.@euanroger shows us part of why these records weren't available for ages—they're rolled up wads of scrolls that look half-fossilized
Oct 11, 2022 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
Why are so many medievalists in a tizzy today? New docs!
Context: Geoffrey Chaucer, aka “the Father of English Literature,” aka that dude who was definitely on your Brit lit survey course, may or may not have paid $$ to settle and hush a rape case. In 1380. 1/
What we have: 1. A court doc in which one Cecily Chaumpaigne releases him from the charge of “raptus.” (Rape…or abduction. Lotta ink spilled on that one.) 2. A more public and accessible court doc in which she releases him from stuff. Just…stuff. Unspecified. 2/
