Theories of Language in the
Middle Ages: Chaucer’s Inventions in The Pardoner’s Tale
In the medieval period,
theories of language were officially explored and conceptualized
exclusively by scholars in Latin. But by the late Middle Ages, literary
artists had begun engaging theories of language in the vernacular and
other unorthodox ways. This presentation considers poetic experimentations
in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Pardoner’s Tale as they signal the formulation of
a theory of language that potentially works to elevate the cultural status of Middle English
and its literary traditions.
- Tags
-