5.5 First-Person Epistemic Parentheticals in Chaucer 151the Prioress’s forehead and quality of her cloak (19a) or his calculation of time
based on the length of his shadow (19b):
(19) a. But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed;/ It was almoost a spanne brood, I
trowe ;/ For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe./ Ful fetys was hir cloke, as
I was war. (1387– 1400 Chaucer, CT A.Prol. 154– 57)
‘But certainly she had a fair forehead; it was almost a span broad, I believe;
for, assuredly, she was not undergrown. Very elegant was her cloak, as
I was aware’
b. Foure of the clokke it was tho, as I gesse / For ellevene foot, or litel moore or
lesse,/ My shadwe was at thilke tyme ... (1387– 1400 Chaucer, CT I.Pars. 5– 7)
‘Four o’clock it was then, as I guess, for my shadow was eleven feet, or a
little more or less, at that time ...’
This is a context of occurrence associated above with discourse, not narration,
since, unlike the examples in (16) above, which look very similar, but like
those in (12), there is a postulated observer (Chaucer the pilgrim). Four of
the six examples of fi rst- person epistemic parentheticals in the external narra-
tion of Troilus and Criseyde also fall into categories connected with discourse,
namely, the expression of general truths (20a) and the attribution of beliefs to
another (20b):^17
(20) a. For ay the ner the fi r, the hotter is – / This, I trowe , knoweth al this com-
paignye. (1380– 86 Chaucer, TC I 449– 50)
‘For the nearer the fi re, the hotter it is – this, I believe, all this
company knows’
b. That in his herte he demed, as I gesse ,/ that ther nys lovere in this world at
ese/ So wel as he. (1380– 86 Chaucer, TC III 1727– 29)
‘that in his heart he thought, as I guess, that there isn’t a lover in this world
at ease as well as he’
These can be understood as direct addresses by the narrator to the reading/
listening audience, as shown, for example, by the use of al this compaignye in
(20a). External direct discourse can thus be defi ned as the external narration in
which the occurrence of fi rst- person epistemic parentheticals shows Chaucer
directly addressing his audience.^18
A summary of the contexts of occurrence of fi rst- person epistemic paren-
theticals can be found in Table 5.4.
17 The remaining two examples of fi rst- person epistemic parentheticals in the external narration
of TC fall into the categories identifi ed above for narrative: metacommentary concerning the
telling of the tale (II 1220) and emphatic description of plot detail (III 1370).
18 It is signifi cant that the four examples of external direct discourse that Ness and Duncan- Rose
give (1982: 311) all contain fi rst- person parentheticals, i.e., me thynketh ‘it seems to me,’ so
as it semed me ‘as it seemed to me’ (A.Prol. 35– 42), I gesse (A.Prol. 82), for aught I woot ‘for
aught I know’ (A.Prol. 389), and but wel I woot ‘but well I know’ (A.Prol. 659).