'The Nun's Priest's Tale' and the Liberal Arts

Author / Editor
Bishop, Ian.

Title
'The Nun's Priest's Tale' and the Liberal Arts

Published
Review of English Studies 30 (1979): 257-67.

Description
A framework for the function of the medieval world of learning in NPT can be found in the scheme of the Seven Liberal Arts (grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, astrology, arithmetic, geometry, and music). Although arithmetic and geometry are too abstract to be considered here, the other five merit exploration, with dialectic being the most important for a study of Chaucer's intention.
Under the influence of feminine charm, Chauntecleer gives up the dialectician's ability to make significant distinctions.

Chaucer Subjects
Nun's Priest and His Tale.