The Palgrave Literary Dictionary Of Chaucer

The Palgrave Literary Dictionary of Chaucer Palgrave Literary Dictionaries Malcolm Andrew Palgrave Literary Dictionaries General Editor: Malcolm Andrew This series provides readers with concise and reliable guides to individual authors or groups of authors. Entries are arranged alphabetically and include topics and issues on literary works, fictional characters, places, historical, political and social contexts, intellectual influences, genre and critical traditions. Entries are cross-referenced as appropriate. Each Dictionary will include a practical introduction, bibliography of recommended further reading and a chronology of key events. Titles include: Malcolm Andrew THE PALGRAVE LITERARY DICTIONARY OF CHAUCER Forthcoming: Norman Page and Valerie Purton THE PALGRAVE LITERARY DICTIONARY OF ALFRED LORD TENNYSON Palgrave Literary Dictionaries Series Standing Order ISBN 0–333–98779–9 (Hardback) 0–333–99446–9 (Paperback) (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above. Customer Services Department, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Also by Malcolm Andrew THE POEMS OF THE PEARL MANUSCRIPT (ed. with Ronald Waldron, 1978) THE GAWAIN-POET: an Annotated Bibliography 1839–1977 (1979) TWO EARLY RENAISSANCE BIRD POEMS (ed. 1984) CRITICAL ESSAYS ON CHAUCER’S CANTERBURY TALES (ed. 1991) VARIORUM CHAUCER: The General Prologue (ed. with Charles Moorman and Daniel J. Ransom, 1993) GEOFFREY CHAUCER: The Canterbury Tales (revised version of edn by A.C. Cawley, 1996) Palgrave Literary Dictionaries The Palgrave Literary Dictionary of Chaucer Malcolm Andrew © Malcolm Andrew 2006 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2006 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN-13: 978–0–333–99808–3 hardback ISBN-10: 0–333–99808–1 hardback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Andrew, Malcolm. The