WRITING AUTHORITY IN LATE MEDIEVAL ... - Cornell University

In this frame, the terms “dyameter” and “costa,” along with the drawn quadrangle would
reflect a desire to appropriate Latinate pedagogical traditions in vernacular terms. In this manner,
Trevisa’s tangential geometric lesson could not only define abstract terminology, but it would
also follow the medieval pedagogical tradition in helping a reader understand the geometric
relationship through algorithmic, and not deductive, steps. 399 The drawing, as well as the lengthy
aside and definition of terms, could have at least an immediate purpose of coming to the
conclusion how “it may not be knowe in nombrarie in what proporcioun þe dyameter is longere
þan costa.” Thus, the text could not only dispel all lexical doubts about what a figure “foure
lynes liche longe” looks like but even provide a short geometrical lesson.
That Trevisa’s debt to other textual traditions could conflict with his pedagogical
purpose, however, does not fully account for the tangential qualities of his commentary. After
all, Trevisa does not simply define “costa” as any type of side in a figure—just as Giles does—
but he follows Aristotle more closely and calls “costa” the side of a “quadrate.” True, we can
argue that Trevisa knew that Giles had this particular shampe in mind or that Trevisa merely
wished to find a figure to make his point concrete. Nevertheless, the context that occasions
Trevisa’s aside, “for no man axeþ consaille of þe dyameter þat may not be imeete by þe costa,”
does not require that we think of square to understand this passage—only that we understand
how a diameter may not be measured by the side. Trevisa’s additions, therefore, do not simply
teach a concept but also cite, what Katherine Breen calls a textual habitat—in this case an
Aristotelian allusion—without really furthering our conceptual understanding. Assuming that
Trevisa’s vernacular translation merely appropriates Latinate traditions, like Breen argues,
however, does not answer why Trevisa chose to supplement his pedagogical intent with a foreign
399 Shelby 395.
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