Type of Work .......The Canterbury Tales is a fictional account in a historical setting about pilgrims who tell stories on their way to a cathedral shrine. A tavern owner acts as their tour guide. The pilgrims' stories are in various genres, including chivalric romance, Arthurian romance, satire, beast fable, fabliau, and exemplum (an exhortation on morals and religion.) The
Canterbury Tales opens with a general prologue introducing the storytellers after they gather at an inn. It continues the next morning. The pilgrims tell their tales to pass the time while journeying to Canterbury, about fifty-six miles southeast of London, to visit the shrine of Thomas à Becket, a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. In prologues between
the tales, the travelers comment on a tale just completed or introduce a story about to be told. Sometimes they also make general observations.
When Written and Published
.......Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1342-1400) wrote The Canterbury Tales between 1387 and 1400, about half a century before Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. The first copies of Chaucer's work were handwritten. William Caxton (1422-1491), the first printer in England, published two editions of The
Canterbury Tales, one in the late 1470s and one in the early 1480s.
.......The language of The Canterbury Tales is Middle English, spoken and written in Britain between 1100 and 1500. Middle English followed Old English (450 to 1100), the first period in the development of the English language, and preceded Modern English (1500 to the present).
.......Between 1100 and 1250, Middle English was the language of the middle and lower classes, French was the language of the upper classes, and French and Latin were the languages of literature. (William, Duke of Normandy, had brought French to England when he conquered the country in 1066 and acceded to the throne on Christmas day of that year.)
.......Between 1250 and 1300, the upper classes also began speaking Middle English because of the decline of French influence in England, but French and Latin remained the language of literature. When Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in Middle English between
1387 and 1400, he was among the first writers who told stories in MIddle English. Chaucer mainly used the East Midlands dialect of Middle English (spoken in London and nearby locales) in The Canterbury Tales. .......During the Middle English period,
rules of pronunciation and inflection were flexible, allowing the language to evolve. A notable characteristic of Middle English as used by Chaucer was the presence of a final -e in words that today are written without a final -e. Generally, the final -e of a word was pronounced if it preceded a word beginning with a vowel. Although midway through the Middle English period
speakers were beginning to cease pronouncing the final -e before a vowel, Chaucer usually retained its pronunciation in The Canterbury Tales. It was pronounced like the a in coma and the second a in papa. (Note: A sounded e inside a word was generally pronounced like the modern long a. Thus, the first e in the word swete, the
Middle English equivalent of sweet, was pronounced like the a in mate.) Following are examples of words ending in e in lines 1-30 of the general prologue as presented in many popular editions of The Canterbury Tales:
.......Another characteristic of Middle English was the use of the letter y (pronounced as a long e) followed by a hyphen and a verb to indicate the past tense of that verb. Examples from The Canterbury Tales are y-draw (drawn), y-know (known), y-shave
(shaven), y-beat (beaten), y-hold (held), y-do (done), y-take (took), y-go (gone), y-crow (crowed), y-fall (fallen), y-grave (engraved), and y-run (ran). Sometimes the y and hyphen preceded verbs already in the past tense in modern English, as in
y-bought (bought), y-told (told), and y-nourished (nourished). The use of y- before a verb continued until about 1600. On some occasions or in some editions of The Canterbury Tales, a y without a hyphen precedes a verb. .......For additional information on Middle English, consult the following pages
.......The Canterbury Tales has one overall narrator, Chaucer himself in the persona of the first pilgrim, who presents his account in first-person point of view. In the general prologue, he establishes the time of the year, April, then begins telling the story about the pilgrimage to Canterbury. After describing
the pilgrims gathering at their point point of departurethe Tabard Inn, across the Thames River from central Londonhe reports a proposal by their host, the proprietor of the Tabard, that the pilgrims tell stories on their journey to pass the time. Upon their return, the pilgrim deemed the best storyteller would receive a meal paid for by his companions. The proprietor, Harry
Bailly (spelled Bailey or Bailley in some editions of The Canterbury Tales), says he would accompany the pilgrims, acting as their tour guide. The pilgrims enthusiastically approve his proposal. ......Chaucer then allows the
pilgrims to narrate their tales. They tell them in third-person point of view. Between their stories, Chaucer resumes his narration, reporting the discourse of the pilgrims and the words of Harry Bailly when he introduces the next storyteller. Thus, The Canterbury Tales consists of stories within a story. Bailly plays a crucial role in The Canterbury Tales. With his questions and
comments, he stimulates conversation that helps to reveal the personalities and attitudes of the pilgrims. .......Scholars label as frame tales literary works that present a story (or stories) within another story. The inner story is like a painting
on a canvas; the outer story is like the frame of the painting. In The Canterbury Tales, the inner stories told by the pilgrims form the images on the canvas; the outer story told by Chaucer forms the frame. The frame tale was not unique to Chaucer. Among other literary works with this format were The Seven Sages, a collection of tales (authors and dates of composition not
established) originating in India that spread westward; The Thousand and One Nights, a collection of tales (authors and dates of composition not established) from India, Persia, Arabia, and Egypt, including the famous stories about Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sindbad the Sailor; Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (1902).
The Frame: the Gathering at the Tabard Inn and the Journey to Canterbury
. The Images on the Canvas: the Tales of the Pilgrims
.. The Frame Includes the General Prologue, Other Prologues, and the Pilgrims' Interruptions of Tales
Number of Travelers to Canterbury: 32
.......The group traveling to Canterbury to visit the the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket includes the following:
Narrator, the first of the pilgrims to arrive at the Tabard Inn
Pilgrims who arrive at the Tabard after the narrator
Pilgrim (canon's yeoman) who joins the others on the road
Host at the Tabard Inn, who accompanies the pilgrims
Number of Tales
.......According to Chaucer's original plan, each pilgrim was to tell four tales, two on the way to Canterbury and two on the return trip, for a total of one hundred twenty-four tales (counting those of the canon's yeoman). However, Chaucer died before he could begin the twenty-fifth tale. Of the twenty-four stories in
The Canterbury Tales, twenty are complete, two ("The Cook's Tale" and "The Squire's Tale") are incomplete, and two ("The Monk's Tale" and "Sir Thopas's Tale") are intentionally cut short.
The Tabard Inn
.......The Tabard was one in a row of inns lining Borough High Street in Southwark, across the Thames River from central London. In his Survey of London, published in 1598 and revised in 1603, John Stow (1525-1605) says the inns could be identified by images on their signs. In Southwark, he says, "be many fair
inns for receipt of travellers, by these signs: the Spurre, Christopher, Bull, Queen's Head, Tabard, George, Hart, King's Head," &c." The Tabard was constructed in 1307, repaired during Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1558-1603), and destroyed in a fire in 1676. Among the lodgers at the Tabard and other Southwark inns were pilgrims traveling south to the shrine of Saint Thomas
à Becket in Canterbury. The inns also hosted northbound travelers to London and other points.
What Was a Tabard?
A tabard was a short-sleeved or sleeveless cloak worn by a knight to prevent the gleam of his armor from signaling his position to an enemy. A tabard, made of a heavy fabric, was emblazoned with a coat of arms. Presumably, the sign at the Tabard Inn bore the image of such a garment.
When and Where the Story Begins
.......The Canterbury Tales begins in April of a year in the late 1300s at the Tabard Inn in the borough of Southwark (pronounced SUTH erk), across the River Thames from central London. In Chaucers time, a traveler passing through London reached Southwark by boat or by the only causeway spanning the Thames,
London Bridge. The bridge led directly into a Southwark street that was the starting point of the road to Canterbury and other destinations in southeastern England, including ports on the Strait of Dover, between England and continental Europe. Inns that lined the street, including the Tabard, hosted many southbound travelers.
When and Where the Story Continues
.......After Chaucer introduces the pilgrims gathered at the Tabard Inn, the story continues the next morning when they begin telling their tales as they ride on horseback on the road to Canterbury, nearly sixty miles to the southeast.
Length of Trip, Condition of Road, and Safety
.......In Chaucer's day, a leisurely journey to Canterbury on horseback probably took three to five days, with stops at inns along the way. April rains probably made the dirt road connecting Southwark and Canterbury muddy in spots with water pooling in holes and ruts. Robbers were a constant danger on rural roads.
However, armed pilgrims traveling in a large group, like those in The Canterbury Tales, probably were safe from marauders.
Thomas à Becket: Martyr, Saint
.......The destination of the pilgrims is the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket (1118?-1170) in Canterbury Cathedral, in which he was entombed after he was murdered in the church on December 29, 1170. .......Becket was born in London to well-to-do parents of Norman birth. After receiving an education in England and France, he served as a secretary to a lord and as a city clerk and an auditor for sheriffs. .......When he was twenty-five, his father helped him gain employment in the house of the archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald of Bec. After proving himself competent, he acted on the archbishops behalf on missions to Rome and studied civil and church law in Bologna, Italy, and Auxerre, France. His talents won him an appointment as archdeacon of Canterbury. After
Theobald introduced him to Englands King Henry II in 1154, Henry appointed him chancellor of England on the archbishops recommendation. In that position, Becket exhibited superior administrative skills in domestic and military endeavors and in the kings effort to gain more control and authority over the activities of the Roman Catholic Church and its clergy.
.......After Theobald died in 1161, Henry recommended Becket as a replacement for Theobald and, in 1162, Thomas won election as Canterburys archbishop. Henry now had a powerful ally who could win popular support for Henrys program to bolster his control of the
churchor so he thought. But in his new position, Becket took the side of the churchin particular, in its contention that the right to try and punish priests accused of felonies should remain the sole responsibility of the church. .......In January
1164, Henry promulgated the Constitutions of Clarendon, a document limiting church authority. In a key provision, it decreed that priests accused of serious crimes must be tried in government rather than ecclesiastical courts. Although Becket at first accepted this document, he later rejected it. In retaliation, the king charged that Becket had committed graft as chancellor, and Becket took
refuge in France in November 1170. .......In that same year, Henry ordered the crowning of his oldest son, Henry, as a co-ruler by the archbishop of York. Becket, maintaining that only the archbishop of Canterbury could preside at a coronation
ceremony, excommunicated clergymen who conducted the ceremony. While Henry was in France, Becket returned to England and ordered additional excommunications. The people regarded him as a hero. .......Upon hearing of Beckets action, as well as his
soaring popularity with citizens of the realm, Henry exploded into a tirade against Becket. Four of Henrys knights then took it upon themselves to return to England and get rid of Becket once and for all. On December 29, 1170, they murdered him in Canterbury Cathedral. Shortly thereafter, pilgrims began visiting his tomb in the church. Reports of miracles at the site prompted the Pope to
canonize Becket a saint in 1173. A repentant Henry visited the tomb in 1174, and thereafter pilgrimages to Canterbury became a European tradition.
Versification . .......Except
for two prose tales, Chaucer presents The Canterbury Tales in verse. The meter varies, although many lines are in iambic pentameter. However, metric classification depends often on whether the reader uses Middle English pronunciations. Even then, it may be difficult to determine whether Chaucer intended a syllable to be pronounced
or skipped as silent. A further problem is that scribes copying his original manuscript may have deleted or inserted syllables. .......Most of the prologues and the tales of the pilgrims consist of a series of rhyming couplets (units of two lines,
each about the same length, with end rhyme). The opening lines of the work in the general prologue demonstrate the couplet pattern. The rhyming pairs of words in each couplet are in alternating blue and red type.
1 Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote, 2 The droghte of March hath perced to the roote 3 And bathed every veyne in swich licour, 4 Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 5 Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth 6 Inspired hath in every holt and
heeth 7 The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne 8 Hath in the Ram his halfe
cours yronne, 9 And smale foweles maken melodye, 10 That slepen al the
nyght with open eye- 11 So priketh hem Nature in hir corages- 12 Thanne
longen folk to goon on pilgrimages 13 And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes 14 To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; 15 And specially, from every shires ende 16 Of Engelond, to Caunturbury they wende, 17 The hooly blisful martir for the seke 18 That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke........Some tales, however, use a different rhyme scheme. For example, "The Lawyer's Tale," "The Prioress's
Tale" and "The Clerk's Tale" are in rhyme royal, in which stanzas of seven lines in iambic pentameter have a rhyme scheme of ababbcc, as in the following stanza from "The Prioress's Tale":a.....Lady! thy bounty, thy magnificence, b.....Thy virtue, and thy great humility, a.....There may no tongue express in no science: b.....For sometimes, Lady! ere men pray to thee, b.....Thou go'st before, of thy benignity, c.....And gettest us the light, through thy prayere, c.....To guiden us unto thy son so dear.Chaucer had earlier used rhyme royal in Parlement of Foules (1382) and Troilus and Criseyde (1385). Characterization
.......In depicting the Canterbury pilgrims, Chaucer presents realistic descriptions that exhibit his understanding of the human drama and the foibles and eccentricities of its participants. Using concise and specific language, he enables the reader to see or hear the squire carving meat for his father, the prioress
crying when she sees a mouse ensnared, the monk riding horses with bridles that jingle, and the wife of Bath wearing hose of scarlet red. In "The Reeve's Tale," Chaucer tells us that Simkin is a bully with a bald head who can play pipes, fish, and wrestle. In "The Man of Law's Tale," he tells us that the eyes of the evil knight pop from their sockets after he tells a lie. In "The Miller's Tale,"
he tells us that Absalom gains revenge by ramming a red-hot poker between the buttocks of Nicholas. .......Among the pilgrims are the learned, the religious, the worldly, the romantic, the practical, the idealistic, the merry, the irreverent. The pilgrims
come from the middle class but vary in their personal backgrounds and occupations. As a group, they are a microcosm of the English society that flourished beyond the pale of the highborn. However, the characters in the pilgrims' stories include royals as well as commoners. Thus, in The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer presents the whole range of humanity, a rarity in a day when most writers
centered their stories primarily on kings and queens and legendary heroes. The host, Harry Bailly, plays a crucial role in The Canterbury Tales. With his questions and comments, he stimulates conversation that helps to reveal the personalities and attitudes of the pilgrims. .......Generally, the tales the pilgrims tell reflect the attitudes and beliefs of the tellers. .
Examples of Genres in The Canterbury Tales
.......Five of the tales that the pilgrims tell are fabliaux. The fabliau was a short verse tale with coarse humor and earthy, realistic, and sometimes obscene descriptions that present an episode in the life of contemporary middle- and lower-class people. The fabliau uses satire and cynicism, along with vulgar comedy,
to mock one or several of its characters. Not infrequently, the ridiculed character is a jealous husband, a wayward wife, a braggart, a lover, a proud or greedy tradesman, a doltish peasant, or a lustful or greedy clergyman. Plot development often depends on a prank, a pun, a mistaken identity, or an incident involving the characters in intrigue. The fabliau was popular in France from 1100
to 1300, then went out of fashion. Chaucer revived the format in The Canterbury Tales to write The Millers Tale, The Reeves Tale, The Cooks Tale, The Shipmans Tale, and The Summoners Tale. It is not entirely clear whether the fabliau was a pastime of the upper classes as a means to ridicule their social inferiors or of the middle and lower classes as a means to poke fun at
Chivalric Romance (or Courtly Love)
"The Knight's Tale" is an example of a chivalric romance, or a tale of courtly love. In such tales, the knights exhibit nobility, courage, and respect for their ladies fair, and the ladies exhibit elegance, modesty, and fidelity. Although knights and ladies may fall passionately in love, they eschew immoral behavior. In conflicts between good and
evil, justice prevails.
"The Pardoner's Tale" is an example of an exemplum (plural, exempla), a short narrative in verse or prose that teaches a moral lesson or reinforces a doctrine or religious belief. Other tales can be regarded as exempla or contain elements of the exemplum in that they present examples of right or wrong living that teach moral
"The Wife of Bath's Tale" is an example of an Arthurian romance, a type of work in which a knight in the age of the legendary King Arthur goes on a quest.
"The Nun's Priest's Tale" is an example of a beast fable, a short story in verse or prose in which animals are the main characters. They exhibit human qualities, and their activities underscore a universal truth.
A satire is a literary work or technique that attacks or pokes fun at vices and imperfections. Many of the prologues and tales contain satire that ridicules people who exhibit hypocrisy, greed, false humility, stupidity, self-importance, and other flaws.
A burlesque is a literary work or technique that mocks a person, a place, a thing, or an idea by using wit, irony, hyperbole, sarcasm, and/or understatement. For example, a burlesque may turn a supposedly respected personsuch as old John in "The Miller's Tale"into a
buffoon. A hallmark of burlesque is its thoroughgoing exaggeration, often to the point of the absurd.
A type of comedy that is generally physical rather than verbal, relying on slapstick and horseplay as in "The Miller's Tale." Low comedy usually focuses on ordinary folk.
"The Franklin's Tale" is an example of a Breton lay, a Fourteenth Century English narrative poem in rhyme about courtly love that contains elements of the supernatural The English borrowed the Breton-lay format from the French. A lay is a medieval narrative poem originally intended to be sung. Breton is an
adjective describing anyone or anything from Brittany, France.
An allegory is a literary work or technique that ascribes secondary or symbolic meaning to characters, events, objects, and ideas, as in "The Nun's Priest's Tale." The pilgrims' journey to Canterbury may also be regarded as an allegory in that it can be viewed as a representation of the journey through life or the journey
toward the ultimate destination, heaven. .
Chaucers as a Pioneering Writer
.......Geoffrey Chaucer was among the first authors in Britain to write in the language of the masses, Middle English, rather than Latin or French, giving impetus to the development of English as a literary language. He was also among the first to write about ordinary folk in a contemporary setting rather than kings and
queens or legendary heroes of the past. In doing so, he laid bare in fine detail both the psyche and the soma of his characters, setting an example for later writers to follow in drawing realistic portraits. In addition, he was among the first to write in such verse forms as iambic pentameter and rhyme royal. .......His innovations, along with the wit and insight he used to carry them out, earned him a place in the pantheon of England's greatest writers. .......For a complete biography of Chaucer,
Purpose: "The Prologue" sets the scenethe Tabard Inn on Borough High Street in Southwark (pronounced SUTH erk), across the Thames River from central Londonand introduces thirty pilgrims, including the narrator. It also introduces the host who will accompany them on their trip to
Canterbury the following day. "The Prologue" reveals Chaucer's understanding of humanity, with all its foibles and eccentricities, and his ability to write with concision, humor, and gentle satire. "The Prologue" is an important structural device that establishes the unity of a group of diverse middle-class citizens who will be telling separate stories on their way to the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket. Absent from the group introduced at the Tabard Inn is the canon's yeoman, who catches up with the pilgrims on the road to Canterbury. Setting: The action begins on a day in April in the late
1300sprobably 1383at the Tabard Inn in the borough of Southwark, across the Thames River from central London. It continues the next morning. Theme 1:Camaraderie: Although the pilgrims come from different backgrounds and exhibit
different temperaments and preferences, they are all one in their enthusiastic acceptance of one another as comrades. Theme 2: Adventure: The gathering of the pilgrims, many of them armed with swords and daggers to protect themselves on their journey, suggests adventure.
True, their destination, Canterbury, was only fifty-six miles away. But in Chaucer's world, traveling such a distance took far more time time than it does today to travel by air from New York to Hong Kong. Theme 3: Atonement: Many pilgrims hope to gain expiation or
other spiritual benefits from visiting Becket's tomb. To be sure, some pilgrims are merely going along for the ride. But other pilgirms seek the benefits of a religious experience.
.......When April rains coax flowers from the soil, pilgrims begin traveling to holy places in distant lands and, in England, to the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket in the great cathedral at Canterbury. The pilgrims themselves are flowers that bud and
open on the journey to Canterbury. .......At the Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames from central London, the narrator sits at a table and observes twenty-nine pilgrims as they arrive for the trip to Canterbury.
Before the sun sets, the narrator speaks with all the travelers, who agree to get up early the next day to begin the trip. .......The narrator identifies the pilgrims as follows:
.......A knight who has traveled throughout Christian and heathen countries, performing great deeds. With his sword, he has seen service in Alexandria, Lithuania, Russia, Spain, and elsewhere, taking part in fifteen battles and performing
bravely and nobly. He is truly a man to look up to. .......A squire who accompanies his father, the knight. Though only in his early twenties, the squire has already seen cavalry service in Flanders, Artois, and Picardy.
With his deeds he hopes to win the heart of a fair lady. He sings, plays the flute, dances, and composes verses and songs. Not a little of his time he spends on the art of love. He is well-mannered and humble and carves meat for his father at the dinner table. .......A yeoman who is the squire's servant. He has a bow and sheaf of arrows, as well as a dagger on his hip. Next to him, to one side, are a sword and shield. He is skilled at woodcraft. .......A prioress, Madam Eglantine, who sings beautifully in church, can speak French well, and exhibits exquisite table manners. And how charitable this nun is. She cries when she sees a mouse caught in a trap. She wears a pleated wimple (head covering), a fine cloak, and a rosary on her wrist.
.......A second nun and a priest, who accompany the prioress. .......A monk, who is bald and husky and loves to hunt and ride horses with bridles that jingle. He has the makings of an abbot. He keeps not often to his cell, for he thinks the rules of his religious order are too strict. Nor does he favor long hours of study or long hours of manual labor. To aid him in his hunting of the hare, he keeps swift greyhounds.
.......A friar, Hubert, who is a merry chap talented at idle chatter and arranging marriages for beautiful ladies. Well known is he throughout his county, for he is pleasant to all when he hears confessions. He gives small penances that bring him gifts. He can sing and fiddle, and
in taverns where he is a frequent guest. He also mingles with the merchants and the rich, from whom he accrues a profit. .......Also among the pilgrims are a bearded merchant, proud and boastful, who buys and sells
French currency; an Oxford student, thin and threadbare, who studies logic; a sergeant of the law in a motley coat who buys land with fees he collects; and a franklin (freeborn landholder), red in complexion with a white beard, who loves wine and meat and all the delights that tempt people. He once served as a sheriff and a county auditor.
.......Others include a haberdasher, dyer, carpenter, tapestry maker, and weaver. All bear the markings of success in the attire of their guild and in their fine belts and pouches. They have a cook to
prepare their chickens and serve their Cyprus wine. .......There is a skipper with a dagger dangling from a strap. Because he has no conscience, he drank the wine of a sleeping merchant while sailing from Bordeaux
on The Maudelayne. But he is the best of navigators, plotting his course by the moon and the stars. .......The pilgrims also include the following:
.......A physician who loves gold. .......A wife from near
the town of Bath who has visited Jerusalem three times and gone to the marriage altar five times. An excellent clothier is she. She is a bit deaf and wears fine kerchiefs on her head and fine hose of scarlet red. .......A parson who is learned and holy and would rather give than take. He is never proud or self-righteous. .......A plowman, the parson's brother, who loves God and loves his
neighbor. .......Rounding out the company of pilgrims are a miller, a reeve (officer of a manor), a summoner, (who serves legal papers accusing a person of a crime), a pardoner, (a priest who
gives indulgences remitting sin in exchange for money for the church) a manciple (a purchaser of provisions for an institution), and the narrator. .......After welcoming the pilgrims to the Tabard Inn,
their host, Harry Baillymerry, robust man who is the proprietor of the Tabardserves them good food and strong wine. He then proposes a way for them to amuse themselves on their journey: Each pilgrim will tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back. The best storyteller will receive a supper at the Tabard paid for
by all. The host says he is willing to ride along to make the pilgrims merry and act as their guide at his own expense. Everyone happily agrees to Bailly's proposal and accepts him as their guide. .......In the morning, the
host rouses everyone. When they draw lots to see who tells the first tale, the knight wins the honor. In a moment, they are on their way.
2. The Knight's Tale
Type of Story: "The Knight's Tale" is a chivalric romance. It centers on the the love two young men have for the same woman. Although set in ancient Athens, it follows the practices and ideals of medieval chivalry. There is little character development. Source: Chaucer based "The Knight's Tale" on The Teseida of Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375). Written in 1340-41, the twelve-canto epic centers on two young men, Arcita and Palemone, who vie for the love of a young woman. Setting: The action takes place in ancient Athens and its environs over several years. However, the spirit, traditions, and ideals of medieval chivalry prevail during the story. Theme 1: Estrangement and Reconciliation: After two
cousins fall in love at first sight with same woman, they become desperate rivals. After they lead knights in a duel for her hand, they become friends again after the winner suffers a mortal injury in a fall from his horse and recommends his cousin for the hand of the woman. Theme 2: Wise and Just Leadership in Overcoming Conflict: Theseus, the ruler of Athens, acts wisely and decisively when he goes to war against the ruler of Thebes, Creon, who refuses burial to three warriors killed fighting against him. Denial of burial, even to an enemy, is a violation of one of the most sacred rights of Greek citizens. Theseus defeats
Creon and the burials take place. Theseus again acts wisely in resolving the conflict between the two cousins vying for the hand of the same woman.
Summary of the Tale
.......Theseus, ruler of Athens, conquers Scythia, defeating the Amazons and marrying their queen, Hippolyta. Afterward, he returns to Athens with his new wife and her younger sister, Emily. Along the way, they meet three women who tell Theseus a sad tale. Their husbands died in a war against
Thebes, but the ruler of that cityCreonhas refused to permit their burial. .......The noble Theseus then declares war on Creon, defeats him, and orders the
burial of the three husbands. Afterward, he captures two of the enemy, cousins Arcite and Palamon, and casts them in jail in Athens for life. .......One May morning, Arcite and Palamon look out their jail window and see a
beautiful young woman, Emily, picking flowers. Both men fall immediately in love with her, and each lays claim to her even though neither can walk farther than the four walls imprisoning him. They become enemies. .......By and
by, a friend of Arcite speaks up for him, and the young man gains his freedom. But there is a condition: He must leave Athens and never return. .......Several years pass. Arcite returns to Athens in disguise, calling himself
Philostrate, and gets a job as a page in service to Emily. He distinguishes himself, and Theseus makes him a squire. .......Meanwhile, Palamon escapes prison and hatches a plot to win Emily in combat against Athens. While
hiding in the woods, he encounters Arcite. They agree to fight to death on the following day. The winner gets to woo Emily. .......The next day, Theseus, Hippolyta, and Emily go hunting and come upon Arcite and Palamon
dueling. Because Arcite has violated his vow never to return to Athens and because Palamon is an escapee, Theseus condemns them to death. When the women bewail the sentence, Theseus gives the young men a reprieve. He tells them that they may do as they please for one year, then face each other in a tournament in which each man will marshal one hundred knights to support him. Aware of their love
for Emily, he decrees that the winner may marry the young lady. .......Theseus erects an arena for the competition, with an altar honoring Venus on one side and an altar honoring Mars on the other. He declares that the
competitors may not use lethal weapons, for he wants all participants to survive. .......When the tournament day arrives, the fighting is fierce, but Theseus proclaims Arcite the winner. But, alas, Arcite is thrown from his
horse and suffers a mortal injury. Before dying, he beseeches Emily to take Palamon as her husband if she decides to marry. .......All Athens grieves for Arcite after he dies. Theseus orders the construction of a fitting
sepulcher for the hero and presides at Arcites funeral rites before a great pyre. .......After several years pass, the leaders of the government decide to form alliances with other nations and to oversee the affairs of Thebes
with a watchful eye. Theseus then summons Palamon and Emily. The time for grieving is at an end, he says. He tells them that upon the advice of his parliament he wishes Emily and Palamon to marry. And so they are wed in a ceremony attended by nobles and government leaders. As time passes, Palamon and Emily love each other dearly, and never does jealousy or a cross word come between
3. The Miller's Prologue
Purpose: "The Miller's Prologue" provides a continuation of the outer story, updating the reader on the activities of the travelers while enabling the narrator to further develop his characterization of them. The prologue also provides a transition from "The Knight's Tale" to the next tale.
Summary: All the travelers agree that the knights tale is a fine one long to be remembered. When the host calls on the monk to begin his story, the miller, drunk with ale and wobbly on his horse, refuses to wait his turn, saying he has a tale to match the knights.
After the host bids him wait his turn and the reeve bids him remain silent, the miller insists upon telling his tale immediately. If he makes mistakes in telling his tale, he says, blame not him but Southwark ale. And so the churl of a miller tells his story.
4. The Miller's Tale
Type of Story: "The Miller's Tale" is a fabliau about an elderly carpenter who guards closely his pretty young wife. However, she and her paramour, a student, execute a scheme that tricks the old man and provides an opportunity for the young people to be together.
Source: Not established. Chaucer may have based "The Miller's Tale" on a similar story in Dutch that was retold in another language. Setting: The action takes place in Oxford, England, in the 1300s. Key Figure of Speech: Irony. After taking pains to avoid being made a cuckold, the old carpenter ends up a cuckold anyway.
Theme 1: Romantic Roguery: When a young man and the teenage wife of an elderly carpenter seek an adulterous relationship, they work an outrageous mischief that diverts the husband's attention and makes him appear demented.
Theme 2: Gullibility: The old carpenter, John, readily believes the student's story that a great flood will come, and he accepts the student's ridiculous solution: to place tubs on the roof and enter them so that the three of them will float away when the waters
come. Theme 3: Revenge: Absalom gets revenge for the prank played on him by wielding a red-hot poker against Nicholas when he sticks his buttocks out the window.
Comprehensive Analysis of The Miller's Tale: Universal Teacher, UK
Summary of the Tale
.......In Oxford lives a rich old carpenter, John, with a pretty young wife, Alison. Lodging with them in a rented room is a poor young Oxford student, Nicholas the Handy, who studies astrology. The carpenters wife, only eighteen, is wild and capricious. Not wishing to be made a cuckold, he closely
guards her against the eyes of others. .......One day, after the carpenter goes off to Osney, Nicholas importunes her to submit to him. Out of fear of the old man, she begs him to wait for a more opportune time and to keep
secret what passes between them. Then Nicholas kisses her while his hands roam. .......While she attends church one day, the eyes of the parish clerk, Absalom, fall upon her. Absalom has golden hair and wears a lacy blue tunic
and red hose. From top to bottom, he is the picture of the latest fashions. Her beauty dazzles him, and in the evening he goes to the carpenters house and serenades her. Thereafter, he tries to impress her in many other ways, sending her gifts of wine, mead, ale, cakes, and money. However, she ignores him, and all of his wooing is for naught. It is Nicholas who interests
her. .......Meanwhile, Nicholas and Alison prepare a scheme to rid themselves of John. First, Nicholas keeps to his room for several days, not coming out a single time and not answering knocks on his door. On a Sunday, John
sends a servant, Robin, up to knock on the door with a stone. He pounds and pounds but there is no response. When he looks through the keyhole, he sees Nicholas locked in an upward gaze. The carpenter concludes that he is sick or mad. With a staff, he pries at the door while Robin heaves against it. It falls, revealing Nicholas still locked in his gaze.
.......When Nicholas finally awakens from his stupor, he tells John that his meditation has revealed to him the coming of a great flood. So that he and John and his wife can survive it, John must get three kneading tubs, affix them to the roof with
a cord, and place provisions in them. The tubs must be some distance apart so that no communication can take place. He must also get an axe to cut the cord when the high water comes. .......On the predicted night of
the flood, the carpenter enters his tub and shortly falls asleep. Nicholas and Alison then go inside the house to be alone with each other. By and by, Absalom arrives to serenade Alison. He will not leave, he says, until they kiss. Alison opens the window and turns around, facing inside. Because it is so dark, Absalom proceeds to give her a kiss on her behind. After he realizes what has happened,
he becomes angry, fetches a red hot coulter (plow blade) from a blacksmith, Master Gervase, and returns to the window and requests another kiss. This time, Nicholas decides to get in on the fun and pokes his behind out the window. Absalom then lets him have it right between the buttocks. .......Nicholas cries out in great pain. Help! Water! Water! .......Awakening, the old carpenter thinks the flood has arrived. He cuts the
cord, the tub crashes down, and the fall knocks him unconscious. People gather after Alison and Nicholas shout for help. When John comes to, he explains what happened. But Alison and Nicholas deny everything, saying John is insane. They tell the onlookers that John had a fear of Noels flood, bought three kneading tubs, attached them to the roof, and asked Alison and Nicholas each to sit in a
tub and wait with him for the calamity. The people laughed and thereafter regarded him a madman. .......Thus, Alison and Nicholas got what they wanted, each other, in spite of all the carpenters efforts to safeguard his
5. The Reeve's Prologue
Purpose: "The Reeve's Prologue" presents the pilgrims' reaction to "The Miller's Tale" and comments on the the reeve's temperament and his tendency to digress. Summary: Everyone laughs at the millers tale except Oswald the Reeve, an old man with white hair. He is angry that the miller ridiculed a practitioner of his trade, carpentry. After expressing his displeasure at the tale, he talks about the infirmities that he and other elderly persons must face. But the host objects to his digression, calling it preachy, and tells him to get on at
once with his tale. Oswald then says he will tell a story that will make the miller look foolish.
6. The Reeve's Tale
Type of Work:"The Reeve's Tale" is a fabliau in which two students gain revenge against a miller who steals grain. Source: Not
established. Setting: The action takes place presumably in the 1300s at a mill in the countryside not far from the city of Cambridge, home of Cambridge University. Two of the characters in the story are Cambridge students who take grain to the mill
to be ground into meal. The university received its first charter in 1207. Theme: The central theme is revengeor theft begets theft. After the miller steals grain
from Cambridge University, two students from the university gain revenge by stealing the virtue of the miller's daughter and wife.
Summary of the Tale
.......Next to a brook at Trumpington, not far from Cambridge, is a mill run by Simkin, a proud man and a bully with a bald head, a round face, and a snub nose. He can play the pipes, fish, and wrestle. Simkin carries several weapons, including a sword, a knife at his waist, a dagger in a pouch, and
a Sheffield knife inside his hose. He steals corn and ground feed. .......His wife is the illegitimate daughter of a parson who paid a large dowry to find her a husband after she was brought up in a nunnery. She is a proud
woman and saucy in her speech. .......When she and the miller go to church on holy days, everyone treats her with respect, calling her Madam. To do otherwise or, God forbid, to flirt with her would incur the wrath of
Simkin. Simkin and his wife have daughter of twenty with broad buttocks and a snub nose and a six-month-old baby. .......Simkin makes a large profit from the fees he charges for grinding grain, especially from the wheat
and malt he grinds for the Cambridge College Solar Hall. One day, while the college manciple (buyer of provisions) is sick in bed, the miller helps himself to huge amounts of the colleges graina hundred times more than he usually steals. Two young students from the town of Stretcher, John and Alan, decide to take action against the miller and receive permission from
the college warden to take corn to the mill on his horse the next time the school needs meal. .......After the young men arrive, they cheerfully greet the miller and inquire about the well-being of his wife and daughter. When
the miller asks them what they will do while he grinds their corn, they tell him they will observe the process as a learning exercise. But the sly miller sees through their ploy. At an opportune moment, he sneaks outside to a tree in the back of the mill, where the horse is tied, and frees it. It runs off toward a fen. He then grinds and sacks the corn. When John goes out to fetch the horse and
discovers it missing, the millers wife tells him they did not secure it properly to the tree and it ran off toward the fen. When he and Alan search for it, the miller steals half a bushel of their grain and tells his wife to make it into a cake. He brags that he, a miller, can outwit young men of learning. .......Late in the evening, the young men return with the horse. Because of the lateness of the hour, they ask to lodge with the miller overnight. He arranges for them to sleep in the family bedroom. After the miller and his wife fall asleep, Alan takes revenge on the miller by joining his daughter in bed. John
then moves the baby in its cradle from the foot of the millers bed to the foot of his and Johns bed. After the millers wife leaves the room and returns a moment later, the location of the baby's cradle disorients her, and she gets in bed with John. .......While Alan is in bed with the millers daughter, he learns from her where the miller stashed the stolen grain. As night begins to give way to dawn, Alan goes back to his and Johns bed. But he too becomes disoriented by the location of the cradle and gets in bed with the miller. Because he thinks the miller is John, he tells him all about their
shenanigans. An exchange of blows ensues. The millers wife and John then wake up. She takes up a club and wields it against John but strikes the miller instead. John and Alan run off with their ground corn meal.
7. The Cook's Prologue
Purpose: "The Cook's Prologue" presents the pilgrims' reaction to "The Reeve's Tale," presents an appropriate biblical admonition, and comments on the quality of the food the cook prepares. Summary: "The Reeves tale" pleased the cook from London, Roger, who quotes Solomon: Into your house not every man invite. Roger says never before has he ever heard of a miller being so completely hoodwinked. The host then advises the cook to tell a story that goes down better than his warmed-over pastries or the geese he prepares.
8. The Cook's Tale
Type of Work: Because this tale is unfinished, it is difficult to categorize it. However, it resembles both an allegory and an exempluman allegory because the main character appears to symbolize thieving spendthrifts, an exemplum because the main character sets a bad example that people should not
imitate. Source: Not established. Setting: The action takes place in the Cheap side district
of London. Theme: Crime doesn't pay. After an apprentice pilfers money from his master to pay for his wastrel ways, the master regards him as the rotten apple in the barrel and fires him.
Summary of the Tale
.......An apprentice to the victuals trade in London's Cheap side prefers to make merry rather than keep to the shop where he works. He loves to danceindeed, he is so good at it that people call him Perking Revelerand he enjoys the company
of young ladies. He frequents taverns and on the streets he rolls the dice. When he lacks money to pay for his wayward ways, he goes to the shop and takes it from his employers money box. .......One day, when Perkin
nears the end of his apprenticeship, he seeks a contract with his master. But the master, now mindful of the apprentice's devious ways, decides to apply the wisdom of a proverb he recalls: "Better is rotten apple out of hoard, / Than that it should rot all the remenant." So he fires Perkin and tells him to go "with sorrow and mischance." Perkin then lodges with a fellow of his kind, who also
gambles with dice and has a wife who keeps a shop for the sake of appearances but sells herself instead.
(Chaucer did not finish this tale.)
8. The Man of Law's Prologue
Purpose: The prologue informs the reader of the time of day, introduces the lawyer, and comments on the stories Chaucer tells. Summary: The host, noting that it is
already 10 oclock, comments briefly on the importance of not wasting time, then calls upon the lawyer to tell his tale. The lawyer says he will cooperate but points out that the selection of his tale poses a problem because it is difficult to find one that the writer Chaucer has not already told in one book or another (although, the lawyer says, Chaucer's meter and rhymes are not always on the
mark). Then he says he will proceed anyway, noting he does not care "a bean" about serving up story that may not appeal to some. Unlike Chaucer, he says, he will tell his story in prose even though he tells it in verse.
10. The Man of Law's Tale
Type of Work: "The Lawyer's Tale" is an exemplum stressing the importance of fidelity to Christian ideals. Character development is minimal. Source: Chaucer based
"The Man of Law's Tale" on "The Life of Constance," a story in Nicholas Trivet's Anglo-Norman Chronicle (1328-1335). Setting: The time is the Christian era after the development of Islam. The places are Syria, Rome, the English county
of Northumberland, and ships at sea. Theme: Virtuous Living Ultimately Yields Rewards: The main character, Constance, undergoes many hardships and trials. But her virtuous living, which sets a good example for others, ultimately brings her happiness.
Summary of the Tale
.......Wealthy Syrian merchants who trade in spices, satins, and other commodities visit Rome and hear stories about the emperors daughter, Constance. Every report says she possesses unequalled beauty. Yet she is humble, not proud. Moreover, she is courteous, generous, and mature beyond her
years. .......After they see her, they sail back to Syria full of wonder at her many charms. .......The sultan always entertains the merchants after they return from a trip so that they may acquaint him with the latest news of the lands they have visited. When they tell him about the extraordinary qualities of Lady Constance, he yearns to bring her to Syria and love her evermore.
.......But because his faith is Islam and hers Christianity, marriage seems out of the question. The sultan then converts to the older religion and decrees that all the nobles of his realm should do the same. In addition, he offers Rome gold for
the hand of Constance. One can go on about the reactions in Rome, but suffice it to say that in the end the emperor decides to send his daughter to the sultan. Constance bids a tearful good-bye and prays that Christ fortifies her to accept her fate. Women, she says, must accept the decrees of men. .......Meanwhile, the sultans mother convenes a council to thwart her sons plans. Telling its members she would rather die than flout the laws of the Koran, the sultaness persuades them to approve a scheme to slaughter all Christians attending a feast that she will hold after the arrival of Constance and
her entourage. .......After the sultan and his mother welcome the Romans amid great pomp and ceremony, everyone sits down to the feast. The sultaness then unleashes her murderous plot, resulting in the deaths of all the
Christiansincluding her own sonexcept Constance. (God in his goodness somehow caused her to be spared.) The sultaness and her henchmen then place Constance on a ship with food and other provisionsbut no crew!and tell her to find her way back to Rome. ears pass as the ship drifts
around the Mediterranean while Christ sustains her in the same way He sustained the five thousand with fives loaves and two fishes. .......Finally, the ship runs aground in sand on the coast of the English county of
Northumberland. When a constable and his wife find her, she pretends that her memory failed when she was at sea and now does not even know her name. Sympathizing with her, they take her in. Like everyone else in that region, the constable and his wife, Hermengyld, are pagans. Almost all Christians had been driven out. But Constance sets such a good example serving them and saying her prayers that
Hermengyld becomes a Christian. .......One sunny day, Constance, the constable, and Hermengyld decide to walk down by the sea when they encounter an old blind man with a hunchback. He addresses Hermengyld by name, asking
her to restore his sight. Surprised and fearful, she hesitates. Constance urges her to place her confidence in Christ and work toward manifesting His will in the matter. When the constable demands to know what is going on, Constance tells him about Christ, his message, and his laws. She continues to instruct him through the day so that, by evening, he believes in Christ and becomes a
Christian. .......Ever vigilant Satan then lays a trap for her, causing a young knight to tempt her to commit sins of the flesh. But she refused his advances. Angry, he seeks revenge. One night, he steals into the constables
house while he is away and cuts Hermengylds throat while she lies asleep in the same room as Constance. Then he leaves the bloody knife next to the young girl. .......When the constable returns, the king of the region
thereabouts, Alla, is with him. The constable weeps when he discovers the body of his wife and, after finding Constance with the knife, wonders whether she had gone mad. The knight bears false witness against her, saying she did the deed, but all the people in that part of the country find it difficult to believe that so gentle and virtuous a creature could have committed so heinous a
crime. .......Alla, suspecting that the knight is lying, asks him swear to his story on a book of Gospels. When the knight does so, a hand strikes him down and his eyes fell from their sockets. A mysterious voice heard by all
present reveals him as a liar. The miraculous happenings result in the conversion of the king and many others. The knight is executed. .......The king then marries Constance, arousing the ire of his mother, Donegild, who
loathes Constance because of her strange ways. Soon Constance becomes pregnant. One day, the king goes to Scotland to hunt down enemies while Constance remains behind in the constables care. After Constance bears a son, christened Maritius, the
constable sends a messenger to Scotland to inform Alla. On his way, the messenger stops to tell Donegild the joyous tidings. After showing her sealed letters he must deliver to the king, he asks whether she would like to send him a message of her own. She tells him to lodge with her overnight and report to her in the morning for instructions.
.......Ale and wine flow and the messenger drinks heartily and falls asleep. Donegild then takes the sealed letters from the messenger and substitutes a forged a message saying that Constance had given birth to a child so hideous that no one in the
castle goes near it. Moreover, the message says, people now despise Constance as an evil creature cast upon their shore through sorcery. .......After reading Donegilds message, the king composes a return message to the
constable, telling him to give both the child and his mother proper care until he returns from Scotland. The messenger, remembering the ale and wine he enjoyed at Donegilds, stops there again on his return trip. After he drinks his full, he again falls asleep and Donegild again substitutes a false message. It orders the constable to place Constance and her child on the same ship that carried her
to Northumberland and then to send her to sea once more. The people weep for poor Constance and her baby. But she accepts her fate and prays to Christ and his Mother for succor.
.......After the king returns, he questions the constable and the messenger and discovers his mothers treachery. He kills her. .......Constance, meanwhile, sails the seas as before. After her ship passes through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean, it continues on for five years, floating sometimes northward, sometimes southward, sometimes eastward. One day, a Roman ship comes upon her vessel. Aboard is an important senator
who led a successful military incursion in Syria against the sultaness and her supporters for slaughtering the Christians. .......When he finds Constance and her child, the young lady neither identifies herself nor speaks
a word about her experiences. The senator takes her with him to Rome and places her and her child in his home under the supervision of his wife, who does not realize that Contance is her niece. There, Constance and the boy live a considerable time. Constance performs good works and leads an exemplary life.
.......Guilt-ridden because he killed his own mother, Alla leaves for Rome on a pilgrimage of repentance. Messengers sent ahead announce Allas coming, and the senator decides to greet him upon his arrival. All goes well. When the senator attends a
feast at the lodging place of Alla, he takes along the little boy, Maritius. Alla, taken with the child, questions the senator about him. The senator then relates the tale of how he found the boy and finishes by observing that his mother is the most virtuous woman he ever met. Because the boy bears a striking resemblance to Constance, Alla wonders whether his mother is his long lost wife.
Consequently, he visits the home of the senator, and he and Constance wife reunite. Later, they visit the emperor, at which time Constance discloses her identity. Great rejoicing follows. Eventually, the Pope crowns Mauritius emperor, and Alla and Constance live a peaceful life in England until the death of Alla. Constance then returns to Rome and reunites with her father and
11. The Wife of Bath's Prologue
Purpose: This prologue acquaints the reader with the earthy and outspoken wife (actually a widow) of Bath, a middle-aged woman who has been married five times. She is assertive, self-confident, and literate, quoting Scripture and proverbs and alluding to ancient mythology to support her views. However, she seems to
believe that experience is the best teacher. Type of Work: "The Wife of Bath's Prologue" is an apologia, a first-person account in which a person explains and defends his or her outlook, attitude, beliefs, and behavior.
Theme 1: Marriage is a commendable state for women Further Analysis: For see Universal Teacher
Summary of the Prologue
.......Since age twelve, Alison, a widow from near the two of Bathgap-toothed and imprinted with the birthmark of Saint Venus as a lusty ladyhas had five husbands and would welcome a sixth.
.......Some Christian man shall wedde me anon, she says, for it is better to be wedded than to burn. .......She cites biblical passages to support her view that wedlock and the marriage bed are right and proper pursuits of a woman, although she acknowledges that virginity and spinsterhood are commendable for a certain few. To have a husband is her right, she says, and to be his master is her desire. The parson says he himself is about to marry, but he will
remain a bachelor if it means his wife will be his master. Alison bids him to wait to hear her tale before reacting, and he replies, "Tell forth your tale, and spare no man." .......Three of her husbands were good and two were
bad, she points out. The good ones were old and rich but had to work hard at night to fulfill their manly duties. But she did
not mind, for they showered her with their wealth. Although she did nothing to earn their attentionsnot even so much as preparing bacon for themthey always doted on her. But she was strict in her treatment of them, scolding them often. In response, they brought her gifts to please her and delighted in receiving a kind word from
her. .......Her fourth husband cheated on her, she says, at a time when she was young and full of passion and vigor. In retaliation, she flirted with others (but never sinned with them), making him angry and jealous. And
she subjected him to many other torments, turning his life into a purgatory on earth until the day he died. .......While still married to her fourth husband, who was in London for the entire season of Lent, she met the man who
would become her fifth husbanda former Oxford scholar named Jenkinthrough a friend of hers. One day when she went walking with him, she told him that he should marry her if she became a widow. She also flattered him with exaggerations and fibs, noting that she would dream of him all night. By and by, her husband died and Jenkin attended
the funeral. While he was walking behind the bier, she says, she noticed the exquisite lines of his legs and feet and decided then and there to give him her heart even though he was only twenty winter old and she was forty. They married. .......Jenkin was an ill-tempered husband and struck her on one occasion. She then unleashed her tongue against him relentlessly. He then quoted ancient literature that admonished wives to obey their husbands, but she remained unruly. .......Eventually she gained mastery over him and his possessions. From that time forward, they lived a peaceful life, never once arguing. And they were true to each other. ..............
11. The Wife of Bath's Tale
Type of Work: "The Wife of Bath's Tale" is an Arthurian romance, a type of work in which a knight in the age of the legendary King Arthur goes on a quest. Setting: The
action takes place in various English locales, including the court of King Arthur at Camelot. Theme 1: Women desire mastery over men. This theme continues the one the wife of Bath elaborates on in her prologue. It is open to question,
however, whether Chaucer was using the wife to speak for him or simply satirizing her outspoken, "manly" ways. Theme 2: Appearances can be deceiving. The ugly old woman becomes a beautiful young lady at the end of the
tale. Theme 3: Rehabilitation. A knight commits a heinous crime, rape. However, the queen gives him a reprieve when she sees an opportunity for him to rehabilitate and redeem himself.
Summary of the Tale
.......In the time of King Arthur long ago, a lustful knight forces himself upon a young lady, robbing her of her virtue. After the king sentences him to death as prescribed by law, the queen and other ladies prevail on Arthur to suspend the sentence. Bowing to their wishes, Arthur turns him over to the queen, allowing
her to decide the knights fate. Here is what she tells the knight:
I grant thee life, if thou canst tell to me What thing is it that women most desiren [desire]: Beware, and keep thy neck-bone
from the iron [blade of the executioner's axe] And if thou canst not tell it me anon, Yet will I give thee leave for to gon A twelvemonth and a day, to seek and lear [learn] An answer suffisant [sufficient, satisfactory] in this mattere [matter]. .......So it is that the knight has one year to discover what women most desire. After he rides off, he questions everyone he sees but despairs when he can find no consensus on the matter. Some said that women loved best richess, Some said honour, and some said jolliness, Some rich array, and some said lust a-bed, And oft time to be widow and be wed. Some said, that we are in our heart most eased When that we are y-flatter'd and
y-praised........Still others tell him women most want the freedom to do as they please. One person offered this as the answer: Women like best to keep secrets. But that answer is not worth the handle of a rake, the wife of Bath tells her listeners, for everyone knows that women cannot keep secrets, as Ovids
story about King Midas points out. The kings wife was to keep secret what he had beneath his long hair: the ears of an ass. She vowed she would never disclose the secret even if she could win the whole world by doing so. But how hard it was for her to bear this secret, which swelled in her heart and ached to be told. .......One day in a marsh, unable to contain the secret any longer, she lowered her head to the water, telling it not to betray what she then blurted out: that her husband had the ears of an ass. After this revelation to nature, she felt relieved, and her heart was
whole again. To learn the outcome of this story, the wife of Bath says, her listeners must read it in Ovid. .......As to the knight, he begins the trek home in deepest woe; the answer that would save his life has eluded him. On his way, he encounters
twenty-four women dancing in the forest. Perhaps they can help him, he thinks. But when he approaches them, all of them vanish save for one, a horribly ugly old woman who asks him what he wants. When he tells her, she promises to give him the answer he seeks on condition that he do one thing for her if it is in his power. He agrees to the bargain, and she whispers words in his ear. .......After returning to the court with the old woman, the knight announces that he is ready to answer the question. Many ladieswives, maids, widowsassemble to hear the answer, with the queen herself presiding. The knight then says women most want sovereignty over
their husbandsto be their masters. .......No one assembled contradicts what he says, and the queen cancels his death sentence. His answer was the right one. Before the court, the ugly old woman then asks the knight to complete his part of the bargainby
marrying her. He begs her to ask him to substitute another request, but she insists that he marry her and give him her love. He protests but in the end concedes to her wish. On their wedding night, he is in great distress about what to do. Then she offers him a choice:To have me foul and old till that I dey [die], And be to you a true humble wife, And never you displease in all my life: Or elles will ye have me young and fair, And take your aventure of the repair That shall be to your house because of me, Or in some other place, it may well be? Now choose yourselfe whether that you liketh.The knight answers,I put me in your wise governance, Choose for yourself which may be most pleasance And most honour to you and me
also.The woman replies that she has attained mastery over the knight, for he has said that she may govern him. She then changes herself into a beautiful young woman. He takes her in his arms as joy fills his heart.
12. The Friar's Prologue
Purpose: This prologue calls attention to the rivalry between the friar and the summoner, who tell the next two tales. Summary: After complimenting the wife of Bath on her tale, the friar announces that he will tell a tale
exposing summoners as reprehensible. Because the company of pilgrims includes a summoner, the host asks the friar to refrain from saying anything provocative. But the summoner urges the friar to tell the tale as he wishes, for he will respond by telling an uncomplimentary tale about friars.
13. The Friar's Tale
Type of Work: "The Friar's Tale" is an exemplum. It is also a satire ridiculing summoners. Setting: England.
Theme: Greed ultimately reaps a hellish reward. In attempting to extort money from a poor widow, a summoner loses his soul.
Summary of the Tale
.......In the region where he lives, the friar says, there was once an archdeacon who severely punished all crimessorcery, usury, simony, pandering, lying under oath, and so on. But he was especially severe in dealing with lechery. In his employ was a crafty summoner
who maintained a network of spies to track down transgressors. Here is an account, in present tense, of how the summoner went about his business. .......Among the summoners spies are prostitutes who report
offenders. Sometimes, the summoner threatens an offender without serving him legal documents. To exonerate himself, the offender then swells the purse of the summoner. .......In all his activities, the summoner
pockets fully half the fees owed to the archdeacon. .......One day the summoner meets a yeoman who collects fees as a bailiff. When the summoner says he also collects money for a living, they become friends. The summoner then
learns that the yeoman extorts money from his clients through deception, violence, or other meansmethods that the summoner hopes to learn. The summoner then asks his friend to identify himself. The yeoman replies that he is a fiend from hell who will go to the ends of the earth to prey on people.
.......Accompanied by the yeoman, the summoner calls on a poor widow to collect fees even though he knows of no offense she has committed. However, she says she is too sick to travel from her home and stand trial. The pain in her side would kill
her. When the summoner asks for twelve pence to dismiss the case, the widow says lacks such a sum. Moreover, she says has done nothing wrong to warrant a summons. The summoner then demands her new pan, accusing her of cuckolding her husband. The woman says she was never untrue to her husband, then swears a curse: that the devil take both the pan and the summoner.
.......The yeoman, upon hearing the curse, claims title to the pan and the summoner and takes both to hell.
14. The Summoner's Prologue
Purpose: This prologue presents the angry response of the summoner to the friar's tale. Foreshadowing: The highlight of the prologue, the emergence of friars from Satan's anus, foreshadows the highlight of "The
Summoner's Tale," a fart left by Thomas. Summary: The friars tale angers the summoner. It is no wonder that the begging priest knows of hell, he says, for friars and fiends often keep company. The summoner notes that a well-known story tells of a friar who dreams that an
angel takes him on a tour of hell. When the friar observes that he sees none of his kind in Satans abode, the angel tells him that in fact millions are there. To show the friar where they lodge, the angel tells Satan to lift his tail. When Satan does so, twenty thousand friars swarm out of Satans anus as bees swarm out of a hive. A short while later, they return to their nesting
15. The Summoner's Tale
Type of Work: "The Summoner's Tale" is a fabliau. It is also a satire ridiculing friars. Setting: Yorkshire, England.
Theme 1: Greedy friars ultimately receive what they deserve: hot air. In attempting to wheedle money from a sick man, a friar receives only a fart, to be divided among him and his brethren.
Theme 2: Hypocrisy cloaks itself in holiness. The friar is a hypocrite who cloaks himself in feigned piety.
.......In the Holderness district of Yorkshire, a friar preaches at churches and asks each member of the congregation to offer a donation for a trental, a series of thirty masses said for the dead that remit sin and allow the soul of the deceased person to rise to heaven.
.......After receiving offerings, he visits homes to beg cheese and corn and other food. While there he accepts money and other fooda bushel of grain, a cake, slices of bacon or beef, or whatever else is
availablein return for a promise to pray for the donor. Accompanying him are two assistants, one who writes down the names of donors and another who carries sacks to store donated goods. Upon leaving the homes, the friar erases the names of the donors. .......The pilgrim friar interrupts the tale, calling the summoner a liar. But the host tells the summoner to proceed with his story, telling every detail. .......When the friar visits the home of Thomas, a sick man, the friar assures him that he has been praying for him. Thomas's wife comes in from the yard, and the friar greets her with a kiss. She tells him that she treats Thomas with care and utmost attention, covering him snugly to make him warm. But all he does is complain, and she cannot please him. When she asks the friar what he would
like for dinner, he tells her the liver of a capon, a slice of her soft bread, and a roasted pigs head. .......Before she goes to prepare the meal, she tells him that her child died less than a fortnight ago soon after
the friar left town. The friar then tells her that less than a half-hour after the child's death he had a vision in which he saw the child borne to heavenly bliss. His fellow friars had the same vision, he says. In response, he said a prayer of thanks. He tells Thomas and his wife that they can trust what he says, for God favors him and his brethren because they lead a humble life of self-denial
and holiness and do good works for all. He also says all the friars pray day and night for Thomas to regain his health. But Thomas says he has remained sick even though he contributed large sums to every friar who passed his way in recent years. The friar says Thomas should have placed faith only in him and his fellow friars rather than give a farthing here and a penny there to other
friarssums that are too small in the first place. .......The friar asks Thomas for gold to help complete the construction of his orders cloister, for which the friars are already forty
pounds in debt. Thomas is angry now, for he realizes the friar is a hypocrite. But he says he will make a contribution if the friar distributes it equally among all in his order. The friar swears he will do so. Thomas then tells him his contribution is behind him.
Grope well behind Beneath my buttock, there
thou shalt find A thing, that I have hid in privity.When the friar reaches around and feels for his offering, Thomas leaves a fart in the friar's hand that is so
loud that not a horse could match it. Consumed with anger, the friar storms out and goes to the manor of the lord of the village, for whom the friar is confessor. After the lord attempts to calm him, the friar tells him and his wife what happened. In response, the lady says, A churl hath done a churlish deed, / . . . God let him never thrive. .......Wherever he preaches, the friar declares, he will denounce Thomas for telling him to divide among his brethren that which cannot be dividedmere air, a fart. The lord is at a loss to tell the friar what to do
next. But the lords squire, who has been carving meat within earshot of the conversation, suggests a solution. On a fair day when the wind is still, the friar and his fellow priestsnumbering twelve in all--shall kneel before a cartwheel, which has twelve spokes. At the center of the wheel, Thomas will fart. Thus, the fart will be divided equally among all the
friars. For his diligence in solving the problem, the lord gives the squire a new cloak.
. ..............Other Prologues and Tales
..................While Cummings Study Guides works toward completion of summaries of the prologues and tales, please use the following Wikipedia links for ..................information on the prologues and tales of the characters listed. ..