Home › Glossary › Letter C

Clergie

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A medieval tradition of learned or scholarly poetry, often composed by clerics, reflecting theological, philosophical, or didactic themes in Latin or vernacular.

Detailed Definition
Clergie (or “clergié”) is an archaic French term denoting the body of clergy or, more broadly, sacred knowledge and poetic authority derived from religious learning; in medieval poetry, it signifies the poet’s claim to wisdom, moral insight, or divine inspiration, distinguishing learned verse from popular or secular song, and appears in works like the Roman de la Rose where clerical erudition shapes allegorical and didactic content.
Example
Example in poetry:
Clergie: Medieval term for clergy’s poetic authority; Chaucer’s “Parson’s Tale” exemplifies clerical didactic verse; Rare today, but echoes in religious slam poetry: “Mic in one hand, Bible in the other” (original)
Additional Notes
Medieval term for learned or clerical poetry. Refers to scholarly, often Latin, verse traditions. Related to: clerical verse, learned poetry. Historical term for academic study.
Also Known As
learned poetry scholarly verse
Skip to main content