Paper and Culture in Medieval England

Abstract

Why paper? Chaucer chooses paper and other exquisite objects to define one of the most significant moments in his late fourteenth-century version of the love story between Dido and Aeneas. A sturdy horse as white as paper carries Dido to meet Aeneas and his retinue in order to go hunting. A red saddle, Chaucer notes, adorns the horse and is delightfully embroidered with embossed bars of gold. Dido is covered in precious stones, and gold and is as beautiful as a bright morning. Chaucer associates paper with rich embroideries, gold and gems. In this association, paper stands out as an unusual material for comparison, both for the novelty of the lexical choice and the adaptation of the source. Chaucer reads paper as a precious, beautiful and luxurious material, rather than a utilitarian, cheap and worthless surface, creating a surprising contrast for a modern reader who often expects medieval paper to be a serviceable writing tool. Chaucer achieves this effect intentionally by substantially reinterpreting Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid. A close analysis of the poet’s adaptation of the Aeneid will