Three Troublesome Lines in Chaucer's General Prologue: 11 (So priketh hem Nature), 176 (The space), 739 (Crist spak himself ful brode).

Published: Simon Horobin and Aditi Nafde, eds. Pursuing Middle English Manuscripts and Their Texts: Essays in Honour of Ralph Hanna (Turnhout: Brepols, 2017), pp. 225-39.

Description: Claims that line 11 is not parenthetical and that "so" is an adverb of degree, in "They sleep all night with their eyes open, nature pricks them so in their hearts." In line 176, "the space" means "in the meantime," and not the object of "held." As for line 736, ample evidence from the Gospels, the noncanonical sayings, and some Psalms makes clear how much latitude Jesus allowed himself in his speech--and Chaucer's own similar latitude, "sermo humilis" in imitation of Christ, marks his art as Christian.