SPECIALIZAREA ENGLEZ Ă-SPANIOL Ă LUCRARE DE LICENȚĂ Coordonator științific: Lect. univ. dr. Mihai Co șoveanu Absolvent ă: Natalia Ștefania Sîrbu… [623806]

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UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
SPECIALIZAREA ENGLEZ Ă-SPANIOL Ă

LUCRARE DE LICENȚĂ

Coordonator științific:
Lect. univ. dr. Mihai Co șoveanu

Absolvent ă:
Natalia Ștefania Sîrbu

CRAIOVA
-2015 –

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UNIVERSITATEA DIN CRAIOVA
FACULTATEA DE LITERE
SPECIALIZAREA ENGLEZ Ă- SPANIOL Ă

THE CANTERBURY TALES AND
THE ENGLISH MEDIEVAL
SOCIETY

(POVESTIRILE DIN CANTERBURY
SI SOCIETATEA MEDIEVALA ENGLEZA )

Coordonator științific:
Lect. univ. dr. Mihai Co șoveanu

Absolvent ă:
Natalia Ștefania Sîrbu

CRAIOVA
-2015 –

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TABLE OF CONTENT S

Introduction………………………………….… …… ………….. …..….. 5
CHAPTER I
English Medieval Society………… ………… ……………… …..…….. 12
CHAPTER II
The Canterbury Tales: Summary and brief analysis …… ………… ………..23
2.1. General Prologue…………………………………………………… 25
2.2. The Knight‘s Tale………………………………………………… . 26
2.3. The Miller‘s Tale…………………………………………………… 29
2.4. The Reeve‘s Tale……………………………………………….… ..31
2.5. The Cook‘s Tale…………………………………………………… 32
2.6. The Man of Law‘s Tale………………… ………………………… .33
2.7. The Wife of Bath‘s Tale…………………………………………… 36
2.8. The Friar‘s Tale…………………………………………………… ..38
2.9. The Summoner‘s Tale……………………………………………… 39
2.10. The Clerk‘s Tale……………………… ………………………… …41
2.11. The Merchant‘s Tale……………………………………………… .43
2.12. The Squire‘s Tale………………………………………………… ..44
2.13. The Franklin‘s Tale………………………………………………… 45
2.14. The Physician‘s Tale……………………………………………… .46

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2.15. The Pardoner‘s Tale……………………………………………… ..48
2.16. The Shipman‘s Tale……………………………………………… ..49
2.17. The Prioress‘s Tale… ……………………………………………… 51
2.18. The Chaucer‘s Tale of Sir Topas…………………………………… 53
2.19. The Monk‘s Tale…………………………………………………… 54
2.20. The Nun‘s Priest Tale……………………………………………… .54
2.21. The Second Nun‘s Tale…………………………………………… ..56
2.22. The Canon‘s Yeoman‘s Tale……………… ……………………… ..57
2.23. The Manciple‘s Tale………………………………………………… 57
2.24. The Parson‘s Tale…………………………………………………… 58
Conclusions……….…………………………… ………………………… .67
Bibliography……………… ……………………. ……………………… .. 69

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Introduction

The Middle English period is a time period when the English language takes shape. At
the beginning, with both Germanic and Viking influences, the English language was known
as Englisc . The most important historical events of that time helped the English language to
define itself. The first historical event that changed the English language was The Norman
Conquest and its Consequences , where England was conquered by William of Normandy,
which made a deal with Saxons to spoke French, because French was the language of the
court and the law for three centuries. The northern dialect of French became the dominant
language, and one of the consequences of The Norman Conquest was that a lot of French
words were introduced in the English language.1
Another importan t historical event that changed the English language was The
Reestablishment of English (1200 -1500). This event took birth after the loss of Normandy in
1024 when King John refuse the king of France as his overlord, and English began to be used
again. By t he middle of the 13th century English became the language used among the upper
classes and all those who had speaking French, only had to transfer French words into
English.2
Beside important events, there were other factors, social, political and economic ones,
which contributed to reestablish English like: The Hundred Years‟ War (1337 -1453), The
Peasants‟ Rising of 1381 , the gradual decline of feudalism.3
The last step that English had to make in its gradual ascent was to defeat competition
of Latin as we ll as France, in writing literature, thing that was accomplished in the second
half of the 14th century.
The literature in Middle English reflects the linguistic situation of that period. Three
periods can be distinguished:
a) In the first period (1150 -1250) was a polite literature, written in French.

1 Murar, Ioana , A History of the English Language , Editura Universitaria, Craiova,2005, pg. 73 -83
2 Idem 1
3 Idem 2

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b) In the second period, the 13th century, literature advanced and began to translate
and adopt romances from the French.
c) The third period, the 14th century, was an excellen t period for English literature
owing to Geoffrey Chaucer, William Langland and John Grower. 4
William Langland (1330 -1386) was one of the many authors of that time which
wanted to express the thoughts and the feelings of people about feudal oppression. Th e
protest against the feudal oppression was expressed in his poem Piers the Plowman . Through
his poetry Langland didn‘t want to reform the structures or ideas of the Church and society,
he only wanted to change our heart and behavior. Thanks to Langland th e allegorical vision
became very popular and appreciated by simple people in England.
John Grower (1330? -1408) was the opus of Langland. If Langland expresses the
mood of villagers, Grower was on the side of aristocrats. In his first poem Mirour de‟l Omme
Grower unmask the vices and immorality of contemporaries. He was named by Chaucer
moral Grower , because he was a moralizing poet.
Geoffrey Chaucer is important not only as the founder of English poetry, but he
established the English literary language. Ch aucer was for England what was Dante for Italy
– the last poet of middle ages and the first poet of new times .5 He was called by John Dryden,
a writer from the 17th century, the father of English poetry , and this name is remained until
today.6
Chaucer was born (1340? -1400) in London and he came from a modest family, his
father and grandfather were wine merchants. He didn‘t want to be just a modest man, so he
didn‘t fallow his family business, and he became a king‘s man, a professional royal servant.
He was also a diplomat who travelled on the king‘s business often to France, Spain and Italy.
He survived the Black Death , the French wars , the Peasants‟ Revolt , but none of this is
revealed in his writings, nothing from his personal life.
Chaucer was in school a t Saint Paul‘s Almorny to learn Latin through the medium of
French:

4 Anixt, A ., Istoria literaturii engleze , Editura Stiintifica, Bucuresti, 1961, traducere din limba rusa de Leon
Levit chi si Ion Preda,pg. 25 -34
5 Ibidem , pg. 34 -35
6 Idem 4

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Children in scole, ayenst the vsage and manere of
alle othere naciouns beeth compelled for to leue hire
owne langage, and for to construe hir lessouns and
here thynges in Frensche, and so they haueth seth the
Normans come first to Engelond. Also gentil men
children beeth i -taught to speke Frensche from the
tyme that they beeth i -rokked in here cradle….And
vplondisshe men wil likne hym self to gentil men,
and fondeth with greet besynesse for to speke
Frensche, for to be i -tolde of.
(Ranulf Higden, Polychronicon , 1363) 7
After the Saint Paul‘s Almorny, Chaucer‘s adventure begins. He starts his career as a
courtier and as a poet. He was taken from school and p ut on the service in the household of
Elisabeth, countess of Ulster, but this did not mean that Chaucer‘s education was interrupter;
on the contrary, it was intensified. Thanks to another household book, Liber Niger of Edward
IV, we know exactly of what is consisted. They were known as henxmen or henchmen, a
word derivate from the older word hengest, meaning a horse. It tamed and civilized the lust of
battle much in the way that courtly love tamed and civilized the lust of the body. The best
result of such a system can be seen in Chaucer‘s Knight and Squire.8
Courtesy is the first thing to be stressed in the schedule of breeding, after the military
essential of horsemanship. Courtesy is behavior proper to a court; and the masters in courtesy
fixed their stan dards by the highest court they knew, which was the court of heaven. That was
the court, they claimed, in which courtesy had its origin:
Clerkys that canne the scuens seuene,
Seys that curtesay came fro heuen
When gabryell owre lady grette,
And elyzabeth w ith here mette.
All vertus be closyde in curtesy,

7 Alexander, Michael , A History of English Literature , Second Edition, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pg. 56 -57
8 Anixt, A ., Istoria literaturii engleze , Editura Stiintifica, Bucuresti, 1961, traducere din limba rusa de Leon
Levit chi si Ion Preda,pg 36 -47

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An alle vyces in vilony.[ Learned men that know the seven sciences say that courtesy came
from Heaven when Gabriel greeted
Our Lady and Elizabeth met with her. All virtutes are
included in curtesy. And all vices in rusticity.]
(Babees Book) 9
Like many other henxmen before, Chaucer was sent to wars. It was a foul campaign, a
military fiasco, but it had one important result: it struck a blow for civilization by putt ing the
young genius into direct touch with France and its poetry. After he was taken prisoner and
escaped, Chaucer lead three interweaving kind of life: a courtier‘s, a scholar‘s, and a poet‘s.
Chaucer was growing to manhood; all of a sudden we find him m arried to Queen
Philippa. After her death in 1369, Chaucer went into service with Blanche, duchess of
Lancaster, first wife of John Gaunt. Philippa‘s sister, Catherine, was to become the governess
of duke‘s children, then his mistress, and at least his wif e; thus the duke ended brother -in-law
to the poet.
Later, Chaucer became comptroller of the customs and subsidies of wools, skins and
tanned hides in London, and had to keep the books in his own pair hands. It was a busy life,
and all his recreation was to read:
For when thy labour doon al ys,
And hast mad alle thy rekenynges,
In stede of reste and newe thyngs,
Thou goost hom to thy hous anoon;
And, also domb as any stoon,
Thou sittest at another book
Tyl fully daswed ys thy look,
…..
(The House of Fame)10
Chaucer was also a considerable student of the science, especially of astronomy and
mathematics; he was widely read in medicine, psychology and other natural sciences,

9 Idem 8
10 Idem 9

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including the pseudo -science of alc hemy. His theology he did not so readily parade, though is
an amusing passage on God‘s uses for friends in The Friar‟s Tale.
Chaucer was deprived of his offices and he is forced to live on his pension until better
times. Next year Philippa died, he was a widower with nothing to go, so he began to compose
The Canterbury Tales .
According to the inscription on his tomb, Chaucer died on 25 October 1400 and he
was buried in Westminster Abbey.11
Chaucer was the first great writer of the English bourgeoisie. The most important
thing about Chaucer‘s world was that the writer gave up at religious forms of dominant
ideology in the middle ages. An overwhelming importance for developing concepts and
works of the poet, was the influence of Italian writers Dante, Petrar ch and Boccaccio, where
Chaucer borrow the learning of humanism, which became the ideological base of his entire
work. His work is divided into three periods:
a) In the first period of his creation (1360 -1372) Chaucer establish the formal basis of
the Engl ish literature and introduces literary language and versification forms. He decided to
translate Le Roman de la Rose written by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, the famous
13th century love -encyclopedia, where he shows his command: ―It is the Romance of the
Rose / in which the art of love I close‖. Chaucer‘s poems from this period are based on
French dream visions, and he used as inspiration Le Roman de la Rose for his works like The
Book of the Duchesse , The Parliament of Fowls , and even in The Cante rbury Tales .
In this period the best work of Chaucer was The Book of the Duchesse , an elegy
written on the memory of Blanche, the wife of John of Gaunt. Inspired by French poets,
Chaucer imitates their forms and methods of versification, succeeding the tra nsformation of
the old English versification and creates the English syllabi -tonic verse.
b) The second period of Chaucer‘s work (1372 -1385) was represented by humanistic
conceptions about world and looking for realistic themes. In this period Chaucer visi ted Italy
and he returned with Dante‘s, Petrarch‘s and Boccaccio‘s works. He was influenced by their
works; Chaucer‘s Clerk‟s Tale closely follows this work, Petrarch‘s elegant Latin adaptation
of the last tale in Boccaccio‘s Decameron . He also was influen ced by others authors like

11 Maurois, André, Istoria Angliei, traducere din limba franceza de Raul Joil, Editura Politica, Bucuresti, 1970,
pg. 259 -266

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Boethius, Virgil and Ovid. In this period the most important works of Chaucer‘s was The
Parliament of Fowls , The House of Fame and Troilus and Criseyde – Chaucer‘s best work
before The Canterbury Tales .
In this entire works we me et elements borrowed from other poets. He inspired from
Boccaccio‘s poems Filostrato and Teseide and he made two of his own noblest works Troilus
and Criseyde and The Knight‟s Tale . From Boethius he taught the shape of tragedy, from
Cicero, Geoffrey de Visauf and Matthieu de Vendome he borrowed the technique known as
descriptio – a technique which taught him how to present a human being.
These two periods from Chaucer creation were named French and Italian periods,
following the third period, the most br illiant of his creation.
c) The third period, which represents almost the last fifteen years of Chaucer‘s life
(1385 -1400) and it find him working at The Canterbury Tales . Chaucer was very appreciated
for this work, The Canterbury Tales being the first cla ssic model of realism in English
literature. This thing was noticed by M. Gorki, which wrote: ―England is the creator of
realism: since the 14th century, the son of the wine merchant Chaucer,… considered father of
English language and founder of realism, c omposed The Canterbury Tales , in which he
painted the lives of people which travelled with different businesses – merchants, hunters,
farmers, etc., copying them directly from nature.‖
In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer found a realistic form to combine different stories
into one work. He met this mechanism in Boccaccio‘s work Decameron . His initial idea was
that each character tells four stories, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back,
but the sto ries ends when he dies, and the characters are still on the way to Canterbury. 12
In the Prologue from The Canterbury Tales Chaucer tells how once at the middle of
April he stops at the Tabard Inn, where was gathered a group of pilgrims, consisting of 29
people. The next day he joins the pilgrims and they start their journey to Canterbury. To
made the trip more interesting they came with the idea of telling stories, and the best story
will receive in return a dinner on the others money. This game creates th e Tales and the
pilgrim tales were proverbially known as Canterbury Tales .

12 Idem 8

11
A very important feature in The Canterbury Tales is the humor of Chaucer which is
present almost in all the descriptions of pilgrims made in the Prologue.
In the Prologue from The C anterbury Tales is described the social life from England
in the 14th century. The pilgrims were representatives of all states and almost all professions
from that time. Chaucer presented them in separate groups in order of social classes.
Even if Chaucer has accomplished just a small part of his initial plan, even in this
form his work is a perfection which makes it a masterpiece of English literature. In his work
Chaucer has gathered all medieval literature genres: romance, saints‘ lives, moral fables, ru de
jokes, beast fables, sermons and allegory. Presenting the life of the 14th century in all it
diversity, Chaucer is revealing the tragic and the comic characteristics of that time,
unmasking the clergy corruption and bourgeois cupidity.
In this work Chau cer wanted to illustrate the entire society on the 14th century, with
all the beauty it has to offer and the people full of joy. In the dark background at that period,
Chaucer succeeds to find features of the future. That‘s why is so full of joy the image that
Chaucer present us in The Canterbury Tales . Starting with this pilgrimage starts the glorious
path of English realistic literature.

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CHAPTER I
ENGLISH MEDIEVAL SOCIETY

Middle English was a period which went through many important historical events.
After The Norman Conquest the English society has suffered major changes which have as
result the appearance of a new dynasty on the island, a new military aristocracy and a n ew
language. The French element has made English language to keep it individuality distinct
from other Germanic languages. This event brought many advantages in people lives, one of
them being the Domesday Book based on which we can estimate the population of England
at the end of the 11th century. And starting from now the English society was in constant
development.
After The Norman Conquest English society confronted with Magna Carta and Wars
of the Roses which brings with them a period of poverty of the villages and towns, famine,
drought and from here black plague began to spread. We don‘t know for sure in what consists
the epidemic of plague or how much it desolates the world. The hygiene in that period was
bad and contagion was fast. The plague from t he 14th century was named Black Death,
because the patient‘s body filled by dark abscesses. In England this plague reduced the
population at half, but for the surviving half this thing was a good one because the plague
which ruined the senior enriched smal l lease.
From now on the English civilization is in a continuous transformation. In those times
the Englishman wanted more freedom than wealth. Englishmen who do not pay their taxes
were deprived of freedom.
After the Black Death the king no longer has army to impose his will, so this archer or
armed servant during the war is no other than English owner. He was called Yeoman.

13
Chaucer made a creepy portrait of a yeoman ―with red hair, plump, rude, with broad
shoulders which carry hip sword, a big man that you don‘t want to meet.‖ In the middle ages
the violence were held by two powers: chivalric courtesy and Christian mercy. 13
Medieval society was clearly stratified, with the king on the top, then members of the
nobility, followed by lords of manors, merchants, and clergy , all resting on the large and
solid base of the peasants.
All this major events changed English society. At the end of 14th century, when an
entire world, which had it magnificence, finish by f ester, the Church seemed the most
affected. In this period poets like Chaucer and Langland tried to describe in their works
ecclesiastical courts judgment. Chaucer in his famous work The Canterbury Tales speaks
through his tales about the society of the 14th century. In these stories he wanted to show the
world how was society in that time, recounting even his living experiences.
Chaucer was born in the middle of the century and in the middle of society, in a
middle -class home. In those days children were s ent to school very young, and their
instruction began like that of Chaucer‘s litel clergeon in The Prioress‟s Tale , with the singing
of Latin hymns.
…..I lerne song, I kan but small grammeere
(The Prioress‟s Tale)14
They were taught to be disciplined; they began the day with prayer, then a recitation
of the Creed and some psalm singing, which was called dinging on David . In this period the
term rhetoric has come to mean a windy way of speech, marked by a pompous empt iness and
insincerity. The word rethor had come to be used as the simple equivalent of good poet ; so
Chaucer used it in The Squire‟s Tale , to underline the skill needed to describe the beauty of
his heroine:
It moste been a rethor excellent
……
If he sholde hire discryven every part
I am noon swich, I moot speke as I kan.

13 Robert Huntington Fletcher , A History of English Literature , Blackmask Online,2002,pg. 17 -40

14 Idem 13

14
(The Squire‟s Tale)
Chaucer‘s training in rhetoric sharpened his perception of character; no one was his
equal in this, because no one had his touch with the rhetorical figure of descriptio . Chaucer is
considered the most courteous from al English poets. He addresses his readers as if he could
wish for none better, he exchanges experiences with them, consults them, and begs them not
to take offense at what he is about to say, touching his show of courtesy with an elegant but
ironic wit:
But first I pray you, of youre courtesye,
That ye n‟arette it nat my vileynye,
Thogh that I pleynly speke in this mateere
To telle yow hir words and h ir cheere
…….
Whoso shal telle a tale after a man,
He moot reherce as ny as evere he kan
Everich a word, if it be in his charge,
Al speke he never so rudeliche and large,
Or ellis he moot telle his tale untrewe,
Or feyne thing, or fynde words newe .
He may nat spare, although he here his brother;
He moot as well seye o word as another.
Crist spak himself ful brode in hooly writ,
And wel ye woot no vilenynye is it.
(The General Prologue)15
Chaucer learned his manners not only from those whom he came in contact, but also
from cautionary rhymes, especially written for the education of children. The best of these
poems is called The Babees Book and it is addressed to children of the royal blood and gives
precise instructions how to behave.

15 Idem 14

15
Were times when tyrannies of nature were matched by the tyrannies of man. Mob
madness and xenophobia filled London with the shouts of massacre when the rebels of the
Peasants‘ Revolt entering in London in 1381; Chaucer, in later years, passed it off as a joke:
Certes, he Jakke Straw and his meynee 7
Ne made nevere shoutes half so shrille,
Whan that they any Flemyng kille,
As thike day was maad upon the fox.
(The Nun‟s Priest‟s Tale)16
This revolt, which was also an attack upon church and law, was suppressed as
savagely as it had arisen, with hanging in chains for many a deluded peasant. Their betters
were also liable to liqui dation; the intrigues that stewed within and seethed the court and
government led often enough to the scaffold:
The ax was shape, the stoke was harde
In the xiiii yere of King Richarde.
(Sisam, Fourteenth Century Verse and Prose ) 17
In that period being courteous was a religious reason, namely, that it was pleasing to
God and would advance your soul; it was the application of Christianity to social behavior.
When you read pilgrim‘s description from Chaucer‘s work, you can imagine what had
to be in England in the 14th century, welfare of all classes. Medieval society was dominated
by men, and women were seldom involved in government, warfare, land management, or the
professions. The lives of ordinary women primarily revolved around thei r families, the two
primary duties of women being to provide the management of daily affairs in the household,
and to take care of the children. Aristocratic women had challenging responsibilities in
managing large household of servants and retainers as we ll as large families as their own, and
their presence graced the banquets, dances, and other social events held at the court or in the
castle of the nobility.
The status of noble women in that time was ambivalent and ambiguous, they were
married mostly ag ainst their will and their titled were assumed by their husbands. The women

16 Idem 15
17 Idem 16

16
were looked down upon because, in keeping with the Church teachings, as descendent of Eve
who had committed the primordial sin, they were an instrument of Evil, and also because
they held no fief in their own right.
What the court held to be loved, the Church held to be sin. Of absolutely sovereign
value in the church‘s scale of sex was virginity; there was no higher kind of life than to be a
virgin for the love of God. The preemine nce of virginity is asserted by Chaucer in The
Pardoner‟s Tale:
Another synne of Leccherie is to bireve a mayden of
hir maydenhede; for he that so dooth, certes, he casteth
a mayden out of the hyeste degree that is in this
present lyf….And forther over, so oth is that hooly
ordre [holy orders] is chief of al the tresorie of God,
and his especial signe and mark of chastitee….
which that is the moost precious lyf that is.
It is again asserted by the Prioress, in her apostrophe to the martyred chorister:
O martir, sowded to virginitee,
Now maystow syngen, folwynge evere in oon
The white Lamb celestial – quod she –
Of which the grete evaungelist, Seint John,
In Pathmos wroot, which seith that they that goon
Biforn this Lamb, and synge a song al newe,
That neve re, fleshly, women they ne knewe.
(The Prioress‟s Tale)

It is even asserted by the Wife of Bath:
Virginitee is greet perfeccion
(The Wife of Bath‟s Prologue)18

18 Idem 17

17
Besides the virginity, the c hurch appreciates the condition of chastity, a condition to
which the Wife of Bath refers, with approval as continence with devotion…
Chaucer in his first stories, the story of Saint Cecilia (later The Second Nun‟s Tale ),
celebrate her sanctity in having p ersuaded her husband, to forgo the consummation of his
love. The same idea we found in The Man of Law‟s Tales, he feels it incumbent on him to
defend his holy -hearted heroine, Constance, for yielding her body to her husband.
Griselda is another chaste and patient wife; her story, enormously popular in the
Middle Ages, found its fullest eloquence in Chaucer‘s telling of it. It was an early work of
his; and when he came back in later life to shape it as The Clerk‟s Tale , he modified the effect
of this marriag e sermon by adding an ironic tailpiece:
It were ful harde to fynde now -s-dayes
In al toun Grisildis thre or two;…
Chaucer wrote about virginity, chastity and married love because these were approved
by the church. It is true that there is no sexual ecstasy but was held suspect:
And for that many man weneth that he may nat
synne for no likerousnesse that he dooth with his
wyf, certes that opinion is false.
(The Parson‟s Tale)
From Wife of Bath‘s view the virginity is a gr eat perfection and celibacy a thing
contemptible. It is fought on the issue ―Who is to have mastery in marriage, husband or
wife?‖ In her view, it is right and proper that husbands should submit to their wives; this is
not the moral of her long preamble bu t also of the tale itself. The point of the story is to
discover what it is that women most wish for, and the surprising answer is:
Wommen desiren have sovereyntee
As wel over hir husband as hir love,
And for to been in maistrie hym above.
The conclusion, women wish for same sovereignty over their husbands that they
exercise over their lovers.

18
In some ways the situation of women, and especially widows, was better. They could
make any kind of trade, could be parts of guilds, and they could became, like man, sheriff .
They travelled alone, mixed with others pilgrims and they lived their lives as they wished.
Courtesy, it will be noticed, is the first thing to be stresses in this schedule of
breeding, after the military essential of horsemanship. Courtesy is beh avior proper to court;
and the masters in courtesy fixed their standards by the highest court they knew of, which
was the court of heaven.
Another issue of the society was ―What is nobility? ” The watchword of the Peasants‘
Revolt had come to them from Dant e, who had devoted an entire treatise to this subject:
If Adam himself was noble, we are all noble, and if he was base, we are all base.
(Convivio, IV, XV)
Dante was arguing that nobility was not inherited. In this he was echoing Boethius,
who some eight hundred years before had said:
….yif thou ne have no gentilesse of thinself….
Foreyn gentilesse no maketh thee nat gentil.
(De consolatione philosophie, III, vi, translated by Chaucer)
After he reads the discus sion in the Convivio , Chaucer gives his own account of
gentillesse . To be gentil , in Chaucer‘s vision, means to imitate Christ, for that is the
perfection of our proper natures:
But, for ye speken of swich gentillesse
As is descended out of old richesse,
That therefore sholden ye be gentil men,
Swich arrogance is nat worth an hen.
Looke who that is moost virtuous always,
Pryvee and apert, and moost entendeth ay
To do the gentil dedes that he kan;
Taak hym for the grettest gentil man.
Christ wole we clayme o f hym our gentillesse,
Nat of oure eldres for hire old richesse.

19
(The Wife of Bath‟s Tale)19
The highest title of nobility was that of duke . Barons, the most numerous group of
noblemen, were often called lord. Collectivity known as the gentry, they formed a group that
soon came to be the most important element in English society. Although not noble, they are
sometimes regarded as member of the landed aristocracy, clearly set apart from those below
them in society. Some memb ers of the gentry could claim the title knight. Knights were
identified by the title sir preceding their own Christian name and their wives were called
dame or sometimes merely lady.
In an opening window upon the middle ages, there is always the danger th at it may
turn into a stained glass window. Nevertheless, I am forces by all these cautionary verses to
believe that the reason for being courteous was a religious reason, namely, that it was
pleasing to God and would advance your soul; it was the applicat ion of Christianity to social
behavior, a practical way of learning to love your neighbor as yourself.
The church had a big financial importance in medieval society. By the end of the
middle ages the church had come to own at least a quarter of the land in the several countries
in the British Isles. Churchmen were great landlords, and their involvement with other groups
in society was monetary as well as religious.
Medieval men and women were born members of the church, just as they were born
subjects of th e monarchy. They had no choice of denominations, and they were not free to
decide where to attend the services, since parishes were geographical units and men and
women were expected to worship regularly in their own parish church unless they were
traveled . The church was also involved in the daily life of ordinary people because its
liturgies were designed to follow an annual cycle that related to the changing of the seasons
and the phases of farming activity. It did much to bring warmth, color, and intell ectual
activity into lives that otherwise would have been cold, drab and full of drudgery. For many
people in the British Isles, the middle ages were truly an age of faith.
Christianity was a more powerful force in medieval society than it is today. Despit e
continued acknowledgement of papal authority, the Englishness of the church was becoming
increasingly evident. During the 14th century in English church was unsettled by the activities
of John Wycliffe. A theologian who taught at Oxford, Wycliffe became distressed at what he

19 Idem 18

20
regarded as the worldliness and corruption of the clergy. He hoped that the people would
reform the church . He was one of the first scholars to translate the scriptures into English. He
and his friend produced the first complete English Bible.
Linguistic developments in the 14th century are of crucial importance in the history of
the English language. During t he first three centuries after the Norman Conquest, English
was little used as a written language. The church kept its records in Latin, and the Chancery,
the law, and Parliament used French. No until the second half of the 14th century was English
recogni zed as a serious literary language, in no way inferior to French and Latin.
More than any other single person, Geoffrey Chaucer may be credited with
establishing the position of Middle English. Chaucer was a major figure in politics as well as
literature. Wycliffe‘s English Bible, which dates from almost exactly the same time, was also
influential in establishing standard Middle English.
Arts also began to develop in middle ages. In every art then known, and in some now
lost – in architecture, sculpture, c arving, and stained glass; in the work of goldsmiths and
armorers and the maker of robes for ceremonial and daily use; in manuscript, illumination,
painting and portraiture, music and dancing – sudden perfections were being achieved all over
England. Moreov er, they were harmonious, as if they were the particular manifestation of a
personal style flowering freely in every field. Grace strength, freshness of invention, clarity,
richness, and a sense of the humane, as well as of the divine, characterize this br eeding time
in England‘s first civilization.
Out of the multitude of masterpieces I will name a few to show these qualities: the
central tower of Wells Cathedral and the breathtaking inverted arch that supports it, the work
of William Joy about the year of Chaucer‘s Birth (ca.1340), and the great octagonally
fashioned vault over the transept of Ely Cathedral, the work of Alan of Walsingham and
William Hurley hot long before – miracles, both, of strength and ingenuity; and the nave of
Westminster Abbey, grove a slender stone, built by the greatest English architect before
Wren, Henry Yevele. It was Yevele who, with Hugh Herland, master carpenter, built
Westminster Hall (1394).
In portraiture, an art then drawing and of which Chaucer became a master, one may
recall the tragic alabaster face of Edward II hat haunts the visitors to Gloucester Cathedral, or
the knowingly practical visage of Henry IV, carved in Canterbury; less tragic than Edward,

21
more human than Henry, the painted effigy of Edward le Despenser, kne eling in his chantry
roof in Tewkesbury Abbey. Illumination and painting could show pieces as fine as these: for
instance, he Wilton diptych that presents the young Richard II to the Blessed Virgin and a
host of angels, himself hardly less angelical in bea uty, or the greater portrait of him that
hangs in Westminster Abbey and shows him against a gold background, in a robe the color of
dried blood. From his face, he seems to be thinking Shakespearean thoughts.
In glass the antechapel windows of New College by Thomas of Oxford, with their
canopied saints and patriarchs in soft greens and porphyries and blues, seem a silent reproach
to the baroque -souled figures and inharmonious tints of a neighboring window by Sir Joshua
Reynolds that was somehow allowed to b e put there in an age that knew no better. In the
same chapel is the crozier of William of Wykenham, a masterwork of the goldsmiths,
silversmiths, and enamellers of the 14th century.
Harp and flute and social song were part of a gentleman‘s education, and song was
gracefully combined with dance in the ―carol‖; the art of conversation was so much esteemed
that Andreas Capellanus gave it third place among the requirements for a girl worthy to be
loves; and Chaucer, in his first considerable poem, ensured that it would be known to have
graced the death patroness he has celebrating, Blanche, duchess of Lancaster:
And which a goodly, softe speche
Had that swete, my lyves leche!
So friendly, and so well ygrounded,
Up al resound so wel yfounded,
And so tretable to alle goode…
(The Book of the Duchess)
In poetry the age was richer than in all else; except architecture. There were the three
great poets I have mentioned, of whom Chaucer was chief; there was John Gower, too, and
the makers of the miracle plays, then coming to their first fullness in York and elsewhere.
Troilus and Criseyde, The Canterbury Tales, Piers Plowman, Sir Gawain, The Pearl and the
Townley or Wakefield Plays may speak for the great achievements of those times in poetry;
but there was also a first pouring forth of lyrical writing, by many anonymous hands and one –
poem man, of whose work a fragment follows:
Gold & al this werdis wyn

22
Is nouth but cristis rode;
I woulde ben clad in cristis skyn,
Than ran so longe on blode,
& gon t‟is herte & taken myn In –
Ther is a fulsum fode.
[God and all the glory of this worlds is naught, save
Christ‟s cross; I would be clad in Christ‟s skin, that
Ran so long with blood, and go to his heart and make
My Inn there, where there is a bounteous food.]
It was also an age that loved learning, a founding time of colleges. Nine new ones
were added within the century, four at Oxford and five at Cambridge.
Paradoxes are to be understood as best they can. This same age of the first and in
some ways the finest, English culture was also an age preeminent for plague, poverty,
rebellion, war, political, murder, heresy and schism. Fissures seemed to be opening in the
Catholic Church with the ―Babylonish‖ captivity of the popes at Avignon. Heresies were also
raising their terrible heads; the chronicles tells the story of a knight who snatched the
consecrated host out of his priest‘s hand and pled away with it, to devour it with oysters and
mustard, thinking that this disapproved transubstantiation.
The literatu re of the 13th and 14th centuries present besides cult literature and popular
literature exist a didactic literature and a chronicles literature. The 14th century was the
golden age of Middle English literature and this period is known as the age of Chauce r, one
of the most original poets of European Middle Ages.

23
CHAPTER II
THE CANTERBURY TALES :
SUMMARY AND BRIEF ANALYSIS

In what his father and mother would have regarded as his career – for it was they who
had the wit, and the luck to lunch him upon it – Geoffrey Chaucer did remarkably well. His
successive appointments, missions and awards, achieved in the administrative service of the
three kings, were something better than a mediocre success; and who could have foreseen
that his marriage, prude nt and suitable as it was – romantic, too, for all we know to the
contrary – would ultimately make him brother -in-law to his own best patron John of Gaunt –
that is, to the fourth son of Edward III, the uncle of Richard II and the father of Henry IV, the
poet‘s chief employers.
But it was not as a poet that they employed Chaucer; his poetry was an extra, so far as
they were concerned. His career was that of a courtier, as his father and mother had intended;
and it was that career that gained him his place in t he official records of the time. Except for
those records, we should probably know as little about him as we do of the other great poet of
his age, the authors of Piers Plowman and of Sir Gawain.
Yet the recorded facts of this courtier‘s life, remote from poetry as they may seem,
and those upon which the styles of his poetry turn; they mark its progress from his first
beginnings, step by step, to his maturities. Begin a courtier made a European of Chaucer, and
more than that, be became the first great Engli sh poet in the general tradition of Christendom,
and heir of Ovid, of Vergil, of Boethius, of Saint Jerome, of Guillaume de Lorris, Jean de
Meung, of Dante and Boccaccio.
He was not the first great English Christian poet, Langland was before him. But he
was the first English poet in the high culture of Europe, then breaking out all over England in
a glorious profusion of creative power. There are moments in the lives of nations when they
declare their genius: the life of Chaucer fell in the middle of the fi rst such moment in
England.

24
Geoffrey Chaucer was the greatest poet of medieval England and one of the greatest
in Europe in his time, who, as a common saying goes found English brick and left it marble ,
is best remembered from his Canterbury Tales .
Chaucer‘s poetry falls into three clearly marked periods. First was French influence
when, writing in English, he drew inspiration from the rich French poetry of the period, the
second period was Italian influence, where he made more direct use of the work s of Petrarch,
Boccaccio and Dante and the third period, covering his last fifteen years, is called his English
period, because now he worked in essential independence.
Chaucer after his wife Philippa died, he was lost almost every function that he owned,
so he began to write The Canterbury Tales , in 1385. Through this work he wanted to reveal
the true face of English society, even telling real stories from his life, process that gave the
work a maximum of originality and transform it into a masterpiece.
In April 1388, Chaucer embarked on a Pilgrimage to Canterbury to pay homage to the
martyr, St. Thomas à Becket, who was Chancellor of England in 1155, and was a close friend
of Henry II. Henry made Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury with a view to obtaining mor e
control over the church in England. However, Becket‘s loyalty was to the church and he was
exiled for six years. When Becket eventually returned, he was still a thorn in the side of King
Henry, and four misguided Knights, wishing to ingratiate themselves with the King,
murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. Henry did penance for this crime and Becket was
acclaimed a martyr, being canonized in 1173.
The experiences Chaucer obtained from his Pilgrimage led to him writing his most
famous work, The Canterbu ry Tales in 1387. This was a huge project, which Chaucer never
managed to complete. However, it does give an incredible insight into Medieval England and
can be rightly acclaimed as a classic. The work was written using a dialect, which originates
from the London area, and went on to become the basis of modern English.
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer found a realist form to combine different stories
into a masterpiece. This kind of genre appeared for the first time in East, exist in the ancient
literature (Ovid), in medieval literature, and finally at one of the first realistic poet, the Italian
Boccaccio (Decameron). Chaucer knew all these medieval collections, and even if Chaucer
didn‘t invent this form, he used it masterly an exquisite.

25
Chaucer‘s origi nal plan for The Canterbury Tales was for each character to tell four
tales, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. But, instead of 120 tales, the
text ends after twenty -four tales, and the party is still on its way to Canterbury. Chaucer ei ther
planned to revise the structure to cap the work at twenty -four tales, or else left it incomplete
when he died on October 25, 1400.
For all its brilliant particulars, The Canterbury Tales makes us aware of general issues
and typical destinies. Exceptio nally a tale reveals the character of its teller, which could have
self-explaining Prologues and self -illustrating tales. Some tales reveal their tellers; others do
not. Each tale can stand alone; relation to teller signifies less than relation to other ta les. The
tales exemplify human conduct, self -deceiving or saintly, and its animal, rational and spiritual
bases. The whole is a debate and drama of ideas and humors.20
2.1. GENERAL PROLOGUE
The imagery from the opening lines with which Chaucer begins the General Prologue
is of spring‘s renewal and rebirth.
What that April with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspi red hath in every holt and heath
The tender croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages)
Thanne longen to goon on pilgrimag es.
(General Prologue)

20 Idem 19

26
The masterpiece begins with Chaucer telling how he was joined in Tabard Inn,
Southwark, by a company of ―sondry folk, /And pilgrims were they alle‖.Spring is the
pilgrimage season in Christend om:
And especially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Canterbury they wende
The hooly blisful martir for to seeke
Than hem hath holpen when that they were seeke.
(General Prologue)
The innkeeper proposes a tale -telling game to pass the time on the two -day ride to the
shrine of St Thomas Becket of Canterbury, killed by agents of Henry II in 1170 at the altar of
his Cathedral. The thirty pilgrims are each to tell two tales on the way a nd two on the way
back, and the teller of the tale of best sentence [moral import] and most solaas [comfort,
pleasure] wins a supper at the Tabard paid for by the others. The narrator describes each of
these pilgrims, physical appearance very carefully and this description often gives much
insight into each of their characters. He describes a Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Prioress, Monk,
Friar, Merchant, Clerk, Man of Law, Franklin, Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, and
Tapestry -Host. The Host, named Harry Ba iley, suggests that the group ride together and
entertain one other with stories and pilgrims readily agree to this jolly plan. They draw straws
to see who will tell the first tale, and the Knight ––the most noble of the company ––happens
to draw the straw t o go first.

2.2. THE KNIGHT’S TALE
The first tale is The Knight‟s Tale where in Athens; Duke Theseus strove to expand
his empire. Among his victims was a tribe of Amazons who lived in Scythia. When Theseus
conquered the tribe, he took Queen Hippolyta and her sister, Emely, back to Athens. He made
Hippolyta his wife.
On thei r travels back to Athens, they encountered a group of women weeping and
wailing. They told how the cruel tyrant Creon had conquered their city, and that their
husbands‘ dead bodies lay unburied in dishonor. Sending his Queen and her sister home to
Athens, the Duke broke off to march against this evil tyrant. King Creon was soon defeated

27
and slain, and the Duke brought honor back to the city. After the battle, two wounded
Knights were brought before the Duke, Arcite and Palamon. They were of similar appearan ce
because they were sons of two sisters. The Duke spared their lives, but sentenced them to
languish in his prison in Athens until their death.
The two Knights suffered for several years in jail. One day, Palamon was looking out
of his prison cell window and happened to see the beautiful Emely. He cried out in pain, and
his friend, Arcite is concerned that some evil has befallen him. The second Knight is also
curious and he peers out from the tower window, and he too is stricken with her beauty. The
two a rgue, Palamon saying that he saw the lady first. Duke Perotheus, a friend of both Duke
Theseus and Arcite, visits Athens. He pleads on Arcite‘s behalf and Duke Theseus agrees to
release him, but he will be banished from the Dukedom, and be beheaded if he r eturns.
Arcite is depressed at this new turn of fate, for he will never be able to glimpse his
beloved again, and envies Palamon that he at least will be able to see her from the tower
window every day. Arcite undergoes a great physical change due to his constant lamenting
over his love, Emely. He changes his name to Philostrate, and decides to return to Athens
hoping that he will not be recognized. In order to be close to Emely, he joins the Court of
Theseus and over the years becomes a trusted friend of the Duke. Palamon still languishes in
the prison tower, but one night he manages to escape and hides in a nearby wooded area.
Arcite coincidentally is walking in the same area, and is thinking out loud.
He is feeling smug regarding his subterfuge, and rec ites his entire history aloud. When
Palamon hears this confession, he comes out of hiding. The two duel. The Duke comes upon
the scene and Palamon explains why they were fighting. Theseus condemns the two Knights
to death, but the ladies of the Court, incl uding Emely, intercede on their behalf. The wise
Duke charges both the Knights to return to Athens in a year with 100 Knights each, and there
will be a joust. The winner will receive Emely‘s hand in marriage.
During the year, Theseus builds a magnificent stadium in which the jousting will take
place. He builds altars to the gods, Venus the goddess of love, Mars the god of war, and
Diana the goddess of chastity. The year passes, during which time the people have been
looking forward to this spectacle. Besid es the jousts, there are numerous other entertainments
with much feasting, singing and dancing. On the eve of the battle, Palamon prays at the altar
of Venus that he will be united with the fair Emely. Emely prays to Diana hoping that her
chastity will be preserved, but if this is not possible, that she will be married to the one who

28
loves her most. Arcite prays to Mars that he will be victorious in battle. These prayers cause
much confusion in heaven, until Saturn the god of destiny promises that Palamon w ill win his
love and Arcite would win the battle.
The two Knights face one another at the joust, but the Duke announces that once a
Knight is badly wounded, he will be removed from the field of battle. Palamon is badly
wounded in the joust and is taken fr om the field by the marshals. Arcite is triumphant in his
victory and parades around the arena, but his horse is frightened and throws Arcite to the
ground where he is badly hurt. Physicians are summoned to attend Arcite, but they are unable
to aid him and he dies. Palamon and Emely are married. Arcite is cremated on a great funeral
pyre. The Duke is in favor of the marriage between Palamon and Emely because it unites the
two houses of Thebes and Athens. They live out a life of ―love unbroken‖.
This is a st ory from the Knight fitting for his station, full of chivalry, battles, splendor
and a happy ending where love prevails. The story is at times longwinded, for the Knight
goes to great lengths in describing the preparations for the joust, but in Chaucer‘s d ay the
general reading public were intrigued with such matters, as it represented a world removed
from their everyday lives.
Unlike tales that are to follow, there is no crudeness or vulgarity in this story, and it
concerns a pure love with no hint of lust anywhere. The Knight takes pains to give us a clear
characterization of Emely as the focal point of the two Knights‘ love. She is a combination of
beauty, chastity and servility – the perfect medieval woman.
The Medieval reader would also be more at home with destiny than the modern reader
who perhaps finds it strange that there are so many elements of chance contained in the story
e.g. the fact that Emely decides to walk beneath the prison, that a visiting Duke knows one of
the imprisoned Knights, that Ar cite is able to return to Athens and receive employment in the
Court, and that he comes in contact with Palamon and they duel, and so it goes on. However,
the superstitious people of Chaucer‘s time felt that God controlled everybody‘s lives for his
own pur poses, and there is a strange type of logic in accepting these coincidences.
The modern day reader realizes that jousting was not practiced in Ancient Greece.
Chaucer‘s point is to amalgamate Athenian life and its clear nobility with that of chivalry and
the Knights of Medieval England. So, we have a direct link with the life of Knights in
England and the heroes of Ancient Greece.

29
As part of Chaucer‘s characterization of the Knight we see he is a modest man, he
does not tell a story concerning his own deeds and the velour he has shown in distant lands,
but he provides an entertaining tale emphasizing the importance of honor and love.
The three main characters form a triangle of relationships. The friendship of the two
Knights turns into hatred when they both fall in love with the same girl. It is interesting that
the prayers of all three are answered – Arcite wins the battle; Palamon wins his love; and
Emely marries the one who loves her most, which is all she could really hope for. Her initial
request for he r chastity to be preserved is not granted, and it is perhaps a comment regarding
the position of women in Medieval England. We will touch on the elements of chastity and
life-long virginity in the Wife of Bath‘s tale.
The independence of women in the Middl e Ages was by and large non -existent, and
Chaucer introduces the idea of a society ruled by women in this story. This abomination
cannot be tolerated, and the Duke conquers the society, and he takes the Queen for his wife.
What Chaucer is saying here is th at women are expected to make themselves attractive to
men and depend on them, whilst men are the dominant sex. They rule and maintain order.

2.3. THE MILLER’S TALE
Old John, the Carpenter is a very jealous man who has married an eighteen year -old
girl called Alison. Also residing in the Carpenter‘s house is a young student named Nicholas,
who rents a room. Nicholas has a reputation for reading the stars and forecasting the advent
of rain or drought. He falls in love with the young Alison and soon makes his intentions
known by grabbing her. She resists his advances for fear of being discovered by her jealous
husband, but the pair conspire together to play a trick on Old John.
Alison also has another admirer the effeminate Absalon, who swings the incense
burner at church on Sundays, and cannot abide people who fart in public. Nicholas convinces
Old John that a flood equal to that suffered by Noah in the Bible will visit the town. In order
to survive, they must build and fasten three boats to the rafters and store them with
provisions. They must also have an axe ready in order to cut the ropes when the flood
approaches. On the eve of the socalled flood, the three climb into the boats and Old John
soon falls fast asleep. Alison and Nicholas descend to the bedr oom and make love all night.

30
Absalon has noticed that the Carpenter is not home and decides to serenade Alison at
her window. It is pitch black, and the pair of lovers are concerned that Absalon‘s noise will
wake Old John. Nicholas encourages Alison to get rid of Absalon by granting his request for
a kiss. She agrees. However, instead of her mouth she extends her rear out of the window.
Absalon fastidiously ―kissed her naked arse, most savorously‖, but wonders ―a woman hath
no beard‖. He hears the two laugh ing and realizes his mistake.
He decides to return to obtain revenge and with him now, he has a red -hot poker. He
calls again to Alison saying that he has a golden ring for her and she can have it if she gives
him one more kiss. This time Nicholas decides to play a trick on Absalon and he sticks his
rear out of the window and farts in Absalon‘s face. He recovers in time to thrust the red -hot
poker up the middle of Nicholas‘ arse. Nicholas shouts, ―Water. Help. Water. Water.‖
Old John wakes and thinking that the flood has come, cuts the ropes with the axe, and
the boats crash to the ground. Old John suffers a broken arm and the neighbors stream out
from their houses wondering at all the noise. They learn of Old John‘s preparations for the
flood and laugh at h is lunacy.
Arguably, this is Chaucer‘s best work of humor and he strikes the right balance
between bawdiness and vulgarity. Again we have a triangle relationship between Old John,
his young wife, and the lodger, repeated many times in literature since. Eve n to this present
day, much ridicule is made of old men who marry young girls, and who cannot satisfy their
desires.
We get a good impression of how relationships were conducted between the lower
classes in Chaucer‘s time. Although Nicholas is eloquent in his speech to Alison, he is
physically rather crude towards this married woman. His first approach to her is quite
physical. He doesn‘t hold her hand or caress her face, or even fondle her breasts, but goes
straight to her ―quiente‖ (vagina), and holds her sensuously by the ―haunche -bone‖ (groins).
Chaucer shows his skills at forming this joke by providing a careful presentation of
Absalon‘s character. He is described as being effeminate and used to sweet smells of an
exotic and sensuous nature. He no doubt expects to win a sweet kiss from a fragrant Alison,
but all he gets is her arse.
The story is very neat. We have Nicholas who can foretell the weather. We have Old
John who constructs the boats, no doubt wishing to show off his joinery abilities to his yo ung

31
wife. Although John is a good Carpenter, he is gullible in that Nicholas was able to persuade
him about the oncoming flood. He is foolish by thinking that he can keep his young wife
happy. He obtains a broken arm for his trouble, and whilst he was asle ep his lodger was
making love to his wife. The lodger‘s penance is a severely burnt arse, and the effeminate
incense swinger is violated twice, first kissing Alison‘s rear, and then suffering Nicholas‘
fart. Will he ever be able to wash it off?

2.4. THE R EEVE’S TALE
There was a miller who lived in Cambridge who was a strong man and bullied those
around him. He was adept at using the knife and no -one dared to cross him. He would steal
meal brought to his mill for grinding. His wife was well -rounded and had been raised in a
nunnery. They were both proud of their twenty year -old daughter and six month -old baby
boy.
One of the miller‘s main clients was the large College at Cambridge, and like his other
clients, he would cheat them. One day, the College Steward was ill and unable to take the
corn to the mill. Two students at the College, John and Alan, learnt about the dishonest miller
and decided to expose him. However, the miller was not stupid and when the students
arrived, he suspected their game. When the s tudents were not looking, he untied their horse
and they escaped. When the students discovered this, they went out lookingfor the horse.
While they were away searching for the horse, the miller emptied half the flour from
the sack and gave it to his wife. It was dark by the time John and Alan returned with their
horse, and they asked the miller if they could spend the night in the mill. They offered to pay
for food and lodging. The miller agreed, but pointed out that they only had one bedroom and
that John and Alan would have to share a bed. There was no lighting in the room. The miller
and his wife occupied one bed with the baby‘s cradle at its foot, and their daughter slept in
the third bed.
When everyone was asleep, John and Alan decided to take revenge o n the miller. Alan
gets up and goes to the daughter‘s bed, and they got on just fine. John was annoyed that he
was left alone in his bed. Then he got up and quietly moved the baby‘s cradle next to his bed.
The miller‘s wife got up in order to relieve herse lf of the large amount of wine she had

32
consumed, and feeling her way back to bed, she of course went to the bed where her baby‘s
cot was. John immediately, ―on this good wife he laith on sore (hard)‖.
As dawn neared, Alan made his farewells to the daughter who told him where to find
the stolen flour. He returns to the bed that does not have the cradle and mistakes the miller for
John. He whispers in the miller‘s ear that he has had the daughter three times in the night. In
fury, the miller rises from his be d cursing Alan, only to find his wife in bed with John.
The miller‘s wife thinking she was in bed with her husband, grabbed a club and
strikes her husband down. Alan and John leave the mill in a hurry.
This is another good joke arising from the pen of Chau cer, but of course, there is a
moral to the story. The reader has no sympathy for the miller due to his dishonest behavior.
Millers were important members of the community providing an essential service, and people
trusted them to do their job well and hon estly. Here we learn that the miller not only charged
exorbitant prices for the work he did, but in addition, he stole his clients‘ flour.
We also learn that the miller‘s wife was the daughter of a clergyman, and the miller
married her in order to obtain s ome respectability, but the students have turned the miller‘s
home into a house of prostitution.
The Reeve‘s tale is in response to the Miller‘s story concerning the Carpenter, and he
is obtaining some degree of revenge. However, it is not as humorous as t he Miller‘s tale and
there is a distinct bitterness connected with the story. Although the Reeve‘s tale is not as
vulgar as the Miller‘s tale, it is full of innuendo. Terms such as ‗grinding‘ and ‗grinding corn‘
were commonly used in the Middle Ages as sla ng for sexual intercourse.
The two tales reflect the characterization of the Miller and the Reeve. The Miller is
described as a jollydrunk person, and the Reeve as ―old and choleric, and thin‖.

2.5. THE COOK’S TALE
Perkin Reveler was an apprentice Cook wo rking in London. At weddings, he would
dance and sing rather than mind the shop. When he wasn‘t rejoicing, he would be gambling
or drinking. He was either full of love, or full of sin. Finally, his Master had had enough of
his behavior, considering him a b ad influence on the other apprentices, so he dismissed

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Perkin. The young man decided to act in accordance with the old Proverb ―Birds of a feather
flock together‖, and became friends with another young man of similar habits. His friend‘s
wife ran a shop, w hich was just a cover for her loose, immoral activities.
This is clearly an incomplete work and, no doubt, Chaucer abandoned it, as three
jokes in a row were too much.
The host becomes concerned that the tales are not being told quickly enough, and he
asks the Man of Law to fulfill his contract and tell a tale. The Man of Law comments that
Chaucer has already written all the good stories in the world. There are none left for him to
tell. He eventually agrees to tell his story, but he is not a poet, and the lines will not rhyme.

2.6. THE MAN OF LAW’S TALE
A group of merchants from Syria travel to Rome to see if there are any opportunities
for trade. During their visit, they hear about Constance, the Emperor‘s daughter who is
described as the perfect woman, being full of grace, beauty, goodness and chastity. When the
merchants return to Syria, they tell the young Syrian Sultan about Lady Constance and he
immediately is enthralled by the description of her. He is determined to make her his wife.
His counselors advise that she will not marry a Muslim, so rather than lose Constance, he will
be baptized a Christian, and so will all his subjects. The marriage is arranged, and Lady
Constance makes a sad farewell to her homeland.
The Sultan‘s mother will not give up her old Religion for the sake of this foreign girl,
and she devises a plan to thwart her son‘s happiness. Lady Constance is greeted with great
ceremony and the wedding is a great celebration with a dazzling array of visiting dignitaries.
During the banquet , the mother‘s troops sweep into the banquet hall and kill all the
Christians, including the young Sultan. Lady Constance is spared, but she is set adrift on the
sea. Her ship is at the will of the currents, and after a considerable length of time is beach ed
in Northumberland, England, a Pagan land. She is found by the Constable and his wife who
care for her. Constance still keeps her faith in Jesus Christ and soon Hermengild, the
Constable‘s wife, is converted to Christianity, and so too is the Constable.
One night Satan enters and murders Hermengild, and leaves the murder weapon in
Constance‘s bed. Accused of the murder, she is taken by the Constable to King Alla. The

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King sentences her to death, but the women of the Court wail, pleading for Constance to b e
spared. Satan, disguised as a Knight, accuses Constance of the murder and at that moment he
is stricken dead, and a voice is heard saying that the King has unjustly judged a disciple of
Christ. The whole Court is converted to Christianity, except Donegil d, the mother of the
King.
The King and Constance fall in love and are married. Whilst the King is away fighting
the Scots, Constance gives birth to a beautiful son. Constance writes to her husband, but
Donegild intercepts and changes the message, saying that the child is disfigured. The King
replies that it is God‘s will, but again this letter is intercepted, and Donegild writes that the
King wishes the son to be destroyed. Constance leaves in a ship for home.
King Alla returns and discovers the evil perp etrated by Donegild and has her put to
death. Back in Rome, the Emperor sends an army to Syria to avenge the death of the
Christians. On their way back from Syria, they discover Constance in her small boat, but she
has lost her memory, and they do not reco gnize her.
Alla decides to make a Pilgrimage to Rome to seek penance for the evil done to
Constance by his mother. He happens to see a child whose face strongly resembles that of
Constance. He asks a Senator concerning the circumstances regarding the child , and he learns
where Constance is living. There is a happy reunion and the Emperor is also glad to have his
daughter back. Alla and Constance return to Northumberland, but unfortunately the King dies
a year later. Constance‘s son returns to Rome to become Emperor.
The main theme of this story is Constance‘s unshakeable faith in Christianity, hence
her name. The moral is that the good Christian must always be true to his faith. Constance
suffers poverty, sorrow, defeat and also prosperity, happiness and vic tory, but through all
these stages, her faith remains constant. She epitomizes all the Christian virtues of faith, hope
and charity, and the reader is impressed with her humility.
It is her faith that keeps her going when she is faced with one improbable s ituation
and then another, and then another. The actual circumstances in the story seem ridiculous, but
they are secondary to the main theme. There is a clear message here for the Medieval
Christian – that although their lives may be governed by Lords, Kin gs and the Clergy; the
way in which they lead their lives should be governed by Jesus Christ.

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It is also curious why Chaucer has the Man of Law declare that he is not a poet, yet
the story is told in seven line stanzas with a clear rhythmic scheme. It is t he same scheme
adopted by Chaucer in his famous Troilus and Criseyde .
We have seen earlier that the host is keen for the Pilgrims to tell their stories, but the
Wife of Bath indulges herself in a long preamble concerning her five marriages. She states
that her life is governed by the experiences she has had, and not by any authority. She wishes
to rebuff the suggestion that she is sinful because she has had five husbands. She is merely
taking on the
Biblical instruction to increase and multiply. She also li kens herself to the morals of
Solomon who had many wives, and also quotes from St. Paul, saying that it is better to marry
than to burn. She also advises that sex organs were devised not just for functional purposes,
but for pleasure as well. The Wife‘s fi rst three husbands were older than her, but good, and
rich. She would often scold them whenever they accused her of being extravagant with their
money, spending it on fine clothes, gold and jewelry. She knew her husbands were rich, but
they always pleaded poverty. They also tried to stop her visiting her numerous women
friends. One of her husband‘s thought she was being unfaithful, but she was always true to
her husbands while they were alive. She was frustrated with the fact that just as she obtained
maste ry over one of her husbands, they would go and die on her.
Her fourth husband was different from the first three, and he had a mistress, which
offended her because she was in her prime. She decided to get her revenge by making him
think she was being unfai thful. He too died, and her last husband was a young Clerk who was
half her age. This marriage was a marriage of love and not for wealth. However, the young
Clerk spent all his time reading books and he collected books, which showed women in an
unfavorable light.
One night she had had enough of this treatment and she hit him over the head with
one of his books and he fell into the fire. He jumped up and hit the Wife of Bath, and she fell
to the floor and pretended to be dead. He was so upset that he promise d her anything if she
would live. This is how she gained control over her last husband.
The prologue to the Wife of Bath‘s tale is actually longer than her tale. Chaucer uses
it to justify the five marriages that the Wife of Bath entered into. The clear su ggestion is that
what women most desire is to have complete control over their husbands.

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There are also additional comments concerning the chastity of women. It was widely
thought in Medieval England that a life of chastity would bring the person closer to God. The
Wife of Bath‘s reaction to this is that if women remained virgins, there would nobody left to
give birth to more virgins. It is evident that the Wife of Bath enjoyed sex, and another point
she is making is that sex should be enjoyed, not tolerate d by women.
Chaucer is making quite revolutionary points for these times, hinting that women
should not be submissive in sexual matters.

2.7. THE WIFE OF BATH’S TALE
There was a Knight in King Arthur‘s time who raped a fair young maiden. King
Arthur sent a decree out that the Knight must be brought to justice. When the Knight is
captured, he is condemned to death, but the Queen intercedes on behalf of the Knight and
asks the King to allow her to pass judgment on the Knight.
The Queen asks the Knight, ―What is the thing that most women desire?‖ The Knight
does not have an answer. The Queen releases the Knight, but commands him to return within
one year with an answer. The Knight spent this time roaming from place to place questioning
women. Some say they wan t wealth, others happiness, others to be gratified and flattered.
Everywhere he heard different answers. It is time for him to return to the Court and he is
depressed for he does not have a good answer.
Outside the castle in the woods, he sees twenty four maidens dancing and singing, but
when he approaches they disappear as if by magic, and all that is left is an old hag. The
Knight explains the problem to the hag and she is wise and may know the answer, but she
would require payment for saving his life. Th e Knight agrees.
The Queen asks the question again, and the Knight responds that women most desire
sovereignty over their husbands. All the women of the Court agree that this is a valid answer.
The Knight is acquitted.
The old crone enters saying that she supplied the answer for the Knight and she now
requests that he marries her. The Knight, in agony, agrees. On their wedding night the hag is
upset that the Knight doesn‘t attend to his new bride, but her ugliness and low breeding
repulse him. She reminds h im that her looks can be an asset because she will be a virtuous

37
wife to him because no other men would desire her. She asks him what he would prefer – an
old ugly hag who is loyal, true and humble or a beautiful woman whom he would always
have doubts abou t concerning her faithfulness? The Knight responds by saying that the
choice was hers. The hag is pleased.
She has won mastery over her husband, and she asks the Knight to kiss her. She says,
―You will find me a fair and faithful wife‖. The Knight turns to look at the hag again, but
now finds a young and lovely woman. They live blissfully ever after, the wife being in
control.
This tale is not original, but Chaucer embellishes the storyline and makes it one of the
most unique of the Canterbury Tales. Again there is a clear moral to the story and the reader
must remember that the narrator is an old hag telling a story about an old hag who dominates
her husband.
The Wife of Bath is indeed a colorful character and her long introduction, which
provides details o f her five marriages, adds substance to her actual tale. The reader may
wonder why she is on a Pilgrimage to Canterbury as she seems to be at odds with most of her
fellow travelers and also with the church, but she attempts to justify her position by quoti ng
relevant passages from the Bible, in particular about Solomon having many wives.
She is in stark contrast to many of the subdued Pilgrims. She has suffered hardship in
her life and her five marriages have not all been successful, but she is a clear surv ivor and
still enjoys life to the full. This in itself is some justification for the way in which she has led
her life, and she stresses the fact that she honored her marriage bed and never was unfaithful
to her husbands.
It is hard to appreciate the cons traints that women suffered in Medieval times. They
were regarded widely as second -class citizens and many of the more extreme churchmen
regarded women as vessels of evil, there to corrupt man. The church‘s position on marriage
was, therefore, that women s hould be kept under strict control to avoid temptation from the
devil.
The Wife of Bath‘s tale as written by Chaucer is there to refute this position. We have
a clear message via the Wife of Bath for the emancipation of women in the Middle Ages.

38
One of the main points of the tale is, however, that a woman‘s chastity should not be
violated and when this happens, the severest punishment is meted out. That is why the Knight
is initially sentenced to death for raping a young girl. Many people in Chaucer‘s time might
think that death was a better punishment than having a life dominated by a woman, which is
the Knight‘s final fate, even although she turns out to be a beauty.
The Friar now offers a tale about a Summoner, but the host disagrees with this
because the re has already been unpleasantness between members of the party, and he doesn‘t
want the Friar to upset the Summoner. However, the Summoner gives leave for the Friar to
tell his tale, for he knows one about a Friar.

2.8. THE FRIAR’S TALE
This story concer ns a Summoner who is paid by a Bishop to summon sinners for Trial
before the Church Court. This particular Summoner has a team of spies and harlots who
provide him with information concerning those living in the Parish, and the Summoner
gathers this inform ation to be used against them by the Church. The Summoner blackmails
the Parishioners to prevent him revealing the information to the Church Court
One day when the Summoner is making his rounds to collect his money, he meets a
young Yeoman. The Yeoman asks the Summoner what his occupation is and he says that he
is a Bailiff. The Yeoman responds, ―Dear brother, so am I.‖ The Yeoman lives in the north of
the country. The two pass the time of day discussing work and they agree that they just
receive enough inc ome to cover expenses. They suggest a partnership.
After they have sealed their partnership, the Yeoman reveals that he is a fiend from
hell, but this does not unduly concern the Summoner, and will keep to their agreed
partnership even although the Yeoman is the Beelzebub himself.
The pair happens upon a farmer whose cart full of hay is stuck fast in the mud. He is
whipping the horses, and in exasperation he shouts for the Devil to take it all, cart, horse, hay
and all. The Summoner urges his partner to cla im the farmer‘s goods, but the Devil explains
that he has no power to do so because the curse was not uttered from the farmer‘s heart.
The Summoner takes the Devil to a rich widow who has consistently refused to pay
the Summoner bribes. She again refuses t o pay the 12 pence ‗owed‘, so the Summoner

39
threatens to take her new frying pan instead. The widow shouts at the Summoner – the Devil
take you and the frying pan. The Devil asks her if she really means these words and she
replies, yes, unless the Summoner repents, but he refuses. The Summoner finds himself body
and soul in hell in a special place in the Devil‘s kingdom where all the Summoners reside.
The Friar ends his tale with the hope that Summoners can someday repent of their evil
doings and become good men.
The reader may perhaps wonder why the Friar has such animosity for a Church
official, (this is what a Summoner is), but you need to know the political background in order
to appreciate this tale. Friars are members of a Mendicant Order. They rely on alms and their
authority comes not from the
Church, but directly from the Pope. This is different from Bishops, Deacons, Priests
and Summoners, who are secular clergy and belong to the Church. There is, therefore,
conflict between these two factions, hence the telling of this tale. We may suspect, therefore,
that Chaucer considers that the Church has too much power and this leads to corruption.
There are also subtle comments made by the Friar in his narration, for he has the
Summoner stating that the Devil is his brother. We also observe that the Summoner lies to the
Devil about his occupation, but is still happy to go along with the partnership presumably
because he thinks there may be profit in it and he will be able to use the Devil‘s influence to
obtain bribes from his ‗customers‘
On conclusion of the Friar‘s tale, the Summoner is shaking with anger, and suggests
that the reason he knows so much about the Devil, is because Friars and fiends are good
friends. He mentions the story concerning a vision that a Friar had of hell, and the angel
guiding him through hell commented that there were no Friars to be seen, but when Satan
lifted up his tail, there were millions of Friars swarming around Satan‘s arsehole.

2.9. THE SUMMONER’S TALE
There was once a Friar who resided in Holderness, Yorkshire, who spent much of his
time casting, spells over his Parishioners and then requesting money so that the Brotherhood
of Friars could pray for their misfortune. Although the Friars would promise to make their
prayers to God, in most cases they didn‘t.

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One day, our Friar went to the home of an old man called Thomas who had been
confined to bed for many days. The Friar assured Thomas that he has been praying constantly
on Thomas‘ behalf. Thomas‘ wife asks the Friar to pray for her husband so that his anger
could be subdued. She complains that her husband is always unpleasant and surly. The wife
offers the Friar some dinner, and after he describes his life of poverty and want, he suggests a
lavish menu for his dinner to the w ife.
After the Friar has finished his meal, he gives the wife a long sermon concerning the
virtues of fasting and on the sin of gluttony. The Friar then turns his attention back to Thomas
and gives him a long sermon on excessive wealth, hinting that he sho uld give generously to
the Friar with a view to increasing his chances of returning to full health.
Thomas responds that he has already given a lot of money to the Friars and it hasn‘t
helped him much. The Friar responds that he has spread his gifts too wi dely and that he
should concentrate all his giving to the Convent that the Friar is a member of, and he will
encourage all his Brothers to pray earnestly for Thomas.
Before the Friar leaves, Thomas remembers that he has a special gift for the Friar, but
that it must be shared equally amongst all the Friars at the Convent, but the Friar has to swear
to share it. He quickly agrees. He tells the Friar to reach down between his buttocks where
there is something hidden. When the Friar complies, the old man lets off an enormous fart
and the Friar stomps out of the house. He thinks – I will pay him back for this.
The Friar makes his way to a wealthy Lord‘s house and he is still shaking with anger,
so he tells the Lord how the old man has offended him. The Friar is also concerned as to how
he will keep his promise by dividing the old man‘s ‗gift‘ into equal parts. The Lord‘s valet,
hearing this conversation, makes a suggestion. Obtain a 13 -spoke wheel and at the end of
each spoke, a Friar should kneel. Strap the old man to the hub of the wheel. When he farts,
the wheel could be turned, and each Friar could share equally. The Lord and his Lady think
the Valet‘s answer is excellent. All agree except the Friar.
When you see past the vulgarity of this tale, we can see tha t the message Chaucer is
making concerns the hypocrisy of some Friars. In this tale, the Friar is quick to sermonize to
others concerning fasting, gluttony and charity, but he does not practice what he preaches.
We suspect that the Friar enjoys in indulgin g himself whenever he goes on his rounds, and

41
this selfish preoccupation means that he and his Brothers have little time for making
supplications to the Lord, which they have been paid to do by their Parishioners.
The Middle Ages were perhaps a low point i n the history of Friars, and this story is
more a tragedy than a comedy. It is clear that the spread of Christianity came about through
the hard work of the Friars, but now, in the Middle Ages, they are viewed with disdain as is
evident in this story.
The last point is that we have pairs of tales between the Reeve and the Miller, and the
Summoner and the Friar, where all the narrators resort to excessive vulgarity in order to insult
their counterpart. It is a pity that there is a lack of subtlety in parts o f these stories.
The host turns his attention to the Clerk from Oxford who has been very quiet, and he
tells him to cheer up. He asks him to tell us a lively tale, and the Clerk agrees.

2.10. THE CLERK’S TALE
There once lived a King named Walter who ruled over Saluzzo in Italy, and his
subjects revered him. However, there was one concern and that was the succession to the
throne, for the King was unmarried. He had refused marriage because he could not be happy
unless his wife was totally subservient. His Lords agreed that they would help him find such
a wife.
The King liked to move amongst his subjects in disguise, and one day he came across
a poor family comprising of a father, Janicula, and his beautiful chast e daughter, Griselda.
After a long period of observation, he decided that he would marry Griselda as she seemed to
meet all his requirements. Walter asked Janicula for permission to marry his daughter, and
the wedding proceeded. Walter made Griselda promis e that she would always obey his will,
even if it caused her pain.
After their marriage, Griselda‘s fame spread throughout the lands and people came to
see this paragon of virtue. Soon Griselda gave birth to a daughter, and while she was still
suckling the babe, the King decided to test his wife. He took the child away from Griselda to
be brought up elsewhere. As agreed, she complied with her husband‘s wishes. She never lost
any love for her husband.

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More years passed, and Griselda gave birth to a son. Ever yone was happy for there
was now an heir to the throne. When the boy was two years old, the King decided to test his
wife‘s patience and fidelity again. He told her that she would have to give up her son. She
complied without complaint.
When their daughter was twelve years old and their son ten, the King decided to give
Griselda one final test. He forged a Papal Decree allowing Walter to marry another woman of
higher birth. Griselda took the news with a heavy heart, but showing great humility, she said
she would abide by her husband‘s decision and return to her father‘s house. Before she
departed she was asked to prepare the beautiful young girl for marriage to Walter. The girl
was, in fact, her daughter who she did not recognize. Dressed only in a smock, sh e returned
to her father where she remained for a short time.
Walter could not stand his cruelty any longer, and he confessed to Griselda that the
beautiful young girl was her daughter, and he introduced their son to her as well. Walter
stopped testing his wife and they lived the rest of their days in complete happiness. After
Walter died, his son succeeded to the throne.
The Clerk concludes his tale saying that all women should follow Griselda‘s example,
addressing his comments directly at the Wife of Bath .
This is, of course, a story in direct contrast to that of the Wife of Bath. We have a
woman who is perhaps too good to be true who is completely submissive to her husband. We
see a man, who is totally selfish and almost behaves in a sadistic manner towar ds his wife,
but she puts up with this cruelty and her love for him is undiminished.
The reader must also remember that Walter was revered by his subjects and succumbs
to marriage because of the will of his people and his Lords. Many Medieval men would
clearly regard Griselda as the perfect wife, but the modern woman will regard her as a
ridiculous person.
Chaucer obtained the idea for this tale from a story written by Petrarch, called ‗The
Fable of Obedience and Wifely Faith‘. Much of Chaucer‘s work is ins pired by foreign
literature and the reader will recall that Chaucer was adept in languages, and translated many
works of literature into English.

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The main message of the story surrounds Griselda and we see that whatever her
situation, she remains unaffecte d and constant to her husband. She remains virtuous whether
she is living in poverty or among the riches of royalty.
In the end it is Griselda who is the victor. She passes all the tests set by Walter with
distinction and we must assume that she will hold a position of dignity and respect for the rest
of her time with her husband.
The Merchant voices his envy for King Walter, for he has experience of wives of a
different sort. He is an elderly man who was recently married and in only two short months of
wedlock, he has experienced hell. The host implores the Merchant to tell his tale.

2.11. THE MERCHANT’S TALE
There once lived a wealthy Knight called January, in the town of Pavia, Lombardy.
He was aged sixty and lived a life of debauchery and lust and he no w wished to settle down
and marry a beautiful young maiden who lived in the city. He had always thought that it was
God‘s wish that men and women should marry, and he also needed a son to inherit his
estates.
The Pilgrims notice that there is a suggestion of sarcasm entwined within the
Merchant‘s tale. January decides to marry a young girl named May, but before marrying the
maid, he consults with his friends concerning a dilemma he has. He wants to ensure that May
is the right wife for him because to choose the wrong mate, would mean living a life of hell
here on earth.
One of his friends, Justinius, advises against the match, but January proceeds. After
the wedding, January becomes impatient with his guests as he wishes to enjoy his wedding
bed. After the P riest had blessed the marriage bed, he consummated his marriage.
Now there was a young servant in the household named Damian, who fell in love with
May at first sight. He soon became ill over his unrequited love and was taken to bed. January
was concerned over his servant‘s poor health, and sent his wife and other women of the court
to tend to him. Damian took the opportunity to pass a love note to May, and she
acknowledged his desires.

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Suddenly, January was stricken with blindness and consumed with jealous y over his
wife, insisted that she remain by his side at all times. Nevertheless, May and Damian arrange
to meet in the garden. He would go first and climb up a pear tree. The Merchant takes us
from this earthly scene to heaven where the gods discuss the s ituation. Pluto is angry at
May‘s deceit, and decides that he is going to restore January‘s sight, but his wife Proserpina
decries men for being lecherous and will provide May with an excuse. May and January sit
underneath the pear tree, and May offers to climb the tree to get her husband a ripe pear. The
love-struck couple is soon locked in an amorous clinch, and just then January‘s sight is
restored. He bellows with rage at the sight of the couple, but May accuses him of seeing
things and asks January to wait until his sight is restored fully. She then jumps down from the
tree and clasps January in a fond embrace.
We have yet another instance of an old foolish man being hoodwinked by a young
bride. The clear moral of the tale here is that an old man should not marry a young bride
unless he can satisfy her. Failure to do this will only make a young bride look elsewhere for
satisfaction.
The names of the characters are important; January symbolizes the old man, whereas
May represents the young woman – Winter against Spring. Justinius, January‘s friend is
symbolized as a righteous man whose advice is rejected.
This tale could quite easily have had a tragic ending, but Chaucer chooses to have
January continue in his fool‘s paradise. The tale reflects the Merchan t‘s own bad experiences
with marriage, and we gather that he too has been deceived by a young wife.
The host asks if the Squire has a tale of love to tell. He says no, but he has something
else that may be of interest.

2.12. THE SQUIRE’S TALE
The Squire starts his tale which concerns a Kingdom in the land of Tartary. The King
Cambuskan is to be married and he orders a lavish celebration. An unknown Knight appears
at the celebrations with gifts from his Lord the King of India and Araby. He has a brass horse

45
that can fly higher than any known creature. He has a mirror which provides the owner with
details of what his friends and enemies are thinking. He has another gift in the form of a ring
which enables the bearer to understand the languages of creatures. The last gift is a sword
that will cut through anything.
The Franklin interrupts the story and insists on telling his own. Although impressed
by the Squire‘s eloquence, it is clear that he intends to use the tale to impress the company
concernin g his experience in traveling in these far off places.
All this passage does is infuriate the reader because he never discovers how the tale
finishes. The Squire risked boring the listeners with his detailed description of King
Cambuskan‘s world, much as t he Knight did in his tale.
Perhaps Chaucer felt he did not have the time to finish such an elaborate tale and give
it justice.

2.13. THE FRANKLIN’S TALE
There was once a Knight named Arveragus in the land of Brittany. He was brave and
prosperous and he wi shed to make his life complete by taking a suitable wife. He decided to
marry a fair maiden named Dorigen, provided she would make a vow with him that they
would respect each other and practice patience towards each other‘s behavior and words.
After they w ere married, the Knight had to travel to distant lands in order to obtain more
wealth. In his absence, his wife Dorigen soon became depressed and mourned her husband‘s
absence. She felt lonely in her castle on the coast of rocky France and she would spend many
an hour contemplating life while gazing at the waves crashing on the rocks at the foot of the
cliff. Her wealthy neighbor often invited her to join in the parties that he hosted, but she
always refused until one day in May she was persuaded to attend a picnic.
Aurelius, the neighbor, decided he would confess his love for Dorigen, but she
repelled his advances. However, he was persistent and in a joke, she said should would agree
to his advances if he could remove all the rocks from the coast of Brittan y. Despondent,
Aurelius prayed to Apollo to send a flood to cover the rocks. Eventually, Arveragus returned
home and husband and wife were happy again in each other‘s company.

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Meanwhile, Aurelius‘ brother new of a man who had deciphered a book of magic and
on payment of £1,000 would cast a spell that would clear the coast of rocks. The deed was
performed and Aurelius asked Dorigen to keep her promise. She was much grieved at this
outcome and confided in her husband what had happened. The noble Knight told h is wife that
she must keep her promise even though it was made in jest, and this would deeply grieve and
wound him. However, Aurelius, hearing of the sacrifice and nobility of Arveragus could not
force himself to take Dorigen, and he sent the woman back to her husband.
Aurelius then found that he did not have enough gold to pay the £1,000, but the
brother‘s friend, learning that the bargain was not completed, forgave Aurelius the debt. The
Franklin poses the question at the end – Who was the finest gentlema n in the story?
We again have the repeating theme of a three -way love affair in this story, mirroring
those that have gone before as in the Knight‘s Tale and the Miller‘s Tale.
Chaucer now seems to provide a mid -course between what the Wife of Bath
advocat ed, where a woman has complete sovereignty over a man, and the Clerk‘s Tale where
a woman should be completely subservient. Unlike these two tales, the Franklin‘s Tale has a
thread of nobility running through it and all the characters portrayed.
Here we ha ve the wife refusing to be unfaithful whilst the husband is away, but she
feels duty bound to keep a promise even though it was spoken in jest. Her husband insists that
she should keep her promise, and then finally the neighbor refuses to hold Dorigen to t he oath
that she made. So, in conclusion, everybody has been respectful and honest to everybody
else.
The moral of the tale therefore, is that one noble deed performed will lead to another,
and then another. In this way, good overcomes evil.

2.14. THE PH YSICIAN’S TALE
There was once a rich courageous Knight named Virginius who had a beautiful
fourteen year -old daughter. Her beauty was matched by her kindness and modesty. In the
town was a judge named Appius who was obsessed with having this beautiful girl . He obtains

47
the services of a criminal named Claudius in order to kidnap Virginia. Claudius accuses the
Knight of having stolen a servant girl from his house and pretending that she was his
daughter. Appius, the judge, rules against the Knight and takes t he child as a Ward of Court.
When Virginius returns home and tells his daughter what has happened she is distraught. The
only course of action is for his daughter to accept death rather than face the shame of being at
the mercy of Appius and Claudius.
The Knight cuts off his daughter‘s head with his sword and holding it by the hair
takes it to the judge. The judge orders that the Knight be hanged for murder, but the people of
the town intercede, being aroused to the judge‘s treachery. The judge is thrown in to prison
and the mob wish to hang Claudius for his evil work. The Knight intercedes, suggesting he
should be exiled, which was carried out.
The Physician finishes his tale with the moral that ―the wages of sin is death‖ and all
should confess their sins.
Chaucer has taken this tale from Titus Livius, a Roman historian, but it has been
greatly embellished by Chaucer. This is because he has given more characterization to
Virginius and his daughter, whereas the original story focused on the corrupt judge and his
passion for the young girl.
The Physician certainly dramatizes the situation by having the father cut off his
daughter‘s head for the sake of the honor of his family. The Knight clearly does not wish to
have the blood of Claudius on his hands as well as his daughter‘s hence the suggestion that he
be exiled rather than hanged.
The host was upset by the Physician‘s tale, in particular the treacherous behavior of
the judge. He turns to the Pardoner requesting that he tells a more agreeable story. The
Pardoner, before commencing his tale, gives information to the Pilgrims concerning the
methods he uses in preaching. He will use as his text ―Radix malorum est cupidatis‖ which is
―love of money is the root of all evil‖. He carries with him a variety of relics which are
available for sale to all, but in particular bad sinners. He encourages the Pilgrims to be
unselfish and have only good intentions in order to stay clear of sin. He then confesses that he
is a worldly man and likes money, rich food and fine livi ng.

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2.15. THE PARDONER’S TALE
This story concerns three young men who spend much of their time in revelry. The
tale is set in Flanders, and the Pardoner during the telling of the tale, tends to drift from the
plot and sermonize to the Pilgrims. On this pa rticular day as the three men indulge in
gambling and drunkenness, they hear a funeral passing outside the Inn. They ask a servant
who has died. He responds by saying that it is a friend of the three men who was stabbed in
the back by a thief called Death. He has killed many in the neighborhood recently.
The three drunken men decide to seek this thief out, and they travel to the next town
in pursuit. On the way they meet an extremely old man dressed in rags. He explains that he
has been cursed to wander the earth until he can find a youth who will change places with
him. He goes on to say that not even Death will take his life. The three men ask the old man
if he has seen Death, and he responds that he was last seen under the tree at the end of the
lane.
The three men go and find bags of gold beneath the tree and they decide to keep this
for themselves. It would be too dangerous to move the gold in daytime so they will wait for
nightfall. They draw straws to see who will go into town to obtain food, and the y oungest is
given this task. When he has gone, the two that are left decide that they will murder him
when he returns and keep the gold for themselves.
The youngest of the three decides to poison the food he brings to the other two and
keep the gold for himself. The youngest is stabbed, and the other two are poisoned.
Along with the Wife of Bath, the Pardoner is the other interesting Pilgrim in the
company. He is clearly a complex man as revealed in the prologue to his tale. He finds it easy
to sermonize to the other Pilgrims emphasizing his text that the love of money is the root of
all evil, and gives advice as to how people should live their lives in order to avoid sin. At the
same time he confesses that he readily succumbs to temptation and likes to in dulge himself
with rich food and fine living. The money he obtains to support his lifestyle comes from the
sale of relics which are mainly purchased by bad sinners.
At the end of his tale he again takes the opportunity to make some money indicating
that th e Host is perhaps the most sinful of those present, but the Host responds that the
Pardoner is not a complete man.

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It was only the intervention of the Knight that restored peace between the Host and
the Pardoner. Again Chaucer takes the opportunity to high light the hypocrisy of the Medieval
Church in his portrayal of the Pardoner. It is the old story of the Pardoner not practicing what
he preaches. You will recall that the Pardoner sells Pardons and Indulgences to sinners by the
authority of the Pope, and i t is no coincidence that Chaucer depicts him as probably the most
evil of the Pilgrims. This is perhaps what makes this character so intriguing and this is shared
by the tale that he tells.
There has been some ambiguity about this story, but I am convinced that the old man
is in fact Death or the Devil, and he is very familiar with the frailties of man and what these
three will do when they find the gold that he has left under the tree. He has another three
souls to add to his kingdom!
The old man mirrors t he hypocrisy of the Narrator himself in the way he deceives the
three men. The Pardoner‘s work is also based on deceit, selling relics to the unwary. The
message is, therefore, that you cannot covet money without coveting death itself.

2.16. THE SHIPMAN’S TALE
This story is set in St. Denis, France, where there was once a rich Merchant whose
wife was of unparalleled beauty. They lived in a sumptuous house which was always filled
with guests. On one occasion, they had as one of their guests a handsome young Monk who
enjoyed the Merchant‘s hospitality. Through conversation the Merchant and the Monk
discovered that they were born in the same town so they must be related and be cousins. The
Merchant was thrilled at this prospect and they called one another brot her.
It was necessary for the Merchant to leave on business to Brussels, but before he left
he locked himself up in his counting room in order to review his financial situation. The
Monk was taken with the Merchant‘s wife‘s beauty and took the opportunity, in the
Merchant‘s absence, to get to know her better.
The Monk noticed that she looked pale and wondered if perhaps her husband had kept
her awake all night at play. The wife protested and said that relations with her husband were
not good, and she was cl ose to taking her own life. The Monk encouraged the wife to confide
in him and she agreed to tell him concerning the marital neglect she suffered provided he kept

50
it a secret. The Monk takes the opportunity to tell the wife that he doesn‘t regard himself a s
related to her husband. The wife goes on to say that her husband does not give her any money
and forces her to lead a frugal life. She begs the Monk to loan her some money so that she
can buy some necessities for herself. The Monk agrees to do this and t hen he kisses the wife
passionately.
Before the Merchant departs to Brussels, the Monk asks for a loan from the Merchant
of 100 francs. The Merchant gladly agrees. When the Merchant has gone, the Monk calls on
the wife and gives her the money in exchange f or a night in bed.
On the Merchant‘s return home, he stops at the Monk‘s Abbey to see how he fares,
not to collect the loan. The Monk advises the Merchant that he repaid the money to his wife a
few days after the Merchant had left for Brussels.
On returnin g home, the Merchant scolds his wife for not having told him that the loan
had been repaid. He notices that she has bought some fine clothes and forgives her the
extravagance.
Chaucer launches another attack against the Ecclesiastical community by having t he
Shipman portray a Monk in a most unsavory light. The Monk breaks his vows with God and
he shows himself as a manipulator by falsely claiming that he is related to the Merchant. Not
content with taking advantage of the wife‘s desperate position regarding money, he betrays
her confidence, and his actions risk her unfaithfulness being revealed. He seems to profit
from his liaison with the Merchant and his wife, and the joke is on them.
There is a theory that Chaucer constructed the Tales first and then assi gned them to
the characters later. If we look at lines 11 – 19, these relate to a woman‘s point of view,
“the unfortunate, husband at any rate, he must paye!
he must us clothe and he must us arraye
all for his owne worship, richly –
in which array we dan ce jollily!”
In other words, husbands want their wives to be hardy, wise and good in bed.
Scholars suggest that this tale was originally allocated to the Wife of Bath, but then
Chaucer changed his mind and decided that the Shipman (Pirate) should tell the tale, and
forgot to eliminate these lines which are inconsistent.

51
The reader may wonder why the rich Merchant was quite happy to lend money to the
Monk, but kept his wife short of money. The Monk actually holds a high position of power at
this time, and is in fact Knighted, and called Sir John. Therefore, the Merchant was clearly
honored, firstly to be a relative, and then to be asked for a loan.
In contrast, the Merchant views his wife almost as a glorified servant, and sees no
return in lavishing money on her to spend on frivolous behavior.
The Host calls upon the Prioress to tell a tale, and she starts by singing the praises of
the Virgin Mary.
“O Lord, our Lord, thy name how marvelous
is in this large world widespread,
for not only thy praise precious
performed is by men of dignitee,
but by the mouth of children thy bountee
performed is: for on the breast suckinge
sometime shewn they thine heryinge (praise).”

2.17. THE PRIORESS’S TALE
In a Christian town in Asia, lived a community of Jews who were some what exploited
by the Christians. In order for the Christian children to attend school, they had to pass
through the Jewish ghetto, but they were free to do so.
One of the younger pupils was not yet acquainted with Latin, but he was determined
to learn a s ong that the older children sang, ―O Alma Redemptoris‖. The young boy soon
learnt the song, but did not know its meaning, and he continually sang this out loud on his
way to school. He discovered that the song was in praise of the Virgin Mary.
Serpent Sata n whispered to the Jews that this song was a direct insult to their Holy
Laws, and it must be stopped. A few Jews hired a murdered who was to grasp the child and
thrown his body into a cesspool. The child‘s mother went searching for the boy when he did
not return from school, and she made enquiries at the houses of the Jews, but they said that
they knew nothing. As if guided by Jesus, she found herself in the alley where her son had

52
been murdered and placed in the pit, and she found his body. The boy was st ill singing the
song and the Christian people gathered round in amazement. The Jews were rounded up and
drawn by wild horses and hanged.
Still singing, the child was taken to the Abbey. Although he was dead, having had his
throat slit, he still sang. When his body was brought into the Abbey, he told the Abbots that
Jesus had commanded him to sing until he was buried, and that the Virgin Mary had laid a
grain upon his tongue. He will continue to sing until the grain is taken away from his tongue.
This the Mo nks did, and the child gave up the ghost and was laid to rest. A splendid marble
tomb was erected as a memorial to the boy.
This whole episode is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Prioress was attached to a
Convent whose order relied on the patronage of the Virgin Mary. The Prioress‘ prologue is a
hymn of praise sung for the Virgin. The reader needs to understand some history of Medieval
England and the position of Jews at that time.
There was great animosity between Christians and Jews, and as indicated in the Tale,
the Jews lived in ghettos in major concentrations of population. Persecution was widespread
and the deaths of Jews were numerous. There were particular atrocities carried out in York
where in fact Jews had to obtain sanctuary inside Christian churches to avoid death. Tension
between the Jewish and Christian communities came to a climax in 1290 when Jews were
expelled from England.
Chaucer is retelling a tale used as propaganda to incite hatred against the Jewish
community. Unfortunately, this prejudice is still prevalent today. Much of the prejudice
against the Jewish communities in Medieval England is founded on jealousy.
Circumstances forced the Jews to live in tight -knit communities, but they helped one
another and seemed to be adept in busi ness matters and were thus able to accumulate wealth.
There are reports that many Christian leaders used Jewish finance in order to fund various
campaigns. The prejudice is also not helped by the use of Jews in certain characterizations in
literature such as Shylock in Shakespeare‘s ‗The Merchant of Venice‘, Rebecca in Sir Walter
Scott‘s ‗Ivanhoe‘, and Fagin in Dickens‘s ‗Oliver Twist‘.
A solemn atmosphere descended on the Pilgrims after the Prioress‘ tale, and the Host
asks Chaucer to tall his tale to live n up the group. Chaucer responds that he only knows one
story which he heard a long time ago.

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2.18. CHAUCER’S TALE OF SIR TOPAS
Chaucer is another author that makes fun of authority. This tale is a parody of popular
tail-rhyme romance, full of silly conventions, empty phrases and bad rhymes.
Sir Topas was a handsome young man who was a skilled hunter, archer and wrestler,
but he w as not interested in women, which caused disappointment to many a maiden.
One night in the forest, he fell asleep and dreamed of an Elf Queen who joined him
under his cloak. When he awoke he was determined to search the earth for the Elf Queen.
The Host in terrupts the tale, for he is tired with such ‗illiterate rhymes‘, so Chaucer tells the
Tale of Melibee. This is a tedious story concerning Dame Prudence who is the wife of
Melibee.
Whilst they were away, the Melibee‘s home is burgled by three thieves, and their
daughter Sophia, who was still at home, was grievously injured by the burglars. The burglars
are captured, but after taking advice to the surprise of those present, Dame Prudence wishes
to have a peaceful settlement with the burglars. Melibee decided to punish the burglars with a
fine, but Prudence blocked this, so the burglars left after they were given a lengthy sermon. It
is not known what happened to the daughter Sophia.
We can only assume that it is through modesty that Chaucer assigns two uneven tful
stories to his name. The Tale of Melibee has almost no plot, but it goes on for 1,885 lines,
and perhaps its only function is to demonstrate Chaucer‘s art in poetry.
The question that the tale poses is whether we should avenge like with like, violence
with violence. It is clear that Melibee and Dame Prudence adopt the view that we should turn
the other cheek.
The Host was pleased with Chaucer‘s tale of Dame Prudence an d Sir Topas. He
wished that his wife had been here to have witnessed the story. He blames his wife for
driving him to commit acts of dishonesty. He then turns to the Monk and asks for a merry
tale, but the Monk responds by providing a series of tragic tale s.

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2.19. THE MONK’S TALE
The Monk‘s Tale is almost a lecture concerning tragic figures of the past. He starts
with Adam and Lucifer‘s fall from grace, leading on to the story of Samson and Delilah. Next
he provides brief histories concerning Hercules, Neb uchadnezzar, and Balthasar who refused
to abandon the ways of the wicked despite warnings from God. This led to the loss of his
kingdom.
The Monk then provides details of a Persian woman, Zenobia. Not only was she
beautiful, but she was a great warrior and feared neither man nor beast. She fell in love with
Prince Idenathus and they had two sons. The courageous Prince conquered many lands and
they soon ruled over a vast area. When the Prince died, her sons continued to show no mercy
for the nations they had captured. Then they were invaded by the Roman Empire, and they
were taken to Rome, mother and sons, as slaves to be jeered at.
Further tragic tales follow concerning Nero the Roman Emperor, King Peter of Spain
who was betrayed and slain by his own brother , and Julius Caesar who was assassinated. The
Monk would have continued if it had not been for the intervention of the Knight, pleading for
a merry tale, but he did not comply.
It is not clear what Chaucer‘s intentions were in writing this tale for the Mon k. Maybe
he wished to impress the reader with his knowledge of world literature and stories from far –
off lands, some of which he perhaps translated into English. However, the tales are not told in
chronological order, and there seems to be no organization in this work. It may be that these
were ideas for stories that the Pilgrims would tell on their return journey to London.
The Host agrees with the Knight that the stories were too grim, and boring, and that he
almost fell asleep. The Host turns to the Nun‘ s Priest and asks if he knows a merry tale.

2.20. THE NUN’S PRIEST TALE
This story takes place in the farmyard of a widow and her two daughters. Here lives a
cock called Chaunticleer who was a magnificent beast and was renowned for his crowing –
no other cock could match him. He watched over seven hens, the leader of which was a
gracious hen named Lady Pertelote. Chaunticleer and the Lady were in love.

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One day, the Lady noticed that Chaunticleer was not his usual self. He tells her that he
has had a terrib le dream, that some kind of beast came into the yard and seized him. His color
was similar to a fox. The Lady scolds him for being cowardly and that dreams are nothing to
be afraid of. He probably ate too many worms – that is what causes bad dreams.
The La dy quotes Cato who said that dreams have no consequence, but Chaunticleer
thinks differently. He has heard that dreams can foretell the future. Now there was a fox
named Daun Russel who had been hiding near the farmyard, and suddenly
Chaunticleer notices t he fox and immediately begins to run around, but the fox calls
out saying don‘t be afraid, I have only come to hear your beautiful voice. He believes that
Chaunticleer‘s voice is even better than his father, and he was a good crower. The vain cock
shuts hi s eyes and bursts into song, demonstrating his prowess to the fox. The fox grasps him
about the neck and makes off into the countryside.
The hens, seeing what has happened, make a terrible din that arouses the entire
household. The widow and her two daught ers, plus all the farmyard animals, dogs, geese,
ducks and even the bees, chase the fox.
Chaunticleer says to the fox, ―Why don‘t you turn round and throw them a few
insults?‖ The fox thinks this is a good idea and as soon as he opens his mouth Chaunticlee r
escapes and flies into the trees.
Arguably one of the best -composed tales in this set, it still has the capacity to delight
today as it did when it was first written. Stories concerning animals have always been
popular, and here we have all the ingredien ts of a good story with humor, tension and
excitement. What makes this stand out is the way in which Chaucer humanizes the animals,
and how he provides them with human characteristics, but you never forget that the
characters are a cock, a hen and a fox.
It is appropriate that the Priest tells this tale, for like Chaunticleer who looks after
seven hens, he is the confessor to a group of Nuns.
In Medieval England, wise men were always depicted as wearing a beard, and the
Lady refers to Chaunticleer‘s beard i ndicating that he is wise cock who lets his wisdom be
eclipsed by his vanity. However, unlike other fowl, he does not panic when he is in the grip
of the fox, and uses his intelligence to escape.

56
We also have the absurd and humorous situation where Chaunti cleer‘s dilemma is
compared with Hector‘s plight in Homer‘s ‗Odyssey‘. Chaucer even has this songbird
quoting Latin, although his translation is not as good as it should be.

2.21. THE SECOND NUN’S TALE
There was once a young woman of Rome who valued her c hastity so much that she
wanted to remain a virgin forever. However, she was given to a young man named Valerian
in marriage. The woman prayed to God to keep her chaste, and on her wedding night, she told
her husband that she has a guardian angel that woul d slay anyone who violated her. Valerian
did not believe her and the woman named Cecilia, tells him that he must go and be baptized
by Holy Urban.
Urban was pleased to greet Valerian and rejoiced in the power that Cecilia had to send
the young man to be ba ptized. Valerian saw a vision of an old man and believing this to be an
important portent, agreed to be baptized.
When he returned to Cecilia, he saw her with an angel holding a crown of lilies and a
crown of roses. The angel said that the crowns had come from heaven, and only those that are
chaste and hate evil can see them. The angel has the power to grant Valerian a wish and he
requests that his brother should know the truth and be baptized as well.
However, his brother objects. He doesn‘t want to be an outcast like Pope Urban, but
Cecilia explains that it is not this life that is important, but the next, and so he agrees to be
baptized. There is a purge against the Christians and they are rounded up and sentenced to
death, including Cecilia, Valerian and his brother Tiburce. During their imprisonment, they
are able to convert others to Christianity.
When Cecilia is brought before the court, she answers all the questions cleverly and
profoundly, insulting the pagan gods of their captors. She is sentenced t o death by being
placed in boiling water, but this fails, and then she is to be decapitated, but after three blows
from the sword, she is still alive as the executioner was unable to sever her head. She lived
for three more days, and many more were convert ed to Christianity. Later, Pope Urban buried
her body and proclaimed her a Saint.

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Chaucer has merely translated this old legend from Latin to English. Little is actually
known concerning Cecilia. Her martyrdom is attributed to the reign of Severus around A.D.
230.
A Canon and his servant join the Pilgrims and the Host asks if they have any tales to
tell. The Yeoman says that his master knows many stories concerning far off lands and
distant shores. The Canon is clearly embarrassed by his servant and slips away, leaving the
Yeoman to tell his story.

2.22. THE CANON’S YEOMAN’S TALE
This tale is basically a confidence trick involving a Canon and a Priest. The Canon
practices alchemy, but was short of money and borrowed 1 mark from a wealthy Priest. The
Priest did not expect to see his money again, but was pleased to see its return three days later.
The Canon was very grateful to the Priest and offered to reveal some of his discoveries.
He showed the Priest several tricks such as throwing a hollow branch filled with
silver, but sealed at both ends, onto a fire so that it appeared that when the branch burnt, it
actually turned into silver, which so impressed the Priest that he offered to pay the Canon £40
for the secret. The Canon disappeared soon after with the money.
There were many alchemists working in medieval times, and their man task was
trying to convert base metals into precious materials such as gold and silver.
The party is now approaching Canterbury and some of the Pilgrims are showing signs
of fatigue . The Cook can hardly stay on his horse due to his drunkenness, but the Host thinks
there is still time for a few more stories and turns to the Manciple.

2.23. THE MANCIPLE’S TALE
There was once a great warrior called, Phoebus, who was also a skilled musi cian and
loved his wife more than himself. However, he had one fault and that was extreme jealousy.
He possessed a white -feathered crow that was a great mimic and could repeat words he had
only heard once.

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His wife had a secret lover and she carelessly mad e love to him in the presence of the
crow. When Phoebus returned to the house the crow told him what he had heard and seen.
Phoebus killed his wife and then plucked the crow so it was bald. The white feathers never
appeared again as they were replaced by b lack ones. Before throwing the crow out, he
removed the crow‘s ability to sing and speak. The Manciple ends his tale by telling people
they should restrain their tongues.
The moral of the tale is that repeating a scandal is a dangerous occupation. There
remains one of the company to tell a story and that is the Parson. He tells the party that he is
no rhyme master and he knows of no story that would entertain or amuse. However, he does
have a sermon, which would be more appropriate if they were on a pilgrim age to Jerusalem.

2.24. THE PARSON’S SERMON
The Parson advises that it is God‘s desire that all men should travel to the celestial
city and not perish in the fires of hell. There are many ways in which to travel to paradise.
One way is through penitence, lamenting for sin and sinning no more. He then details some
of the sins man should avoid, such as envy, sloth, gluttony, and lechery, all of which have
appeared in the tales told by the Pilgrims. He urges that those present should confess their
sins freely and obtain satisfaction and God‘s grace by the giving of alms to the poor, doing
penance for sins committed, and fasting.
It is clear that Chaucer is trying to make amends for the way in which he has
represented the church through some of the Pilgrims pre sent. It is also clear that the tales told
by the Pilgrims concerning the church indicate that in medieval times there was much
corruption evident within the Ecclesiastical system.
The final tale, from the Parson, provides a high moral tone, and shows that at least
some members of the church do actually carry out God‘s work and are not in it for their own
purposes. The Sermon was actually the work of two 13th Century Dominican Friars, and is
not Chaucer‘s own work.

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The Tales are found in around eight manu scripts, in separate sections or Fragments.
The best manuscripts have the Fragments, each with one or more tales. If some Fragments are
incomplete, the Tales have a conclusion. As the shadows lengthen, with Canterbury in sight,
the Host jocularly asks the Parson to speak last and ― knytte up wel a greet mateere.‖ He
responds with:
A myrie tale in prose…
To shewe yow the wey,in this viage,
Of thikle parfit glorious pilgrimage
That highte Jerusalem celestial.
His Tale is a confessor‘s manual based on the Seven Deadly Sins: a fitting end to a
pilgrimage, and a comprehensive answer to its parliament of fools.
In all this stories, Chaucer‘s gothic switches of genre and tone are allowed by his
comprehensive conception of life, physical, social, moral and metap hysical, shown from a
variety of viewpoints. As his final Retractions show, Chaucer‘s humanity has a theological
dimension.
As a result of historical events from that time, Chaucer‘s stories are concerned on
three major themes.
First major theme was the pe rvasiveness of courtly love . This courtly love was
actually a set of ideas about love that has a great impact on the literature and culture of the
middle ages. Starting from the 11th century, poets throughout Europe promoted many ideas
about love. It was considered that only exists outside of marriage, that true love may be
idealized and spiritual, and may exist without ever being physically consummated and that a
man becomes the serv ant of the lady he loves.
With all this basic premises, courtly love encompassed a number of minor motifs. One
of these is the idea that love is a torment or a disease, and that when a man is in love he
cannot sleep or eat and present physical changes. Th ese themes and motifs were extremely
popular and widespread in medieval literature and culture.
Courtly love motifs first appear in The Canterbury Tales with the description of the
Squire in the General Prologue . The description of the Squire establishes a pattern that runs
throughout the General Prologue , and The Canterbury Tales : Characters whose roles are

60
defined by their religious or economic functions integrate the cultural ideals of curtly love
into their dresses, their behavior, and the tales they te ll, in order to give a slightly different
twist to their roles.
The second theme was the importance of Company. Company literally signifies a
group of people, but Chaucer‘s deliberate choice of this word over other words for describing
masses of people, l ike the middle ages words for party, or mixture. Many of Chaucer‘s
characters end their stories by wishing to rest of the company well. The knight ends with
“God save al this compaignye”
and the Reeve with
“God, that sitteth heighe in magestee,
Save al this compaignye grete and smale!”
The third major theme was the corruption of the Church. In the late 14th century the
Catholic Church become extremely wealthy. In a century of disease, plague, famine, and
scarce labor, the sight of a church ornamented wit h unused gold seemed unfair to some
people, and the Church‘s preaching against greed suddenly seemed hypocritical, considering
its great displays of material wealth. Distaste for the excesses of the Church triggered stories
and anecdotes about greedy, irre ligious churchmen who accepted bribes, bribed others, and
indulged themselves sensually and gastronomically, while ignoring the poor famished
peasants begging at their doors.
The religious figures Chaucer represents in The Canterbury Tales all deviate in one
way or another from what was traditionally expected of them. Generally, their conduct
corresponds to common medieval stereotypes, but it is difficult to make any overall statement
about Chaucer‘s position because his narrator is so clearly biased towar d some characters —
the Monk, for example —and so clearly biased against others, such as the Pardoner.
Geoffrey Chaucer‘ contribution to English literature is extremely important. He was
the first English writer which wrote in the vernacular. Through his work The Canterbury
Tales describes the beautiful life of medieval world. This work is a mirror that reflects
English society in the late middle ages.
To compose this masterpiece Chaucer inspired from French and Italian poetry. For
example the French influence is evidenced in The Canterbury Tales with certain niceties of

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rhyme, and his not rhyming words ending in –y with others ending in –ye. Also he uses the
style of French poetry in romance verse and royal rhyme.
Through his work Chaucer not only revealed the beauty of Middle English society,
but he also marked a major contribution to English language. After he wrote his story in
English, this language was no longer considered ‗second -class‘ language. His memorable
portrait of the Wife of Bath and his developm ent of his character, were accomplished in
English.
Chaucer, to succeed the perfect description of Wife of Bath, he used the technique
known as descriptio . I suppose many readers will agree that is the most strikingly described
character of the General Pro logue. In some thirty natural, easy lines of seemingly casual
observation, she appears in startling completeness. For all that air of unconcern, Chaucer has
worked his miracle by remembering his Cicero:
A good wif was ther of biside bathe, (sex, place of o rigin)
But she was somdel deef, and that was scathe.
Of clooth -makying she hadde swich an haunt,
Manner of Life (trade)
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
Habit (dexterity)
In al the parisshe wif ne was ther noon
Fortune (rank)
That to the offrynge bifore hire sholde goon;
And if ther dide, certeyne so wroth was she,
Feeling (vexation)
That she was out of alle charitee.
His coverchiefs ful fine weren of ground;
Nature (appearance)
I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
That on Sonday weren upon hir heed.
His hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
Ful striate yteyd, abd shoes ful moyste and newe.

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Boold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe,
She was a worthy woman al hir lyve:
Fortune (rank)
Housebondes at chirche dore she hadde five,
Manner of Life (hom e life)
Withouten oother compaignye in youth, –
But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nowthe.
And thries had she been at Jerusalem;
Achievements (past doings)
She hadde passed manu a straunge strem;
Accidents
At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne,
In Galice at Seint -Jeme, and at Coloigne.
She koude muchel of wandrynge by the weye.
Habit (special knowledge)
Gat-tothed was she, smoothly for to seye.
Nature (bodily quality)
Upon an ambler esily she sat,
Achievements (what doing)
Ywympled wel, and on hir heed an hat
Nature (appearance)
As brood as is a bokeler or a trage;
A foot -mantel aboute hir hippes large,
And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
In a felaweshipe wel nhoude she laughe and carpe.
Conversation
Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce.
Interests
For she koude of that art olde daunce.
There is the hint of something learner from Geoffrey de Vinsauf, which his teaching
was that a descriptio must start at the top of the head and inch its way downward, detail by

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detail, to the feet. A third d octrine of description was that of Matthieu de Vendome, who held
that a writer must first describe the moral nature and then the physical appearance on his
subject. Chaucer moved easily among all this prescriptions, allowing each to point in some
direction where the discerning eye could pause, the attentive ear listen.
There is one character in Chaucer that neither realistic observation nor the authority of
ancient books can wholly account for. He comes from some unknown half -world, a visiting
presence tha t some have thought to be the figure of Death. It may be better to leave him
wholly mysterious and unexplained; it is the ancient man who directs the three rioters of The
Pardoner‟s Tale to the heap of gold when they ask him if he knows where Death is to b e
found. To their rough language, and the question why he is so old, he gives the strange reply:
For I ne nat fynde
A man, though that I walked into Ynde,
Neither wolde change his youthe for myn age;
And therefoce moot I han myn age stlle;
As longe tyme as it is Goddes wille.
Ne Deeth, allas! Ne wol nat han my lyf
Thus walke I, lyk a restelees kaityf
And on the ground, which is my moodres gate,
I knokke with my staf, bothe erly and late,
And seye „Leeve mooder, leet me in!
Lo how I vanysshe, flesh and bl ood and skyn!
Allas! Whan shul my bones been at reste?
It is a shock to meet with so haunting a figure in the bright Chaucerian world, a figure
so loaded with suggestions of supernatural meaning. With slow gravity, he rebukes the three
rioters for their di scourteous behavior:
„But, sires, to yow it is so curteisye
To speken to an old man vileynye….‟
Chaucer also used the rhetoric which had eight or ten principal ways of doing so, each
with its high -sounding name, and some with as many as four subdivisions. For instance, there
was circumlocution – the art of making a simple statement in a roundabout and decorative
way:

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The bisi larke, messanger of day,
Salueth in hir song the morwe gray,
And firy Phebus riseth up so bright
That al the orient laugheth of the light,
And with his stremes dryeth in the greves
The silver dropes hangynge on the leves.
(The Knight‟s Tale)

The simple statement underlying this lovely and lively passage is ―The sun rose
brightly.‖ That Chaucer was perfectly conscious of this, and sometimes aslo amused by it,
can be seen from the following:
But sodeynly bigonne revel newe
Til that the brighte sonne loste his hewe;
For th‟orisonte hath reft the sonne his light, –
Tis is as muche to saye as it was nyght! –
(The Franklin‟s Tale)
The first twelve magical lines of General Prologue are a simple circumlocutio for ―In
April, people go on pilgrimages.‖
Another figure of rhetoric, much used by Chaucer, was interpretatio – repeating an
idea in other words: varius sis et tamen idem.
The last three lines are an interpretatio of the first. But the figure could also have a
subtler form, as when the idea was not only repeated, but given a new twist. For instance:
Ful sweetly herde he confessioun,
And pleasaunt was his absolucioun:
He was an esy man to yeve penaunce,
Ther as he wiste to have a good pitaunce.
(The General Prologue)

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Chaucer‘s favorite rhetorical device was certainly apostrophatio. This figure had four
subdivisions, of which the commonest was exclamatio , a simple exclamation of feel ing, the
second and the third subjectio and dubitatio , were forms of rhetorical question, and the last
conduplicatio , was a series of exclamations, each beginning with the same phrase.

Chaucer sparkles with apostrophes; he is ever ready to exclaim in sympathy, wonder,
indignation, pathos, prayer and irony, to address his audiences personally with a question not
meant to be answers, but brings them into the story.
Woot ye nat where there stant a litel toun
Which that ycleped is Bobbe -up-and-doun,
Under the Blee, in Caunterbury Weye?
(The Manciple‟s Prologue)
Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the greatest poets of the 14th century and he has an
important contribution to English literature. Through his jobs he introduced in Englis h
literature new genres, techniques and procedures that helped literature to develop.
At that time, after Chaucer introduces the French and Italian influence, English
literature was considered first class literature, because he contained much more techniqu es
and procedures than any other literature.
Through his works, Chaucer not only creates stories for reading, he offers a full
picture of English medieval society. He was one of the first poets which try to assemble the
good and the bad parts of medieval s ociety. Unlike other poets he was neutral, being neither
on aristocrat‘s side, neither on peasant‘s side. He wanted to talk freely about all the issues of
the society from that period.
But Chaucer is not only showing how people dress or how they act, he is showing the
hole society, how church was the power of the state and how it control the people, how they
have to act and think to make God‘s will.
In his stories Chaucer presents pilgrims from all social classes and their stories; stories
from which we can figure it out how really the English medieval society was.

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The pilgrims are types familiar from the medieval social satire, but Chaucer makes
them speak to him and through him to us: their voices animate their sparkling two –
dimensional portraits. Medieval satirists reproved obstinate vice, but the pilgrim Chaucer
praises his creatures, letting us see the imperfections to which they are beautiful boots. When
the Monk disputes a text which says that a monk out of his cloister isn‘t worth an oyster,
Chaucer a grees: ―And I seyde his opinion was good‖. The bookish author enjoys the Monk‘s
scorn at the absurd idea that he should do the work presbribed to monks:
What solde he studie and make hymselven wood,
Upon a book in cloystre alwey to poure,
Or swynken with h is hands, and laboure,
As Austyn bit? How shal the world be served?
Lat Austyn have his swynk to him reserved!
Chaucer disciple Lydgate testified that Chaucer seide alwey the beste. This courtesy
sharpens his irony, often directed at professional avarice. He says of the Lawyer:
Nowher so bisy a man as he ther nas,
And yet he semed bisier thanhe was.
Chaucer‘s casual comments, usually innocent, are sometimes deadly. He wrote of ―the
smylere with the knyf under the cloke‖. He is an ironist, not a satirist; hi s comedy flickers
between human sympathy and an absolute morality.
Of all English poets, Geoffrey Chaucer is the most courteous to those who read or
listen to him; he seems ever -conscious of our presence and charmed to be in such perspective
company. He ne ver threatens or alarms us, intent upon his great theme; nor does he ignore us,
intent upon himself. He addresses his readers as if he could wish for none better, he
exchanges experiences with them, consults them and begs them not to take offense at what h e
is about to say, touching his show of courtesy with an elegant but ironic wit.

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CONCLUSIONS

It was during the Middle Ages when The Age of Chaucer was important (the 14th
century). During this period, the people of England found themselves unhappy with many
religious, political, and social ideologies.
Chaucer was important in literature, especially poetry, given his dissent from
alliterative poetry and instead, using the h eroic couplet. His works were renowned for their
vivacity and color.
Here are a few characteristics of the times during The Age of Chaucer:
 The Black Death – killed a third of the population.
 The Catholic Church – turned from trying to convert followers to s imply maintaining
power over the followers they already had.
 Secular governments began to exert more power (prior the Catholic churc had maintained
most power)
 Heresy in England – As people began to question the power of the Catholic Church.
Accusations of heresy began to grow.
 Wars became more devastating and costly.
 The advancement of technology began to slow given much had been taken as far as it
possibly could for the time.
 Famous works in Medieval Period: Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight (The Pearl Poet), Beowulf (Unknown).
Geoffrey Chaucer‘s contribution to English literature is extremely important.
He was the first English writer to write in the ventricular. Previously, Latin was the
language used by writers. These enabled wr iters from various countries to share what they
had written since Latin was the language used by scholars.
In his unfinished work, The Canterbury Tales , Chaucer gives us a wonderful picture of
the medieval world. His pilgrims come from all classes of medie val society from the Knight
and his Squire to the various members of clergy, to the merchants and finally the average
working man.

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Through his description in the Prologue and through the stories they tell, he reveals a lot
about the people in this society. He gives us the good, the bad and the ugly. Chaucer‘s
Canterbury Tales is mirror that reflects English society in the late Middle Ages.
Chaucer‘s indebtness to French poetry cannot be mitigated. Expressing no interest in
older English forms, the Roman de la Rose was the primary influence in Chaucer‘s poetry as
he translated this and he himself composed French poetry. This influence of French poetry is
evidenced in The Canterbury Tales with certain niceties of rhyme, and his not rhyming words
ending in –y with others ending in –ye. Also evident is the influence of older stress lines and
French syllable counting.
The Canterbury Tales itself marks a major contribution to English poetry and all English
literature, as well. Choosing to write in English, rather t han French, the language of the
English court and upper class at the time, or in Latin or Italian, the conventional language of
poets, Chaucer made English acceptable in literary cycles. It was no longer considered to be a
kind of ―second -class language‖. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer demonstrated the power,
facility and beauty of the English language. Future works of English literature would be
written in English. His memorable portrait of Bath and his development of her character,
therefore, were accom plished in English.

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