The Grain of Paradise.

Author / Editor
Beichner, Paul E.

Title
The Grain of Paradise.

Published
Speculum 36 (1961): 302-07.

Description
Assesses previous explanations of the "greyn" placed on the clergeon's tongue in PrT (7.662ff.), including comments on analogues, and suggests that it is best understood as a "grain of paradise," i.e., the seed capsule of Aframomum melegueta (Roscoe), similar to cardamom, used as a medieval medicinal spice.

Chaucer Subjects
Prioress and Her Tale
Language and Word Studies
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations