Features a glossary of words commonly found in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales," compiled by Edwin Duncan. Links to the home pages of Towson University and the English Department.

This title was first published in 2002: The purpose of "Chaucer's Church" is to provide clear, concise and reliable explanations of every term Chaucer uses that has a religious, liturgical, or ecclesiastical meaning. It uses a dictionary format, arranged according to Chaucer's spellings, to make information readily accessible for students, teachers, critics, and the general reader. The shorter entries present brief definitions which are more lively and illuminating than those in standard dictionaries or glossaries; the longer entries are in fact short essays, with suggestions for further reading, on broader or more complex topics. In all cases the entries concentrate on lucid and accurate presentation of the meanings that the terms had or could have had for Chaucer and a 14th-century audience. The book is a compact but precise reference for readers of all levels of experience on the vocabulary of fourteenth-century religion, which is often unfamiliar or only hazily understood. A careful system of cross-references guides the reader to related terms, so that individual entries can be further explored in related or larger contexts. The book may also be browsed or read on its own, for the entries taken together, especially the brief essays, provide a coherent introduction to the Christian world of the late fourteenth century. In Chaucer's Church, the editors have succeeded in compiling a volume that combines ease of use with readability and rigorous accuracy. This book provides convenient and trustworthy access to Chaucer's religious world.

This Glossary, designed as a practical aid to the reading of Chaucer, is intended to be serviceable with any of the widely read editions. Its primary aim is to explain the meanings of words and phrases used by Chaucer in ways which are unfamiliar in modern English. Words used as they are today are not included, but many now in common use do appear, as they had different connotations in Chaucer's time. This concise working tool will be valuable to all Middle English scholars.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.