Translating Middle English (Im)politeness: The Case of Geoffrey Chaucer’s <i>Miller’s Tale</i>

ABSTRACT Some of the bawdy details Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales continue to pose challenges translators, who must find renderings that are both descriptively and stylistically adequate. The Miller’s Tale provides an illustrative case study, in which drunken narrator describes Nicholas’s rather physical wooing carpenter’s wife Alisoun graphic detail. Existing translations key term queynte range from flowery euphemism straightforward vulgarism. An appropriate translation into present-day English needs be based not only on sound philological analysis, but also a careful evaluation register original Middle expression. This article offers corpus-based assessment relevant candidate expressions order propose captures level (im)politeness, towards his fellow pilgrims Chaucer readers.