Or a mid-ouernon of chaast respyt,

And somtym ete a humble under-mel.

She wolde al-so auaunt of hir orgel in hir barn-team, the hole sexe of hem, and wolde speke of ensamples aboute them.

Fram the heldeste childe Oliuer, and a-doun, to Albert, the yongest knaue-child on-rounde, as well Sophia and Persephone, the twinne gerles, bothe lifli and gay.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait VII The Noblewoman’s Portrait

Modernized Spellings

First of all came a mistress of gentle birth, of masterful wit and regal quaintness. a royal woman unlike aught else on earth. She can sermon with little pretense,

She was a woman of eld, with hair of gold, and glossed to the royal moot to to any lordling a sight to behold. matters of worth. She was, as a widow,

Well-dressed she was, in a gown of blue, notable for great dignity and skill. with a kirtle beneath of ochre hue, A woman of much ability, sans fail. wimpled with a pretty veil and caul, In London, she was well familiar each cloth in the current fashion, at all. with much of the sovereign town chancellors,

Her grace was like a swan perfect, John Bussy, Henry Green, and Whittington, by name she was called Elizabeth. Tom Knollys, Tom Berkeley, and Tom Holland.

A Christian woman of honor and loyalty, Rife were the gentlemen who sought her wit, to her kingdom, her God, and her duty. or a mid-afternoon of chaste respite,

Such a woman of soothness and saughtness, and sometime eat a humble under-meal. never did she need a pardoner's business. She would also vaunt of her orgul

Married was she, to a knight of renown, in her offspring, the whole six of them, her second husband, Stephen was his name. and would speak of examples about them.

Both wielded baronage, full surpassingly; From the eldest child Oliver, and down,

Her Nobility of the Robe, him Nobility of the Sword. to Albert, the youngest knave-child around,

As his wife she was notable, but best as well as Sophia and Persephone, on her own, as a lady all most the twin girls, both lovely and gay.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait VIII The Noblewoman’s Portrait

Modern English

First of all came a mistress of gentle birth, of masterful wit and regal wisdom.

a royal woman like no one else on earth. She could preach with little pretense,

She was a middle-aged woman with golden hair, and spoke to the royal assembly about

she was a sight to behold to any young lord. matters of important. As a widow, she was

She was well dressed, in a gown of blue, notable for great dignity and skill.

with an under gown of orange color, A woman of great ability, without fail.

wearing a veil and caul as a wimple, In London, she was very familiar

all of the clothing in the latest fashion. with many of the sovereign town chancellors,

She was as graceful as a perfect swan; John Bussy, Henry Green, and Whittington,

her name was Elizabeth. Tom Knollys, Tom Berkeley, and Tom Holland.

She was a Christian woman of honor and loyalty, There were many noblemen who sought her wit,

to her Kingdom, God and her duty. or an afternoon of innocent rest,

Such a woman of truth and peace, and sometimes a simple small meal.

she never needed a pardoner's business. She would also boast of her pride

She was married to a renown knight; in her children, all six of them,

her second husband, named Stephen. and would tell stories about them all.

Both held baronage, in a surpassing degree: From Oliver, the oldest child, down

Her Nobility of the Robe, him Nobility of the Sword. to Albert, the youngest child around,

She was notable as his wife, but best known and also Sophia and Persephone,

on her own, most of all as a lady the lovely and happy twin girls.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait IX The Canterbury Tales

At the end of the fourteenth century, a popular poet set aside his other works and set about creating what would become a masterpiece work that would span the centuries and tell people from future generations what kind of people he saw all around him.

The Canterbury Tales were written by Geoffrey Chaucer of London,

England, starting at around 1388 and remaining in progress until his death in 1400. In order to create the setting for the stories, where he could have any style of personage tell any style of story, Chaucer took a common element of his society, religious pilgrimages, and used that to assemble his storyline. “…the frame story is a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury during which the pilgrims engage in a story-telling contest.” (Preminger, pg.

336-37).

Within this overall storyline there are several smaller stories, each one in theory being told by one of the pilgrims. Each of the thirty pilgrims, which consisted of people from all different levels of society (and a character of

Chaucer himself as a pilgrim), were supposed to be reciting two stories on each leg of the trip, with the teller of the best story receiving a meal paid for by the others. All in all, a total of one hundred and twenty stories were set up, though only about twenty-four were actually completed.

Unlike most narrative tales, most historians agree that Chaucer was not writing the Tales as one consecutive story. According to popular historian opinion, when Chaucer wrote each separate piece of his tale, “…he circulated it privately among his friends…” (Powell & Smith, pg. 108).

Furthermore, these historians believe that the individual stories were written in “…’stripped’ form, i.e. without any link to the poem as a whole…” (Powell

& Smith, pg. 108).

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait X Finally, Chaucer didn’t seem to have the entire order and patterns determined when he wrote each piece, and so he wrote a ‘link’, in the forms of prologues and epilogues, connecting the stories to each other by way of the storytellers. According to Powell & Smith’s research, different manuscripts – written at different times both before and after Chaucer’s death – would have different versions of the tales, and even different orders to the tales. It’s even quite possible that there were different versions of

Chaucer’s stories as he edited them both before and after they went to an editor for publication. As copies were passed among his friends and patrons,

“…gradually these texts were copied and, during the process, became corrupted…” (Powell & Smith, pg. 108). Also, after passing out copies of his stories, he would continue to revise them and choose which stories would be in his final draft, and add or eliminate others.

It is because of this history that I feel that I can add additional characters and stories to his Canterbury Tales, without attempting to rewrite the history of Chaucer’s writings. Chaucer himself wrote different stories that he ended up not using, which is why some manuscripts might contain stories that later manuscripts were missing. Also, the order of characters and tales have changed as well.

Historians believe that the Canon Yeoman’s prologue and tale are examples of this re-writing. “…because prologue and tale were inserted into the poem at a late stage in Chaucer’s own lifetime…” with the intent to changing the atmosphere of the story. “…He [Chaucer] might easily have decided that the pilgrimage framework needed livening up…” (Powell &

Smith, pg. 118).

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XI The Noblewoman

In trying to create characters that cover a wide spectrum of personality types, I have so far presented the Jogelour (good-spirited yet invoking pity), the Squier (extremely talented but unpleasant company), and the Pursevant (barely tolerable but loyal sinner). For this project, I decided to present a character that the narrator respected deeply, and tried to portray in almost entirely a good light.

The Noblewoman is meant to be the leader, and highest-ranked member, of the pilgrimage She rides at the front of the line, similar to how

Chaucer’s Knight was the first pilgrim introduced in his Tales. Within the entire New Road series, her portrait will be the first one to follow the introduction.

Also like the Knight, my Noblewoman takes inspiration from a real person, or rather, people. Since the pilgrim being described is a woman of high social standing, and well respected by the author, I have taken details of my writing from two of the most important female figures that Chaucer chose to write about: the Wife of Bath, from the Canterbury Tales, and White, from the Book of the Duchess.

The Wife of Bath is probably one of the most well-known women in historical literature, because Chaucer chose to portray her as strong, independent, and intelligent; things that woman were not generally acknowledged for in this time period. From her, I’ve made my Noblewoman prestigious, self-sufficient, and capable of representing herself in society, instead of relying upon her husband’s social status. Also, since the Wife of

Bath is perhaps the only pilgrim given the gift of a proper name (Alysoun), so did my Noblewoman (Elizabet).

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XII Another important literary figure from Chaucer’s writings was White, the titular character in the Book of the Duchess, which was written for his patron, John of Gaunt, about his recently deceased first wife, Blanche of

Lancaster. I tried to show my Noblewoman the same level of respect, even reverence, which Chaucer showed for his White. When I wrote this character portrait, I tried to view the scene as if the Noblewoman described was herself perhaps the patron of the author, possibly with some of the other pilgrims being part of her retinue, including the narrator.

The Noblewoman also had some real-world inspiration as well, primarily in the person of Joan de Bohun (1347-1419), Countess of Hereford,

Essex, and Northampton (Ward, pg. 108-09). Joan had married a very influential nobleman, Humphrey de Bohun, and had two daughters. When

Humphrey died in 1373, Joan was left a young widow, and never chose to remarry. She had serious political and financial power during her time, and was mother-in-law to King Henry IV, and grandmother to King Henry V.

Most importantly, this character has some personal inspiration. This portrait is dedicated to my own Laurel, Countess Dulcia MacPherson. My association with her has always felt more like a patronage than a master/student relationship, and in the true fashion of artists and patrons throughout the history of art, I have endeavored to make her a vital – and honored – part of my art. To those who know her well, there are several clues to her identity – just as Chaucer included in the Book of the Duchess – including names, comparison to a swan (her device), and other subtle references.

Perhaps the most telling part of the Noblewoman’s description was the people of significance that she chose to identify as her friends. The people listed were all well-known in the noble and royal circles at the end of the reign of King Richard II. Some of them were simply people of power within

London – Richard Whittington was a repeated Mayor of London, Thomas

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XIII Knollys was both Mayor and Sheriff, and Thomas Berkeley had a history of exemplary military service under Richard II and Henry IV. The others – John

Bussy, Henry Green, and Thomas Holland – were friends and councilors of

King Richard II, at a time when Richard was extremely unpopular as king.

Holland died in 1397, and when Richard was deposited in 1399, both Bussy and Green were captured and executed. Both of them, along with William

Bagot, were characters in Shakespeare’s play of Richard II as his favorites.

By listing those names as the people she closely associated with, the

Noblewoman was publicly identifying herself as a loyal servant of King

Richard II, a move which could be considered either fearless or foolhardy in that political climate. While many contemporary readers of this character portrait might consider this to be a character flaw, it obviously isn’t seen that way by the Noblewoman, or the narrator of the story.

All of this and more lead to the creation of the Noblewoman; a well-respected, historically-accurate tribute to an influential woman, the sum of her parts, plus much more that is just her.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XIV Chaucer’s English

Middle English, as a general term, refers to the English spoken between

1066 and 1450, when the language started to become more standardized and printing became more common. But to say that Middle English was the same for those four centuries would be like saying that everyone in the United

States speaks with the same accent and dialect. It would be unrealistic.

In order to describe what I wrote, I have to describe what Chaucer wrote, what variation of the language, what dialect, and also what language and dialect the scribe for each manuscript used. Every time a manuscript was copied, there were three different possibilities about how accurate the copy would be, according to Angus McIntosh. “…A – He [the scribe] may leave the language of his copytext unchanged…”, “B – He may ‘translate’ the language of the copytext into his own dialect…”, or “C – He may do something in between Types A and B…” (Horobin, pg. 11). Sadly, the two most well-known thorough manuscripts of the Canterbury Tales, the Ellesmere and the

Hengwrt, are considered to have been copied by a scribe using Type ‘B’, or his own, dialect. (Horobin, pgs. 149 & 151).

In my study, I used a single source, the Ellesmere, to practice, translate, and compare my own works, so it could be assumed that my own language and dialect would be the same as the scribe, probably London trained, who copied the Ellesmere manuscript for his patron (presumed by many to have been Thomas Chaucer, Geoffrey’s son).

As for the version of Middle English being used, Michael Samuels, a scholar of Middle English language and history, has divided the category of

Late Middle English into four distinct types: “…Type I, also known as the

Central Midlands Standard…”, “…Type II is found in a group of manuscripts copied in London in the mid to late fourteenth century, [including] the

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XV Auchinleck manuscript which was produced in London around 1340…”,

“…Type III is the language of London in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, recorded in, for example, the earliest Chaucer manuscripts: the Hengwrt and Ellesmere manuscripts of the Canterbury

Tales…”, and finally, “…Type IV, also termed by Samuels ‘Chancery Standard’, which ‘consists of that flood of government documents that starts in the years following 1430…”. (Horobin, pgs. 13-14).

Chaucer’s version of Middle English, and the scribe of the Ellesmere manuscript (and therefore mine as well) was “…a variety of Middle English current in London at the end of the fourteenth and beginning of the fifteenth centuries, coined Type III…” (Horobin, pg. 16).

I chose to base my writing off of the Ellesmere version of the

Canterbury Tales, not by studying previous translations and scholarly works, but by choosing a selection of different portraits, prologues, and tales and translating them into modern spellings (the redaction), and then into modern English that anyone should be able to understand. I had to utilize a dictionary for many of the words, but after some time, I gradually absorbed the feel and flow of the writing, and could breeze through it as easily as if I were reading modern text.

Also noteworthy were some of the spelling variations as the English language evolved from Old English into something more recognizable to a modern reader. Per Horobin and Smith in the “Introduction to Middle English”, the

Old English 'thorn' character had mostly been replaced by "th" by Chaucer's time, and it used rarely in the Ellesmere Manuscript. The character 'yogh' – used as a substitute for the modern 'j', 'x', and 'z' sounds – wasn't present in the Ellesmere. 'u' and 'v' were still used interchangeably, with the 'v' generally appearing only at the beginning of words. 'i' and 'y' were also interchangeable, and sometimes used solely for the purpose of making certain handwriting easier to read (Horobin & Smith, pg. 47).

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XVI Chaucer’s French

Since Chaucer was regarded as one of the first poets to use English as his primary writing language, he is therefore critical to the history of the

English language. This followed in the social tradition in England of the ruling class - supposedly French - distancing themselves from their previous

French associations. However, in much the same way that an American might speak with a British accent to appear distinguished - despite this country having separated from the British Empire hundreds of years ago - an

Englishman in the 14th century would still use aspects of French vocabulary and grammar to seem more noble (Horobin & Smith, pg. 74, 82).

The French loanwords that were introduced in Chaucer’s works are so much a part of Modern English now that their French origins have all but been forgotten. “…for example, honour, chivalrie, curteisie, compaignye, and tendre…” (Horobin & Smith, pg. 74) are all French-derived words that are integral parts of the language we all know today.

In my writing, I already include several French loanwords as part of the introduction (which includes the character portraits). For example, the

Noblewoman’s rank as “noblesse de robe” (nobility of the robe) indicated someone recognized by the French court – at a time when England was trying to separate itself from France – as nobility that was elevated due to their ability, rather than their heritage. Her husband, the “noblesse d’epee”

(nobility of the sword), inherited his title from a long family line.

In future writings, I intend to use these loanwords more and less as appropriate within the individual characters’ stories. The Noblewoman, for example, would use French fairly often, while the jogelour might not use any at all. This will also apply to regional and cultural dialects, which Chaucer was fond of exploring.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XVII Chaucer’s Poetry and Pronunciation

Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was written at the end of the fourteenth century in London, England, in the Middle English dialect common to the city at the time. The styles of the poetry, however, came from many different cultures and sources, and helped develop what would later become the modern standards of poetry in English literature.

While the Canterbury Tales showcased many different styles of rhyme and meter - including rhyme royal and prose - the majority of his writing was done in rhyming couplets, paired lines of verse that rhyme with an ongoing aabbccdd pattern. The couplets are commonly enjambed, "...when the syntactic and metrical frames do not close together at the end of the couplet, the sentence being carried forward into subsequent couplets to any length desired and ending at any point in the line..." (Preminger & Brogan, pg. 244).

The meter used for Chaucer's couplets is decasyllabic, which Chaucer borrowed from the twelfth century hendecasyllabic meter used by the Italian poets Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio (Preminger & Brogan, pg. 276). In classic French poetry – which Chaucer based much of his new style on – a decasyllabic line could commonly have eleven syllables, with a feminine ending, or even twelve syllables, if it contained a feminine ending at the caesura (pause) in the middle of the line (Preminger & Brogan, pg. 277).

Simon Horobin noted that good poetry needs to deviate from the established rhythm in order to avoid monotony (Horobin & Smith, pg. 138).

It was Chaucer's use of decasyllabic couplets that eventually helped form the well-known iambic pentameter used in later English poetry.

Chaucer's use of the non-silent 'e' is proven by this meter, and this information was used by scholars when reviewing the Ellesmere and Hengwrt

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XVIII Manuscripts, to determine Chaucer's true intentions with his pronunciation

(Horobin & Smith, pg. 138).

“Chaucerian English does not seem to have had any ‘silent’ letters.”

(Horobin & Smith, pg. 49). The ending 'e' was pronounced in words like soote, the 'k' and 'gh' in knight, the 'h' in whip, and the 'g' in gnaw. Naturally, there were exceptions, such as when the ending 'e' would not be pronounced if the following word (without an intervening pause) started with a vowel sound, since the two sounds wouldn't be differentiated when speaking.

This is an example of the decasyllabic rhythm from the General

Prologue of the Canterbury Tales. The ‘/’ represents the accented syllable, the ‘*’ represents the unaccented syllable, and the ‘(*)’ represents the unaccented feminine ending.

* / * / * / * / * / (*) a good wif was ther of bi- sid- e- bath e * / * / * / * / * / (*) but she was som- del deef and that was scath- e

This is a piece from the Noblewoman’s Portrait.

* / * / * / * / * / her grac- e was y- lik a swan perfet * / * / * * / * / * / by nam- e she was y- clept E- liz- a- bet

The reason these words didn’t retain the sounds of these letters is that the spoken words would evolve at a faster rate than the written word, causing the pronunciations to change, while the spelling would stay the same. Over time, writing is more likely to maintain its rules and standards, and cannot keep up with speech, which is much more elastic. "...the word 'knight', for instance, used to be pronounced [knixt] during the ME period; however, sound-changes since the end of the fifteenth century mean that the symbols

and are now ‘silent’." (Horobin & Smith, pg. 41).

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XIX Chaucer’s Syntax

In addition to the language and the pronunciation, there is one more difference between Middle and Modern English that sometimes makes

Chaucer’s works difficult for a modern reader to comprehend. Syntax, the way that the sentences and phrases are structured, is what gives Middle

English – and Early Modern – the archaic flavor that people associate with it.

This is most notable when it comes to Subject / Predicator (SP) arrangement. Where Old English used a Germanic syntax, Middle English began to use SP arrangement similar to Modern; “the knight fights against the squire”. Just like in Modern English, however, there was room for ‘artistic license’. “...in Chaucerian English these practices are plainly useful when the poet wishes to sustain a rhyme…” (Horobin & Smith, pg. 100). Thus, you could also say “the squire is who the knight fights against”.

Another variation of the Subject / Predicator arrangement is to have the SP separated by a different part of the sentence; “the knight carefully against the squire fights”. Finally, the Predicator can be put first, creating the arrangement of “against the squire the knight fights”. All of these are allowed variations of the Middle English syntax, sometimes simply for the purpose of working within the poetic atmosphere.

Another difference from Modern English syntax is with premodifying and postmodifying adjectives. Postmodifying adjectives, taken from French, were used, such as 'showres soote' for soothing showers (Ferguson & Salter, pg. 19). Premodifying adjectives, typically used in Modern English, are also present, such as 'blisful martyr', referring to the 'blissful martyr" Thomas a

Becket (Ferguson & Salter, pg. 19). In the Noblewoman's Portrait, I use both types as well: The second line refers to a 'roial wyf' (premodifying), and the ninth line refers to a 'swan perfet' (postmodifying).

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XX Glossary

All references will be from A Concise Dictionary of Middle English, unless otherwise noted. (CT) - Chaucer's Canterbury Tales

a-doun – down lutel – little alre-fyrst – first of all maystresse – mistress alre-mest – most of all mid-ouernon – mid-afternoon auaunt – boast moot – assembly barn-team – offspring on-rounde – around baronage – vassals orgel – pride bisynesse – business quayntis – wisdom calle – caul, hair net real – royal chaast – chaste (CT, Wife of Bath’s respyt – respite Prologue, line 46) roial – royal chauncelers – chancellors sahtnesse – peace Cresten – Christian sans faille – without fail deute – duty sermone – preach elde – maturity sothnesse – truth ensamples – examples souereyn – sovereign facion – fashion tretis – well-made fayntise – pretence under-mel – afternoon meal passyngly – in a surpassing degree welden – govern heldeste – oldest yclept – called (CT, General knaue-child – male child Prologue, line 378) lauerding – nobleman y-glosed – explained lewte – loyalty y-wimpled – covered with a wimple lifli – lively

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XXI Line Frequency for the Stories In Order of Introduction

Portrait Intro Prologue Tale Epilogue Chaucer (Sir Thopas) 42/144 21 207 48 Chaucer (Melibee) 87 Knight 36 2250 Squire 22 8 700 Canon's Yeoman 17 166 762 Prioress 45 35 203 Second Nun 1 119 434 Nun's Priest 1 54 626 16 Monk 43 102 776 Friar 64 36 364 Merchant 15 32 1174 22 Clerk 24 56 1163 Sergeant of the Law 22 98 35 1162 28 Franklin 30 20 896 Craftsmen 18 Cook 9 40 58 Shipman 23 452 Physician 34 286 Wife of Bath 32 862 408 Parson 52 74 102 Plowman 13 Miller 25 78 668 Manciple 20 104 258 Reeve 36 66 404 Summoner 46 44 586 Pardoner 46 42 134 506

AVERAGE 31 49 68 469 29

Excluding the Second Nun and the Nun’s Priest, the average portrait is approximately 31 lines, ranging from 9 to 64.

Excluding the Wife of Bath, the average prologue is approximately 68 lines, ranging from 20 to 166.

Excluding the Knight, Man of Law, Clerk, Merchant, or Melibee prose, the average tale is approximately 469 lines, ranging from 58 to 896.

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XXII Rough Draft #1

There was a lady of noble birth,

Known throughout the country by all woman and man,

The lady, Elisabeth, wife to Stephen, the knight,

She was as well known and beloved as her husband,

First came a lady of noble birth,

A royal woman unlike any on earth,

She was a blonde woman of middle years,

Yet her vibrance could move a strong man to tears,

And her grace was ylik a tiger ykempt,

And by name she was yclept Elizabet,

She was well respected for her authority,

Yet without sacrificing her femininity,

It wit, she was a match for her husband, at least,

Yet both

Delicate in size, yet strong is spirit,

And fierce in temperament

venust (beautiful), amyable, lufli, druerie (darling, object of affection), gentil, wys, gleu (wise), spak (wise, quiet), witter (skillful), mainful (powerful), maysterful (powerful), maystresse, welden (to have power),

Friends with Richard Whittington and Thomas Knollys (Lord Mayors of London).

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XXIII Rough Draft #2

There was a lady of noble birth,

Known throughout the country by all woman and man,

The lady, Elisabeth, wife to Stephen, the knight,

She was as well known and beloved as her husband,

Alre-fyrst came a maystresse of gentil birth,

A roial wyf unliche aught else on erthe,

Sche was a wimman of elde, with heer of golde,

To any lauerding a sighte to behold,

Well-dressed she was, in a gown and blewe,

With kirtle beneath of the ocher hue,

Y-wimpled With a tretis veil and calle,

Eche cloth in the curraunt facion, att alle,

Her grace was ylik a tiger ykempt,

By name she was yclept Elizabet,

Maried was sche, to a knict of renome,

Hir second housband, Stephen was his nome,

As his wif sche was notable, but best on hir own, as a lady alre-mest

Of maysterful wit and regal quayntis.

Sche cun sermone wit lutel fayntise,

And y-glosed to the real moot to materes of worth. She was, as a widewe, notable for gret dignete and skyl.

She was well respected for her authority,

Yet without sacrificing her femininity,

It wit, she was a match for her husband, at least,

Yet both

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XXIV Rough Draft #3

Alre-fyrst came a maystresse of gentil birth,

A roial wyf unliche aught else on erthe,

Sche was a wimman of elde, with heer of golde,

To any lauerding a sighte to behold,

Well-dressed she was, in a gown and blewe,

With kirtle beneath of the ocher hue,

Y-wimpled With a tretis veil and calle,

Eche cloth in the curraunt facion, att alle,

Her grace was ylik a tiger ykempt,

By name she was yclept Elizabet,

Maried was sche, to a knict of renome,

Hir second housband, Stephen was his nome.

Both welden baronage, ful passyngly,

Her noblesse de robe, him noblesse d'epee.

As his wif sche was notable, but best on hir own, as a lady alre-mest

Of maysterful wit and regal quayntis.

Sche cun sermone wit lutel fayntise,

And y-glosed to the real moot to materes of worth. She was, as a widewe, notable for gret dignete and skyl.

She wolde al-so avaunt of hir orgel in hir barn-team, the hole sexe of hem, and wolde speke of ensamples aboute them.

Fram the heldeste childe Oliver, and a-doun, to Albert, the yongest knaue-child on-rounde, as well Sophia and Persephone, the twinne gerles, bothe lifli and gay.

Innen London, sche was well familier wit muchel of the sovereyn toun chauncelers, from Whittington to Knollys...

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XXV Works Cited

1) Ferguson, Margaret & Salter, Mary Jo & Stallworthy, Jon “The Norton Anthology of Poetry, Fifth Edition” W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, New York © 2005 Norton Critical Edition, Second Edition

The New Road: Noblewoman’s Portrait XXVI