Herbal Imagery in Chaucer's 'Miller's Tale'
- Author / Editor
- Nitzsche, Jane Chance.
Herbal Imagery in Chaucer's 'Miller's Tale'
- Published
- Chaucer Newsletter 2.1 (1980): 6-8.
- Description
- Licorice, according to medieval herbals, quenched thirst (thus allowing Nicholas to stay in his room for a long time?). Cetewale, as zedoary, dispels gas (Nicholas' fart?). It is also an aphrodisiac and the "nardus" of Canticles, a symbol for the Lord's passion. Commentaries on Nardus encourage us to see Nicholas as a parody of Christ the Lover.
- Chaucer Subjects
- Miller and His Tale.