Corpus Dominus Chaucer has clever ways of commenting on his characters. Here, he lets us know that the Host is not an expert in Latin. He meant to say "corpus Domini," which means "the body of our Lord."
Saint Augustine (354-430) One of the great church fathers, he consolidated the diverse elements of the early church and authored Confessions and The City of God.
Bush unburnt, burning in Moses' sight F.N. Robinson maintains, "The figure of the burning bush … was of course a familiar symbol of the Virgin" (The Poems of Chaucer, page 840). God appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush to give him instructions about receiving the Ten Commandments.
O Alma Redemptoris Latin, meaning "O redemptive soul."
usury lending money at an exorbitant interest rate
greyn This word in Chaucer's time carried many meanings, such as a grain of corn, a grain of paradise, and, most important, a pearl. Throughout medieval literature, the pearl takes on heavy significance; it can represent purity, chastity, innocence, and other related virtues.
a new Rachel Rachel was the wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and was regarded in medieval times as prefiguring Christ.
