CHAUCER'S "PHISLYAS":

A PROBLEM IN PALEOGRAPHY AND LINGUISTICS

From The Chaucer Review, Volume 9, Number 2, Fall 1974
By Felipe de Ortego y Gasca

I ndeed, as Sister M. Madaleva points out, there is a linguistic barrier between Chaucer and
the reader of the later twentieth century.1 For not only are we today faced with the necessity
of reading Chaucer in "translation," as it were, or interlinear text in order to understand the
context, say, of the Canterbury Tales, but we are moreover reduced to the necessity of referring
to explanatory notes about Chaucer's lexicon. Even then we cannot be sure of the gloss. One such
example of lexical ambiguity occurs in the Epilogue to the Man of Law's Tale wherein Chaucer
has the Shipman say that he will tell the "compaignie" a tale
But it schal not ben of philosophie,
Ne phislyas, ne termes queinte of lawe.
(B1 1188-89)2
In their linguistic context we are well able to understand from the Shipman's words that he
proposes to tell his fellow pilgrims a story that will not be of philosophy or of law. We are hard
put, though, to determine exactly what the Shipman means by the word "phislyas." Moreover,
numerous manuscripts have carried variant spellings of the word, such as fyslias (Royal MS. 17
D.xv ), or phillyas (Sloane MS. 1685), even fisleas (Lansdowne MS. 851), and so forth.
Unfortunately, the word has not yet been glossed to everyone's complete satisfaction, though
many texts gloss the word as physic, a point I shall take up further on in the essay. In most
instances, however, the safest gloss has been, as F. N. Robinson notes, that the word is of
uncertain origin. Albert Baugh also glosses "phislyas" as being of unknown origin. However, if
we consider J. R. Hulbert's contention that the plan of the Canterbury Tales "is a conspectus of
medieval English society,"3 then we may reasonably, I think, look for the meaning of Chaucer's
"phislyas" not only in the linguistic context of the Shipman's words but also in their cultural
content as well. But let us first consider what has been said of Chaucer's "phisylas."
According to Charles W. Dunn, "The Shipman so thoroughly garbles the pronunciation of
whatever unfamiliar term he may have had in mind that it is impossible to determine what he
intended to say."4 The evidence to support such a contention is exiguous, to say the least. For if
this is the case, then "phislyas" is the only "garbled" word in the Shipman's text, considering that
the vocabulary of his story includes such words as "Malmsey" and "Vernage," not counting a
number of French expressions. In this light, Dunn's explanation is therefore much too simple to
serve as an illuminating gloss. George Shipley, on the other hand, tried to support the manuscript
reading of "phislyas" as physic by supplying a gloss that gives "phislyas" an Anglo-Saxon
etymology: phisillos plus leceas (i.e. leeches, physicians),5 which would, as Robinson points out,
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The Chaucer Review, Vol. 9, No. 2. Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park and
London.

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serve "to illustrate the scribal corruption"6 rather than to shed light on the actual meaning of the
word. In this same vein, R. C. Coffin suggested that the original reading of "phislyas" was filar,
the Anglo-French word for "files" or "cases."7 A. C. Cawley has also glossed the word as
possibly meaning legal files or cases,8 and a number of subsequent explanations have tended to
connect the word with law rather than medicine. This line of argument has been further
supported by the fact that John Matthews Manly finally came around to thinking filas probably
"offers the key to the enigma," suggesting that Chaucer intentionally characterized the ignorant
Shipman as using a corrupted form of the word in much the same manner as the Host
"disfigures" certain words.9 Despite the accuracy of Manly's conclusion that the unsatisfactory
explanation of "phislyas" proves nothing save that we do not know fourteenth century English
well enough, the principal difficulty with his explanation, as with Dunn's, is that we run aground
seeking concordance or meaning in the Shipman's lines by trying to fit the suggested words files
or cases into the triad which the Shipman rejects. Conceding Manly's point that perhaps filace
may have been the underlying word, a redundancy of items becomes immediately apparent, not
to mention the fact that the lexical interpretation emerges at the expense of the syntactic
probability of the series. Is the Shipman saying that his story will not be of philosophy, or "legal"
files (or cases), or quaint terms of law? Why should he refer twice to law? This tends to seriously
undermine the rhetorical balance of the lines and the logic of the images the Shipman marshals
by his words. These explanations must consequently be rejected in favor of one which not only
aligns the proper images Chaucer may have had in mind for the Shipman but which completes
the triad syntacticalIy in terms of the pilgrims' cultural-linguistic milieu.
Some commentators contend that the word "phislyas" is of Irish origin, suggesting that
Chaucer's Shipman was moved to utter a Gaelic word in what must pass as a sort of prologue to
his tale. Let us look at the components of such a gloss. The explanation would have to consider
first the Gaelic word fisi, which means "visions," coupled to the Gaelic word lias, which means
"stones" (that is: large stones or boulders or monoliths), which when put together would give us
the word "fisilias," meaning "the vision of a large stone." But this meaning doesn't fit the context
of the Shipman's utterance either. Why should he tell the "compaignie" of travelers that his tale
will not be of philosophy, or of visions of large stones, or of quaint terms of law? Chaucer has
not abandoned the logic of the sentence here nor has there been anything thus far in the text of
the tales to warrant such a singularly cryptic expression (though one would assume not cryptic to
the pilgrims), unless the reference has to do with the "rokkes blake" of the Franklin's Tale, which
would not square then with the sequence of the Tales as they are thought to be presently ordered.
Walter W. Skeat suggested that the original reading of "phislyas" might be physices, a Greek
genitive such as was used in titles, as Metamorphosios is used in the Man of Law's introduction
(B1 93), and certainly with reference to the Physics of Aristotle.10 Robinson notes, however, "the
strange Greek form would explain the scribal corruptions, but it is unlikely that Chaucer would
have put it into the mouth of the Shipman."11 Why not? we might ask. Simply because the
exigencies of the Shipman's words are such that he means only to clarify the nature of his story
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in terms of the negative particles which precede the nouns. Other attempts to link the word
specifically to Greek origins have suggested that "phislyas" is simply a scribal corruption of the
Greek word philysis, which means affection. Again we are faced with the problem of fitting the
proffered word into the context of the Shipman's speech. Does it make sense for the Shipman to
tell his companions that his entretien will not be of philosophy, or of affection, or of quaint terms
of law? I think not, unless the Shipman has Constance in mind (from the Han of Law's Tale
which has just been told) and has equated her perseverance with a kind of affection. But I rather
doubt this since the Shipman makes it explicit that his tale will not be of quaint terms of law,
here referring ironically, I suggest, to the Man of Law, who has just finished his story. The irony
in the Shipman's expression is reinforced, I believe, by the fact that the Man of Law announces
he will "speke in prose," but actually speaks in verse. Moreover, considering the reputation of
pilgrimages in Chaucer's time, especially pilgrimages to Canterbury, it may be that a Canterbury
Tale had come to be understood by Chaucer's audience as a special kind of tale, involving a
particular kind of pilgrim given to rascality.12 The ironic intent in the Shipman's words is simply
meant to underscore the fact that the tales thus far told have not been about what he says his tale
will not be. This may simply be one of those "inside" jokes which we find difficult to fathom
from our point in time in terms of the text as it has come down to us. Perhaps this is one of those
instances which illustrates Chaucer's knack for "getting a laugh," as Albert Baugh put it.13
Though the Shipman may have made his announcement with a straight face, just as he may
have pitched his voice in a falsetto at the lines "The rely housbonde, algate he moot page,/ He
moot us clothe, and he moot us arraye" (B1 1201-02), the fact of the matter is that he goes on to
tell a story that embodies "philosophy," "law," and "phislyas," contrary to his prefatory remarks.
Despite the fact that some speculation considers the tale as having first been assigned to the Wife
of Bath, the tale itself should in no way surprise us: that is, in content, since the tellers so far
have not told the kinds of tales specifically related to their occupations. In fact, their stories have
been sharp contrasts to their vocations.
However, to mine out the Greek possibilities of meaning for the word "phislyas" we might
take a look at the word phis, which means "to come from," and if lyas were just a scribal
corruption of aleos, meaning "wind," we would end up with the word phisaleos, meaning "to
come from the wind." Does the Shipman actually mean that his story will not be "windy,"
anymore than it will not be about philosophy or of quaint terms of law? Of course the knotty
problem in such an explanation still lies in clearing up the contextual meaning of the lines in the
Shipman's speech. And, indeed, the perplexity of the problem is increased trying to fit the
meaning of phisaleos into the context of the Shipman's utterance without violently wrenching the
syntax of the lines. Unfortunately, there is no Greek word "phislyas"; or a Latin word "phislyas"
or "fisleas" for that matter.
Passing on to less speculative glosses, the word "phislyas" has been identified by some
readers as a variant of the Castillian word "fi hio" (son) or "fillia" (daughter) or even "figlia"
(Italian for daughter) . In this case, as in the others, inserting this meaning into the Shipman's
announcement just doesn't make sense. Is he saying his story will not be of philosophy, or of
(sons) or (daughters), or of quaint terms of law? The lines make linguistic sense all right, but fall
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short of lexical compatibility in the triad which the Shipman has set up.
There is one last gloss we might take a look at In keeping with her suggestion that the
Shipman is to be identified as John Piers, the Biscayan, Margaret Galway ventures that the word
"phislyas" derives from the Basque word "phizlea," which means "edifier."114
The Shipman could hardly mean that he shall tell a story which will not be of philosophy, or
edification, or of quaint terms of law, for the point of his story is precisely to "edify" his
audience in some way. I fear that inserting "edification" tagmemically into the slot occupied by
the word "phislyas" not only fails to yield meaningful grammatic relationship between the
members of the Shipman's triad but violates the logic of the series as a lexical set. The expression
could of course be explained in terms of ironic intent, but I hardly think so since the Shipman's
series consists of two readily identifiable abstract nouns. It stands to reason, I think, that in terms
of semantic parallel the "missing link" must be a noun of like quality as its companions in the
series.
In attempting to clear up this problem, let us first of all take into account that the Canterbury
Tales, as a "conspectus" of Chaucer's time, brings to our view the spectacle of the human
comedy in fourteenth-century England. As such it exposes a variety of types, all parading their
infirmities before us: the Wife of Bath is deaf, the Summoner has a scurvy eczema under his
thick black eyebrows, the Miller has a red-bristled wart on the end of his nose, the Cook has a
sore on his "shin." But worst of all, most of them are suffering from the ailment of the seven
deadly sins upon which the Parson comments in the last tale. In the motley collection are a
lawyer, a philosopher, and a physician, the latter of whom Chaucer describes in the General
Prologue as
... a verray, parfit praktisour:
The cause yknowe, and of his harm the roote,
Anon he yaf the sike man his boote.
Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries
To sende hym drogges and his letuaries...
(A 422-26)
Do these lines in any way reflect Chaucer's attitude toward medieval sciences in general and
medicine in particular? Walter Clyde Curry nods affirmatively, though cautioning that to
twentieth-century readers and critics "Chaucer's use of the mediaeval sciences represents an
exceedingly difficult problem of complicated aspect."15 Chaucer has certainly characterized the
Doctor of Physic not only as a practical physician but as one acquainted also with the
"theoretical" aspects of medieval medicine, for he could readily diagnose the origin of diseases in
terms of the humors.
But we cannot be sure if Chaucer's forty-four line description of the Doctor of Physic is a
satire on medieval medicine or simply a literary character-sketch of physicians of the time.
While Curry disputes the satiric intent of the Doctor's description, he nevertheless concedes that
"covert references might seem to indicate a healthy skepticism regarding empirical remedies."16
For instance, at the end of the Physician's tale, the Host says

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 I pray to God so save thy gentil cors,
And eek thyne urynals and thy jurdones,
Thyn ypocras, and eek thy galiones,
And every boyste ful of thy letuarie....
(C 304-07)
The tone is playfully derisive here. The Host cautions the "com- paignie" to save their urynal
and jurdone flasks while referring to ypocras and galiones, beverages named after Hippocrates
and Galen. These lines are fraught with implications. The Host also mentions a letuarie, that is,
an "electuary," a confection compounded by introducing a sweet substance, such as syrup or
honey, to a medicinal base. In medieval medicine an electuary in the form of a pill covered with
a fine film of gold was dropped into a liquid to make a medicinal cordial. Moreover, in the
General Prologue Chaucer tells us that the Doctor "kepte that he wan in pestilence / For gold in
phisik is a cordial" (A 442-43). Chaucer suggests that the good doctor was quick to prescribe a
cordial of aurum potabile, the "elixir of life," during periods of pestilence, perhaps not
necessarily for the good of the patient but, as Curry implies, because a little "gold in phisik"
increased the price of the medicine.17
At this point I would like to suggest that the Shipman must obviously be refering to medicine
or "physic" in the word "phislyas," not only because the doctor is an integral member of the
company of travelers and therefore an integral character in the Tales, but because it seems quite
likely the lexical set Chaucer has in mind is "philosophy, law, and medicine," especially since
the three principal medieval studies happened to be philosophy, law, and physic (i.e. medicine).
Hence, the word "phislyas" must bear some connection with medicine, and as such would readily
fit not only the contextual configuration of the lines but maintain the cultural correspondence as
well, whereas other suggested connections have not. Thus the lexical problem of Chaucer's
"phislyas" is resolved, I think, if we accept the proposition that the Shipman quite likely may
have had in mind the three principal medieval studies in his announcement. Consequently, those
texts that gloss the word as "phisik" are right.
But why does the Shipman unequivocally identify philosophy and law, while choosing a
word like "phislyas" to identify medicine? The answer, I suggest, is that the term medicine, while
not of recent origin, nevertheless had only recently come to connote the science of healing and
was of recent usage in connection with that science. The Middle English word for the study of
medicine (a considerably less precise and less respected study than philosophy and law in the
Middle Ages) was "physic" or "fisyke." No doubt the Shipman's choice of word was meant to be
not only derisive but perhaps reflective of Chaucer's attitude toward medieval medicine in
particular and science in general. Moreover, there may be, perhaps, a Chaucerian pun imbedded
in the word "phislyas," for the possibility has sometimes been suggested that Chaucer may have
had in mind the Middle English word "fisten-le," meaning "to break wind." The word finds
etymological correspondence in the Scandinavian word "fise" and in the Icelandic word "fisa,"
both meaning "to break wind"; in both languages, the "le" was a frequent and diminutive suffix.
However, the Shipman's words pose a corollary question about the sequence of tales.18 The

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Ellesmere arrangement has certainly raised some doubts among Chaucerian scholars, just as
there are still many who are critical of the sequence finally approved by the Chaucer Society. It
is important to note at this juncture, as William W. Lawrence suggests, that Chaucer's "final
design for the arrangement of the tales, so far as we can follow it, is best revealed by allusions in
them and in the linking material." 19 In this regard, perhaps the assigned positions of the
Physician's Tale, the Pardoner's Tale, and the Man of Law's Tale should be reconsidered in light
of the Shipman's announcement. The implications here all too clearly suggest that stories dealing
with philosophy and law have already been told.
I realize, of course, that I haven't shed any additional light on the actual meaning of
Chaucer's "phislyas," but the fact of the matter is that we really don't know fourteenth-century
English well enough to solve linguistic riddles of this sort. I might hazard a guess, though, and
suggest that at heart the enigma of "phisylas" may be a vocopaleographic one. That is to say,
there is no telling how certain phonetic features of Chaucer's English may have been scribally or
graph- ically rendered on the page. We are faced not only with variation in handwriting of the
various scribes through which Middle English manuscripts passed, but we are also faced with
possible differences in orthography.20 For example, in Middle English the word "such" had
variant written forms like swilk, swich, and soche, creating myriad phonological implications. In
this light we might reconsider the fact that the word "phislyas" has been variously spelled in
different manuscripts, which would certainly confirm the fact of scribal corruption, or error.
From the point of view of graphemic analysis there are any number of wild and blind
directions we might pursue in determining Chaucer's text. Unfortunately, we don't have the
linguistic data to support this kind of speculation from the remains of Middle English,
particularly Chaucer's texts-which surely suggests the desirability, as Angus McIntosh suggests,
for a closer working relationship between the paleographer and the linguist in the area of
historical paleography and historical legolinguistics.21
1. Sister M. Madaleva, C.S.C., A Lost Language and Other Essays on Chaucer (Boston: Russell & Russell, 1951).
See Author's Note.
2. Albert C. Baugh, ed., Chaucer's Major Poetry (New York: Appleton, 1963). Further references to the Canterbury
Tales are from this work.
3. J. R. Hulbert, "Chaucer's Pilgrims," PMLA, 64 (1949), 823.
4. Charles W. Dunn, A Chaucer Reader (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1952), p. 40.
5. George Shipley, "Arrangement of the Canterbury Tales," MLN, 10 (1895), 134.
6. F. N. Robinson, ed. The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1957), p. 697.
7. R. C. Coffin, "Notes on Chaucer," MLR, 18 (1923), 336.
8. A. C. Cawley, Geoffrey Chaucer: Canterbury Tales (New York: Dutton, 1958), p. 157.
9. John Matthews Manly, ed., Canterbury Tales (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1928), p. 573.
10. Shipley, p. 134.
11. Robinson, p. 697.
12. G. G. Coulton, Chaucer and his England (London: Methuen, 1908), p. 125.
13. Albert C. Baugh, "Chaucer the Man," Companion to Chaucer Studies, ed. Beryl T. Rowland (Toronto: Oxford
University Press, 1968), p. 14.
14. Margaret Galway, "A Basque Word in Chaucer," Times Literary Supplement (October 3, 1942), p. 492.
15. Walter Clyde Curry, Chaucer and the Mediaeval Sciences (New York: Barnes & Noble, 1960), p. xvi.
16. Ibid., p. 27.
17. Ibid., p. 31ff.
18. Shipley, pp. 135-36.

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19. William Witherle Lawrence, "Me Shipman s Tale," Chaucer and his Contemporaries, ed. Helaine Newstead
(New York: Fawcett, 1988), p. 202.
20. Angus McIntosh, "The Analysis of Written Middle English," Troniact{ons of the Philological Society (1956),
26ff.
21. Ibid; legolinguistics is the study of writing systems, current and past, while paleography is the study of old
writing systems.

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