Wednesday, March 11, 2020

Chaucer's color vision

Chaucer didn't have words for the colors like orange, but he could see them.

Canterbury Tales

Knight's Tale, 1273-4
The cercles of his eyen in his heed,
They glowéden bitwyxen yelow and reed
Nun's Priest's Tale, 136-7
His colour was bitwixe yelow and reed,
And tipped was his tayl and bothe hise eeris;