5.5 First-Person Epistemic Parentheticals in Chaucer 149‘I am so used to blowing in the fi re that it has changed my complexion,
I believe’
b. “God help me so, ye caused al this fare,/ Trowe I ,” quod she, “for al youre
wordes white.” (1380– 86 Chaucer, TC III 1566– 67)
‘ “God help me so, you caused all this ado, I believe,” she said, “with all of
your specious words” ’
Sixth, they may occur with deductions from evidence or judgments based on
appearances, as when the Manciple fi nds that the Cook’s eyes are glazed and
his breath is foul (12a), or Pandarus concludes that Troilus has seen Criseyde
and himself (12b):
(12) a. “Thyne eyen daswen eek, as that me thynketh ,/ And, wel I woot, thy breeth
ful soure stynketh.” (1387– 1400 Chaucer, CT H.Mcp. 31– 32)
‘Your eyes are dazed also, as it seems to me, and, well I know, your breath
stinks full sourly’
b. “ O fl e naught in (he seeth us, I suppose ),/ Lest he may thynken that ye hym
eschuwe.” (1380– 86 Chaucer, TC II 1254– 55)
‘Oh do not fl ee inside (he sees us, I suppose), lest he may think that you
shun him’
Seventh, they are used when a belief or feeling is attributed to another, as
when the Marquis tells Janicula that he is loyal to him (13a), or Calkas tells the
Greeks that they know his plans (13b):
(13) a. “Thou lovest me, I woot it wel certeyn ,/ And art my feithful lige man ybore
...” (1387– 1400 Chaucer, CT E.Cl. 309– 10)
‘You love me, I know it certainly well, and are my faithful liege man
born ...’
b. “Ye han er this wel herd me yow devyse;/ This know ye, my lordes, as
I leve .” (1380– 86 Chaucer, TC IV 80– 81)
‘You have before this well heard me describe to you; this you know, my
lords, as I believe’
Finally, they are used emphatically when promising or asserting:
(14) “Hir answere shal she have, I undertake .” (1387– 1400 Chaucer, CT E.Mch. 2317)
‘her answer she shall have, I declare’
Narration: First- person epistemic parentheticals would not – at fi rst
glance – appear to be compatible with narration since a narrator, especially an
omniscient narrator, should presumably not suffer from limitations of know-
ledge, but should be able to speak with certainty about the fi ctional world that
he or she has created. And, indeed, in the internal narration (the pilgrims’ nar-
ration of their tales) in The Canterbury tales , the contexts of occurrence of
fi rst- person epistemic parentheticals are quite limited.