TR5.792 “Bŭt whósŏ mýghtĕ wýnnĕn swích ă flóur TR5.793 Frŏm hým fŏr whóm shĕ mórnĕth nýght ănd dáy, TR5.794 Hĕ mýghtĕ séyn hĕ wére ă cónquĕróur.” TR5.795 Ănd ríght ănón, ăs hé thăt bóld wăs áy, TR5.796 Thóughte ĭn hĭs hértĕ, “Háppĕ hów hăppe máy, TR5.797 Ăl shólde Ĭ dýe, Ĭ wól hĭre hértĕ séchĕ! TR5.798 Ĭ shál nămórĕ lésĕn bút my̆ spéchĕ.”
Line Information
- Differences among the manuscripts and editions:
- English translation (Windeatt: 1998): But whoever might win such a flower from him for whom she mourns night and day, he might say he were a conqueror.’ And straightaway, bold as always, he thought to himself: ‘Come what may, even though it kills me, I’ll try to win her heart! I shan’t lose anything more than my words.’
- Japanese translation (Sasamoto: 2012): だが、彼女によって昼夜恋しく嘆き悲しまれている男からこのような花を勝ち取る者こそ、誰であれ、その者は征服者だと言えるだろう。」そして、例の如く大胆な男だったので、すぐに、心の中でひそかに考えた。「何が起ころうと、たとえ死のうとも、彼女の心を求めよう。失ってもたかが自分の言葉だけだ。」
- Chinese translation (Fang: 1956): 可是，谁若果真能把这朵花由她日夜思量的情人手中夺取过来，的确可以算得一个英雄了。”他本是有胆量的人，立刻这样思索着，“姑且不管怎样，让我试探一下她的心，即使死了也甘心；除却多费些口舌而外，于我并无何等损失。”
Word Information
- Etymology: from bald
- Addresser: Narrator
- Addressee: N/A
- Adjectives with which juxtaposed: N/A
- Counterpart in its source (Fil): “grande ardire” (great daring) (6.11, 1), “gran cuor” (stout heart) (6.11, 2)
- Noun(s) (NPs) modified: human beings (male: Diomede)
- Attributive/ Predicative: predicative
Information in Previous Studies
- OED: Not quoted
- MED: Not quoted
- Commented in other previous works:
- Windeatt (2003): N/A
- Fisher (1989): N/A
- Benson (1987): N/A
- Davis et al. (1979): Not quoted
- Donaldson (1975): N/A
- Baugh (1963): N/A
Possible Definitions
brave; Of persons: overconfident, forward, rash; brazen, presumptuous, shameless, impudent;
Comments from the Editor
No previous studies have commented on ‘bold’ in the above quotation. If we read it literally, it can mean ‘brave’ and ‘confident’, but it can also be interpreted negatively. When Clark and Wasserman (1984, 318) refer to this scene, they argue that Diomede is a manipulator, a sinister man who snares people’s hearts. The two authors might be right. Although Diomede knows Criseyde is fond of another man, he still wants to ‘win such a flower from him for whom she mourns night and day’ and so be called a conqueror. Obviously, what he tries to do is dishonourable. This gives us enough reason to interpret ‘bold’ here as ‘overconfident, forward, rash; brazen, presumptuous, shameless, impudent’. In the same place, Boccaccio says that Diomede is a man of ‘grande ardire’ (great daring) (Fil. 6.11, 1) and of ‘gran cuor’ (stout heart) (Fil. 6.11, 2), but Chaucer reduced the two expressions into a single ‘bold’, making it ambiguous.