Chaucer's Wife of Bath's 'Foot-Mantel' and her 'Hipes Large'

Author / Editor
Beidler, Peter G.

Title
Chaucer's Wife of Bath's 'Foot-Mantel' and her 'Hipes Large'

Published
Chaucer Review 34: 388-97, 2000.

Description
In GP, the Wife's "foot-mantel" is not a "skirt," but a set of leggings or riding chaps, pulled up over the feet and legs from the bottom. "Large" refers not to the size of the Wife's hips, but to the loose drapery of the garment. The Wife may be smaller and more vulnerable than previously thought.

Chaucer Subjects
Wife of Bath and Her Tale.
General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.