Chaucer's Monogram and the 'Hoccleve Portrait' Tradition

Author / Editor
Bragg, Lois.

Title
Chaucer's Monogram and the 'Hoccleve Portrait' Tradition

Published
Word & Image 12:1 (1996): 127-42.

Description
Read in accord with the medieval one-handed alphabet, the hand positions in Chaucer's Hoccleve portrait form the monogram GC. These positions appear to be a constant in the tradition of Chaucer portraiture, including the Ellesmere miniature. Such devices were used in medieval portraiture to particularize otherwise typical and timeless images.

Chaucer Subjects
Background and General Criticism.