Chaucer
Themes of Nobility
in The Wife of Bath
AND OTHER KEY
CONCEPTS
, Gentillesse
What is “Gentillesse”?
“Gentillesse” translates as
“kindness” or “favor” from the
French, and serves a similar
purpose as the English “gentility”
The term is almost synonymous
with “nobility”, but refers to an
idealised set of traits possessed by
the aristocracy, rather than nobility
achieved through chivalrous
actions.
The classical sense of “gentilesse”
as it existed in the Middle Ages was
a positive, elite trait passed alolng
noble bloodlines.
2
Themes of Nobility
in The Wife of Bath
AND OTHER KEY
CONCEPTS
, Gentillesse
What is “Gentillesse”?
“Gentillesse” translates as
“kindness” or “favor” from the
French, and serves a similar
purpose as the English “gentility”
The term is almost synonymous
with “nobility”, but refers to an
idealised set of traits possessed by
the aristocracy, rather than nobility
achieved through chivalrous
actions.
The classical sense of “gentilesse”
as it existed in the Middle Ages was
a positive, elite trait passed alolng
noble bloodlines.
2
