FURTHER READING
Chism, Christine. Alliterative Revivals. Philadelphia: Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.
Duncan, Thomas G., ed. A Companion to the Middle English
Lyric. Cambridge and Rochester, N.Y.: Brewer, 2005.
Pearsall, Derek. Old English and Middle English Poetry. Lon-
don: Routledge & K. Paul, 1977.
Michael Modarelli
MIDDLE SCOTS literary language Early aca-
demic critics of the makars (Scottish court poets)
argued that Middle Scots (a term fi rst used in the Victo-
rian era) was purely a written construction and not a
genuine spoken language in Scotland. More recently,
however, scholars have argued that the Middle Scots
dialect was indeed a living speech, and that the poets’
genius was the incorporation of the rhythm and syn-
tax of this local speech into high poetic verse drawing
on a Chaucerian, French, and Latin tradition simulta-
neously. The Middle Scots poets themselves referred
to their language as Inglis, or English, mainly to dis-
tinguish themselves from Gaelic dialects rather than
linking themselves with English. Middle Scots devel-
oped directly from Old English and is in effect a
northern dialect of Middle English. The vocabulary of
the Middle Scots poems refl ect a heavy drawing on
Latin and French terms, and some poems such as
WILLIAM DUNBAR’s The Tretis of the Twa Mariit Wemen
and the Wedo refl ect the common speech of the Scots
people.
Even a casual reader of Middle Scots poetry will
immediately notice the orthography as markedly dif-
ferent from the more familiar Middle English spelling.
Many of the colloquial terms probably did not have
written counterparts at all, so the poets’ spelling of
some of these terms is arbitrary (such as widow ren-
dered as weido and wiedo). However, the truly distinc-
tive features of the Middle Scots forms are the use of
quh for wh (as in quhose and quhat), the use of sch for sh
(as in “schowris”), and the plural form is rather than es
(“lassis” and “rokkis”). Like nearly all medieval poetry,
Middle Scots poems are ultimately meant to be read
aloud, and the orthography is secondary to the rhythm
and rhyme of the words.
See also SCOTTISH CHAUCERIANS.
FURTHER READING
Corbett, John. Written in the Language of the Scottish Nation:
A History of Literary Translation into Scots. Somerset, U.K.:
Multilingual Matters, 1999.
Mark DiCicco“MILLER’S TALE, THE” GEOFFREY CHAUCER
(ca. 1388–1395) One of the most frequently stud-
ied of The CANTERBURY TALES, “The Miller’s Tale” is often
considered one of the most entertaining tales as well.
The action begins, however, in “The Miller’s Prologue.”
The Knight has just fi nished telling his tale, and accord-
ing to the dictates of social class, the Host invites the
Monk to go next. However, the drunk Miller interrupts
and offers to tell a tale that will “quite” (repay, l. 3126)
the Knight’s. Thus, the traditional hierarchy is dis-
rupted, and the pilgrimage thrown into disarray. The
Reeve protests the proposed tale on three grounds: It
will be insulting to carpenters (he is a carpenter), it will
be “harlotrie” (bawdy), and it will slander wives—the
latter two characteristics being true of “The REEVE’S
TALE” as well.
The story opens with an introduction to wealthy but
old John the Carpenter and his poor young lodger,
Nicholas, a student, who is handsome and charming.
John is married to an 18-year-old woman named Ali-
soun, of whom he is quite jealous and protective. As
the Miller notes, he kept her “narwe in cage” (l. 3224),
or closely guarded. Alisoun is attractive, well-dressed,
jolly, and clean—no suitable match for an old man.
Nicholas is attracted to Alisoun, and one day while
John is out, “prively he caughte hire by the queynte”
(discreetly he grabbed her by the cunt, l. 3276), mak-
ing known his desire. Alisoun protests, but Nicholas
pleads with her, and eventually she agrees to an affair
as long as her husband never fi nds out. The pair await
an opportunity.
Meanwhile, a prissy clerk named Absolon has
encountered Alisoun and fallen in love with her. Abso-
lon is a fastidious fop but schooled in the arts of
COURTLY LOVE. One night he serenades Alisoun under
her bedroom wndow, inciting John’s wrath and Ali-
soun’s disdain. Despite her obvious dislike, Absolon
continues in the throes of LOVESICKNESS.274 MIDDLE SCOTS