Chaucer's Works, Volume 5 — Notes to the Canterbury Tales

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Polit. Songs, ed. Wright, Camd. Soc. p. 254.

See note to l. 3713 below.

3140. Wyte it, lay the blame for it upon. of Southwerk, i. e. of the Tabard inn.

3143. 'Made a fool of the wright,' i. e. of the carpenter; cf. A. 586, 614; also A. 3911, and the note.

3145. The Reeve interferes, because he was a carpenter himself (A. 614). 'Let alone your ignorant drunken ribaldry.'

3152. A reference to a proverbial expression which is given in Rob. of Brunne's Handlyng Synne, 1892:—

'Men sey, ther a man ys gelous,

That "ther ys a kokewolde at hous."'

Compare also Le Roman de la Rose, 9167-9171, which expresses a similar opinion.