cler adj.

2022-07-22 cler

TR3.127 “Whăt thát Ĭ méne, Ŏ swétĕ hértĕ déerĕ?”
TR3.128 Quŏd Tróĭlús, “Ŏ góodly̆, frésshĕ frée,
TR3.129 Thăt wíth thĕ strémĕs óf yŏure éyĕn cléerĕ
TR3.130 Yĕ wóldĕ sómty̆me fréndly̆ ón mĕ sée,
TR3.131 Ănd thánne ăgréen thát Ĭ máy bĕn hé,
TR3.132 Wĭthóutĕn bráunche ŏf více ŏn ány̆ wísĕ,
TR3.133 Ĭn tróuthe ălwéy tŏ dón yŏw mý sĕrvísĕ,

Line Information

Differences among the manuscripts and editions:
English translation (Windeatt: 1998) (Windeatt: 1998): ‘What do I mean, O sweet, dear heart?’ said Troilus. ‘O excellent, pure, noble one, that with the beams of your bright eyes you would sometimes look at me in a friendly way, and then agree that — without a trace of wrongdoing in any way — I may be the one who is always to do you faithful service,
Japanese translation (Sasamoto: 2012) (Sasamoto: 2012): 「どういうつもりかだって？おお美しい心の持ち主の君」とトロイルスは言った。「おお、優しく清々しく高雅なお方、君の澄んだ眼差しで時折おれを親しげに見てほしいということと、おれはどんな不行跡もなく、いつも誠実に君に尽くす男となることに同意してほしいということです。
Chinese translation (Fang: 1956) (Fang: 1956): “我的意思吗，啊，亲爱的心？”特罗勒斯道，“啊，仁慈，鲜丽，高贵的可人儿，我求你的明亮的眼中放出慈光，暖照着我，我没有丝毫恶意，允许我永远忠诚地侍候你，

Word Information

Etymology: OF
Addresser: Troilus
Addressee: Criseyde
Adjectives with which juxtaposed: N/A
Counterpart in its source (Fil): N/A
Noun(s) (NPs) modified: external parts of body (eyes)
Attributive/ Predicative: predicative

Information in Previous Studies

OED: Not quoted
MED: Not quoted

Commented in other previous works:
Windeatt (2003: 128): cleere: bright
Fisher (1989: 450): clere: bright
Benson (1987): N/A
Davis et al. (1979): Not quoted
Donaldson (1975): N/A
Baugh (1963): N/A

Possible Definitions

bright; beautiful

Comments from the Editor

The two protagonists meet for the first time in private. This scene is added by Chaucer, and in the corresponding part of Fil, we find Pandaro attempting to persuade Criseida to meet Troiolo (2.133–43), and Criseida finally agrees to let Troiolo visit her.

Throughout the story, Troilus repeatedly mentions Criseyde’s eyes. We also find Troilus kissing Criseyde’s eyes, exclaiming ‘O eyen clere,/It weren ye that wroughte me swich wo,/Ye humble nettes of my lady deere’ (3.1353–55). After Criseyde visits the Greek camp—when Troilus recollects the time he spent with her—he often refers to her eyes (5.220, 566). This fact is also confirmed by Houston (1984: 6): ‘[I]n Book V when reminiscing about that first meeting he … remembers, rather, her “eyen cleare”’. The eyes play a vitally important role in love and affairs of the heart, and as Klassen (1995: 105–6) mentions, ‘[p]assion develops from sight’. Saunders (2019: 102) reminds us that Chaucer develops in the story ‘the physiology of love rooted in the neo-Platonic convention of the connection between the eyes and the heart’. Therefore, we can conclude that Criseyde’s eyes play a vital role in the story.