Chaucer and Costume : The Secular Pilgrims in the General Prologue
- Author / Editor
- Hodges, Laura F.
Chaucer and Costume : The Secular Pilgrims in the General Prologue
- Published
- Cambridge : D. S. Brewer, 2000.
- Physical Description
- xiv, 285 pp : 8 color, 17 b&w illus.
- Series
- Chaucer Studies, no. 26.
- Description
- Explores the variety, subtleties, and complexities of Chaucer's "costume rhetoric" in GP, examining how details of the secular pilgrims' dress and accoutrement capitalize on late-medieval English clothing practice and extend literary tradition. Clothing could "mean" in various ways in medieval culture, and Chaucer's "Gothic" variety of costume encourages us to read the details literally and figuratively, seeking to comprehend fully the material, social, and literary codes of medieval dress. Discusses all of the secular pilgrims, especially the Knight, Squire, Merchant, Wife of Bath, and Sergeant at Law. Considers fabrics, colors, styles of dress, hats, shoes, gloves, swords, knives, and so forth, explaining terminology and exploring cultural associations. Includes an extensive index.
- Chaucer Subjects
- General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales.
- Knight and His Tale.
- Man of Law and His Tale.
- Wife of Bath and Her Tale.
- Merchant and His Tale.
- Squire and His Tale.