The Language of the Chaucer Tradition

Author / Editor
Horobin, Simon.

Title
The Language of the Chaucer Tradition

Published
Cambridge : D. S. Brewer, 2003.

Physical Description
x, 179 pp.

Series
Chaucer Studies, no. 32.

Description
Horobin explores how linguistic issues affect questions of attribution, reception, and manuscript authority, focusing not only on lexicon but also on orthography, phonology, and grammar. The language of the Hengwrt manuscript of CT (perhaps produced as a text for oral presentation) is closer to Chaucer's original language than has previously been thought; the language of Ellesmere (perhaps produced for silent reading) is much more regularized. .
Linguistic evidence in Equat does not support Chaucerian authorship, while new evidence about the London dialect suggests reconsideration of Chaucer's authorship of the B and C fragments of Rom. Fifteenth-century scribes were careful to preserve details of Chaucer's language, even archaic or dialectal features, resisting fifteenth-century movement toward a standardized English language.

Chaucer Subjects
Language and Word Studies.
Manuscripts and Textual Studies.
Equatorie of the Planetis.
Romaunt of the Rose.