The Canterbury Tales

By geoffrey chaucer, the canterbury tales summary and analysis of general prologue.

"When April comes with his sweet, fragrant showers, which pierce the dry ground of March, and bathe every root of every plant in sweet liquid, then people desire to go on pilgrimages." Thus begins the famous opening to The Canterbury Tales . The narrator (a constructed version of Chaucer himself) is first discovered staying at the Tabard Inn in Southwark (in London), when a company of twenty-nine people descend on the inn, preparing to go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. After talking to them, he agrees to join them on their pilgrimage.

Yet before the narrator goes any further in the tale, he describes the circumstances and the social rank of each pilgrim. He describes each one in turn, starting with the highest status individuals.

The Knight is described first, as befits a 'worthy man' of high status. The Knight has fought in the Crusades in numerous countries, and always been honored for his worthiness and courtesy. Everywhere he went, the narrator tells us, he had a 'sovereyn prys' (which could mean either an 'outstanding reputation', or a price on his head for the fighting he has done). The Knight is dressed in a 'fustian' tunic, made of coarse cloth, which is stained by the rust from his coat of chainmail.

The Knight brings with him his son, The Squire , a lover and a lusty bachelor, only twenty years old. The Squire cuts a rather effeminate figure, his clothes embroidered with red and white flowers, and he is constantly singing or playing the flute. He is the only pilgrim (other than, of course, Chaucer himself) who explicitly has literary ambitions: he 'koude songes make and wel endite' (line 95).

The Yeoman (a freeborn servant) also travels along with the Knight's entourage, and is clad in coat and hood of green. The Yeoman is excellent at caring for arrows, and travels armed with a huge amount of weaponry: arrows, a bracer (arm guard), a sword, a buckler, and a dagger as sharp as a spear. He wears an image of St. Christopher on his breast.

Having now introduced the Knight (the highest ranking pilgrim socially), the narrator now moves on to the clergy, beginning with The Prioress , called 'Madame Eglantine' (or, in modern parlance, Mrs. Sweetbriar). She could sweetly sing religious services, speaks fluent French and has excellent table manners. She is so charitable and piteous, that she would weep if she saw a mouse caught in a trap, and she has two small dogs with her. She wears a brooch with the inscription 'Amor vincit omnia' ('Love conquers all'). The Prioress brings with her her 'chapeleyne' (secretary), the Second Nun .

The Monk is next, an extremely fine and handsome man who loves to hunt, and who follows modern customs rather than old traditions. This is no bookish monk, studying in a cloister, but a man who keeps greyhounds to hunt the hare. The Monk is well-fed, fat, and his eyes are bright, gleaming like a furnace in his head.

The Friar who follows him is also wanton and merry, and he is a 'lymytour' by trade (a friar licensed to beg in certain districts). He is extremely well beloved of franklins (landowners) and worthy women all over the town. He hears confession and gives absolution, and is an excellent beggar, able to earn himself a farthing wherever he went. His name is Huberd.

The Merchant wears a forked beard, motley clothes and sat high upon his horse. He gives his opinion very solemnly, and does excellent business as a merchant, never being in any debt. But, the narrator ominously remarks, 'I noot how men hym calle' (I don't know how men call him, or think of him).

The Clerk follows the Merchant. A student of Oxford university, he would rather have twenty books by Aristotle than rich clothes or musical instruments, and thus is dressed in a threadbare short coat. He only has a little gold, which he tends to spend on books and learning, and takes huge care and attention of his studies. He never speaks a word more than is needed, and that is short, quick and full of sentence (the Middle-English word for 'meaningfulness' is a close relation of 'sententiousness').

The Man of Law (referred to here as 'A Sergeant of the Lawe') is a judicious and dignified man, or, at least, he seems so because of his wise words. He is a judge in the court of assizes, by letter of appointment from the king, and because of his high standing receives many grants. He can draw up a legal document, the narrator tells us, and no-one can find a flaw in his legal writings. Yet, despite all this money and social worth, the Man of Law rides only in a homely, multi-coloured coat.

A Franklin travels with the Man of Law. He has a beard as white as a daisy, and of the sanguine humour (dominated by his blood). The Franklin is a big eater, loving a piece of bread dipped in wine, and is described (though not literally!) as Epicurus' son: the Franklin lives for culinary delight. His house is always full of meat pie, fish and meat, so much so that it 'snewed in his hous of mete and drynke'. He changes his meats and drinks according to what foods are in season.

A Haberdasher and a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer and a Tapycer (weaver of tapestries) are next described, all of them clothed in the same distinctive guildsman's dress. Note that none of these pilgrims, in the end, actually tell a tale.

A Cook had been brought along to boil the chicken up with marrow bones and spices, but this particular Cook knows a draught of ale very well indeed, according to the narrator. The Cook could roast and simmer and boil and fry, make stews and hashes and bake a pie well, but it was a great pity that, on his shin, he has an ulcer.

A Shipman from Dartmouth is next - tanned brown from the hot summer sun, riding upon a carthorse, and wearing a gown of coarse woolen cloth which reaches to his knees. The Shipman had, many times, drawn a secret draught of wine on board ship, while the merchant was asleep. The Shipman has weathered many storms, and knows his trade: he knows the locations of all the harbors from Gotland to Cape Finistere. His shape is called 'the Maudelayne'.

A Doctor of Medicine is the next pilgrim described, clad in red and blue, and no-one in the world can match him in speaking about medicine and surgery. He knows the cause of every illness, what humor engenders them, and how to cure them. He is a perfect practitioner of medicine, and he has apothecaries ready to send him drugs and mixtures. He is well-read in the standard medical authorities, from the Greeks right through to Chaucer's contemporary Gilbertus Anglicus. The Doctor, however, has not studied the Bible.

The Wife of Bath was 'somdel deef' (a little deaf, as her tale will later expand upon) and that was a shame. The Wife of Bath is so adept at making cloth that she surpasses even the cloth-making capitals of Chaucer's world, Ypres and Ghent, and she wears coverchiefs (linen coverings for the head) which must (the narrator assumes) have 'weyeden ten pound'. She had had five husbands through the church door, and had been at Jerusalem, Rome and Boulogne on pilgrimage. She is also described as 'Gat-tothed' (traditionally denoting lasciviousness), and as keeping good company, she knows all the answers about love: 'for she koude of that art the olde daunce' (she knew the whole dance as far as love is concerned!).

A good religious man, A Parson of a Town , is next described, who, although poor in goods, is rich in holy thought and work. He's a learned man, who truly preaches Christ's gospel, and devoutly teaches his parishioners. He travels across his big parish to visit all of his parishioners, on his feet, carrying a staff in his hand. He is a noble example to his parishioners ('his sheep', as they are described) because he acts first, and preaches second (or, in Chaucer's phrase, 'first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte'). The narrator believes that there is no better priest to be found anywhere.

With the Parson travels a Plowman (who does not tell a tale), who has hauled many cartloads of dung in his time. He is a good, hard-working man, who lives in peace and charity, and treats his neighbor as he would be treated. He rides on a mare, and wears a tabard (a workman's loose garment).

A Miller comes next, in this final group of pilgrims (now at the bottom of the class scale!). He is big-boned and has big muscles, and always wins the prize in wrestling matches. There's not a door that he couldn't lift off its hinges, or break it by running at it head-first. He has black, wide nostrils, carries a sword and a buckler (shield) by his side, and has a mouth like a great furnace. He's good at stealing corn and taking payment for it three times. But then, Chaucer implies, there are no honest millers.

A noble Manciple (a business agent, purchaser of religious provisions) is the next pilgrim to be described, and a savvy financial operator. Though a common man, the Manciple can run rings round even a 'heep of lerned men'. The Manciple , his description ominously ends, 'sette hir aller cappe': deceived them all.

The Reeve , a slender, choleric man, long-legged and lean ("ylyk a staf"). He knows exactly how much grain he has, and is excellent at keeping his granary and his grain bin. There is no bailiff, herdsman or servant about whom the Reeve does not know something secret or treacherous; as a result, they are afraid of him 'as of the deeth'.

The Summoner is next, his face fire-red and pimpled, with narrow eyes. He has a skin disease across his black brows, and his beard (which has hair falling out of it) and he is extremely lecherous. There is, the narrator tells us, no ointment or cure, or help him to remove his pimples. He loves drinking wine which is as 'reed as blood', and eating leeks, onions and garlic. He knows how to trick someone.

Travelling with the Summoner is a noble Pardoner , his friend and his companion (in what sense Chaucer intends the word 'compeer', meaning companion, nobody knows) and the last pilgrim-teller to be described. He sings loudly 'Come hither, love to me', and has hair as yellow as wax, which hangs like flaxen from his head. He carries a wallet full of pardons in his lap, brimful of pardons come from Rome. The Pardoner is sexually ambiguous - he has a thin, boyish voice, and the narrator wonders whether he is a 'geldyng or a mare' (a eunuch or a homosexual).

The narrator writes that he has told us now of the estate (the class), the array (the clothing), and the number of pilgrims assembled in this company. He then makes an important statement of intent for what is to come: he who repeats a tale told by another man, the narrator says, must repeat it as closely as he possibly can to the original teller - and thus, if the tellers use obscene language, it is not our narrator's fault.

The Host is the last member of the company described, a large man with bright, large eyes - and an extremely fair man. The Host welcomes everyone to the inn, and announces the pilgrimage to Canterbury, and decides that, on the way there, the company shall 'talen and pleye' (to tell stories and amuse themselves). Everyone consents to the Host's plan for the game, and he then goes on to set it out.

What the Host describes is a tale-telling game, in which each pilgrim shall tell two tales on the way to Canterbury, and two more on the way home; whoever tells the tale 'of best sentence and moost solas' shall have supper at the cost of all of the other pilgrims, back at the Inn, once the pilgrimage returns from Canterbury. The pilgrims agree to the Host's suggestion, and agree to accord to the Host's judgment as master of the tale-telling game. Everyone then goes to bed.

The next morning, the Host awakes, raises everyone up, and 'in a flok' the pilgrimage rides towards 'the Wateryng of Seint Thomas ', a brook about two miles from London. The Host asks the pilgrims to draw lots to see who shall tell the first tale, the Knight being asked to 'draw cut' first and, whether by 'aventure, or sort, or cas', the Knight draws the straw to tell the first tale. The pilgrims ride forward, and the Knight begins to tell his tale.

The General Prologue was probably written early in the composition of the Canterbury Tales, and offers an interesting comparison point to many of the individual tales itself. Of course, it does not match up to the tales as we have them in a number of ways: the Nun's Priest and the Second Nun are not described, and, most significantly, the work as we have it does not reflect the Host's plan. For starters, the pilgrimage only seems to go as far as Canterbury (for the Parson's Tale ) and only the narrator tells two tales on the way there, with all the other pilgrims telling only a single tale (and some who are described in the General Prologue not telling a tale at all).

We must, therefore, view the General Prologue with some hesitation as a comparison point to the tales themselves: it offers useful or enlightening suggestions, but they are no means a complete, reliable guide to the tales and what they mean. What the General Prologue offers is a brief, often very visual description of each pilgrim, focusing on details of their background, as well as key details of their clothing, their food likes and dislikes, and their physical features. These descriptions fall within a common medieval tradition of portraits in words (which can be considered under the technical term ekphrasis ), Chaucer's influence in this case most likely coming from The Romaunt de la Rose .

Immediately, our narrator insists that his pilgrims are to be described by 'degree'. By the fact that the Knight, the highest-ranking of the pilgrims, is selected as the first teller, we see the obvious social considerations of the tale. Still, all human life is here: characters of both sexes, and from walks of life from lordly knight, or godly parson down to oft-divorced wife or grimy cook.

Each pilgrim portrait within the prologue might be considered as an archetypal description. Many of the 'types' of characters featured would have been familiar stock characters to a medieval audience: the hypocritical friar, the rotund, food-loving monk, the rapacious miller are all familiar types from medieval estates satire (see Jill Mann's excellent book for more information). Larry D. Benson has pointed out the way in which the characters are paragons of their respective crafts or types - noting the number of times the words 'wel koude' and 'verray parfit' occur in describing characters.

Yet what is key about the information provided in the General Prologue about these characters, many of whom do appear to be archetypes, is that it is among the few pieces of objective information - that is, information spoken by our narrator that we are given throughout the Tales. The tales themselves (except for large passages of the prologues and epilogues) are largely told in the words of the tellers: as our narrator himself insists in the passage. The words stand for themselves: and we interpret them as if they come from the pilgrims' mouths. What this does - and this is a key thought for interpreting the tales as a whole - is to apparently strip them of writerly license, blurring the line between Chaucer and his characters.

Thus all of the information might be seen to operate on various levels. When, for example, we find out that the Prioress has excellent table manners, never allowing a morsel to fall on her breast, how are we to read it? Is this Geoffrey Chaucer 'the author of The Canterbury Tales ' making a conscious literary comparison to The Romaunt de la Rose , which features a similar character description (as it happens, of a courtesan)? Is this 'Chaucer' our narrator, a character within the Tales providing observation entirely without subtext or writerly intention? Or are these observations - supposedly innocent within the Prologue - to be noted down so as to be compared later to the Prioress' Tale?

Chaucer's voice, in re-telling the tales as accurately as he can, entirely disappears into that of his characters, and thus the Tales operates almost like a drama. Where do Chaucer's writerly and narratorial voices end, and his characters' voices begin? This self-vanishing quality is key to the Tales, and perhaps explains why there is one pilgrim who is not described at all so far, but who is certainly on the pilgrimage - and he is the most fascinating, and the most important by far: a poet and statesman by the name of Geoffrey Chaucer.

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The Canterbury Tales Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Canterbury Tales is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

"And palmers long to seek the stranger strands" (line 13) translates to mean what EXACTLY

The above quote from The Canterbury Tales translates to mean something like "the pilgrims seek foreign shores".

The nun prioress

What is your question here?

Order the sequence of these events in "The Pardoner's Tale":

Study Guide for The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is the last of Geoffrey Chaucer's works, and he only finished 24 of an initially planned 100 tales. The Canterbury Tales study guide contains a biography of Geoffrey Chaucer, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

  • About The Canterbury Tales
  • The Canterbury Tales Summary
  • The Canterbury Tales General Prologue Video
  • Character List

Essays for The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is considered one of the greatest works produced in Middle English. The Canterbury Tales essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

  • "Love" in the Courtly Tradition
  • On Cuckoldry: Women, Silence, and Subjectivity in the Merchant's Tale and the Manciple's Tale
  • Vision, Truth, and Genre in the Merchant's Tale
  • In Private: the Promise in The Franklin's Tale
  • Feminism or Anti-Feminism: Images of Women in Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath"

Lesson Plan for The Canterbury Tales

  • About the Author
  • Study Objectives
  • Common Core Standards
  • Introduction to The Canterbury Tales
  • Relationship to Other Books
  • Bringing in Technology
  • Notes to the Teacher
  • Related Links
  • The Canterbury Tales Bibliography

E-Text of The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales e-text contains the full text of The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer.

  • Life of Geoffrey Chaucer
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  • The Miller's Tale

Wikipedia Entries for The Canterbury Tales

  • Introduction
  • Genre and structure

the canterbury tales summary and analysis of general prologue

Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of Geoffrey Chaucer’s ‘General Prologue’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

The General Prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is one of the jewels in the crown of medieval English literature. From its opening lines extolling the virtues of April showers through to Chaucer’s wonderfully descriptive introductions to the various pilgrims travelling from London to Canterbury, the General Prologue provides a window onto medieval culture while also reminding us that some features of human nature are timeless and common to all generations and ages.

The opening lines of the General Prologue are one of the most powerful and evocative pieces of writing about spring in all of English literature, from its first reference to the rejuvenating qualities of April showers through to the zodiacal allusions to Aries (the Ram). You can read the General Prologue in the original Middle English here before proceeding to our summary and analysis below.

The General Prologue: summary

One April, Chaucer, the poet and narrator of the Canterbury Tales , arrives at a tavern called the Tabard in Southwark, London. It is the time of year when people in medieval times go on pilgrimages, and Chaucer is about to set off with the tavern’s landlord, Harry Bailly, on the long ride to Canterbury in Kent, to visit the shrine of the martyr Thomas Becket.

Twenty-nine other pilgrims arrive at the inn, ready to set off on their pilgrimage. Chaucer describes each of the pilgrims, from the knight and his squire, to the miller, the parson, the Wife of Bath, and the various other representatives of medieval society.

Bailly, who is hosting the group of pilgrims at the inn, suggests that they each take it in turns to tell stories to everyone as they travel, to liven up the journey. The pilgrim who tells the best story will be treated to a supper by the rest of the pilgrims when they get back to the inn. Harry Bailly himself will be the judge of the contest. And so the pilgrims set off for Canterbury …

The General Prologue: analysis

The notion of having an overarching narrative which would allow for various characters to tell numerous stories within that broader story was something that Chaucer probably picked up from Boccaccio, the Italian author whose Decameron sees a group of Italians fleeing the city of Florence during the Black Death and holing themselves up outside the city, telling stories to each other to pass the time.

But another important (though less well-known) influence on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales was something known as the ‘estates satire’, a medieval genre in which various trades and professions were mocked and satirised through a certain type (usually a stereotype) which represented their trade.

In each case, the character lays bare the shortcomings of the trade or class which they emblematise. We can clearly see this in Chaucer’s characters: in the pardoner who is not exactly free from sin himself, or the Wife of Bath who readily admits to adultery, and so on.

But Chaucer’s characters go beyond the mere archetypes (or stereotypes) found in such medieval satires. He makes his characters more individual, more ambiguous, and more difficult to categorise.

Is the Wife of Bath a terrible wife because she has cheated on at least one of her five husbands, or a model wife because she has learned how to tame and control the often abusive or wayward men she has married? Is the Miller right to mock the Knight’s ‘straight’ tale of courtly chivalry? Such tensions and ambiguities are held in balance throughout the Canterbury Tales , and they are immediately present in the famous opening lines of the General Prologue:

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licóur Of which vertú engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open ye, So priketh hem Natúre in hir corages, Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages …

This is hardly a placid and beautifying picture of spring: to borrow from more recent artistic modes, we might say it has the restless energy of the opening of a movie rather than the stillness of a photograph.

The reference to ‘the Ram’, the animal that represents the star sign Aries, is also a nod to rutting season and the idea of mating, copulation, and the wildness of nature – and many of the pilgrims will prove to be in the possession of wild and even violent passions, such as lust, greed, avarice, and other desires.

And ‘folk’ might ‘longen’ to ‘goon on pilgrimages’ for reasons that are not altogether holy, as Lesley A. Coote points out in her informative contextual notes to The Canterbury Tales (Wordsworth Poetry Library) .

It is this sense of ambiguity that makes The Canterbury Tales so varied and so surprising an anthology of tales, with the pace and tone constantly shifting as each pilgrim hands the storytelling baton to another (or has it wrenched from his hand, as happens to Chaucer himself when telling his disastrous Tale of Sir Thopas ).

Coote provides a good example of this ambiguity and how subtly and deftly Chaucer weaves it into his descriptions of the various pilgrims. Consider the Prioress, who carries a rosary – as we’d expect a medieval religious woman to – but one with the inscription ‘ amor vincit omnia ’ on it.

This means ‘love conquers all’: a reference to God’s love and how it overcomes everything else? Perhaps, except that ‘ amor vincit omnia ’ is a quotation from Virgil, a pagan poet, rather than from the Bible or other Christian text. Is the Prioress as interested in human passion as with divine love or agape ?

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the canterbury tales summary and analysis of general prologue

  • My Preferences
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  • The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer

  • Literature Notes
  • The Prologue
  • About The Canterbury Tales
  • Character List
  • Summary and Analysis
  • The Knight's Tale
  • The Miller's Prologue and Tale
  • The Reeve's Prologue and Tale
  • The Cook's Prologue and Tale
  • The Man of Law's Prologue and Tale
  • The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
  • The Friar's Prologue and Tale
  • The Summoner's Prologue and Tale
  • The Clerk's Prologue and Tale
  • The Merchant's Prologue and Tale
  • The Squire's Prologue and Tale
  • The Franklin's Prologue and Tale
  • The Physician's Tale
  • The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale
  • The Shipman's Tale
  • The Prioress' Prologue And Tale
  • Chaucer's Tale of Sir Topas
  • The Tale of Melibee
  • The Monk's Tale
  • The Nun's Priest's Tale
  • The Second Nun's Prologue and Tale
  • The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue and Tale
  • The Manciple's Prologue and Tale
  • The Parson's Prologue and Tale
  • Chaucer's Retraction
  • Character Analysis
  • Harry Bailey, the Host
  • The Wife of Bath
  • The Pardoner
  • Character Map
  • Geoffrey Chaucer Biography
  • Critical Essays
  • The Sovereignty of Marriage versus the Wife's Obedience
  • The Old Man and the Young Wife
  • The Trickster Tricked
  • Full Glossary for The Canterbury Tales
  • Essay Questions
  • Practice Projects
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Summary and Analysis The Prologue

One spring day, the Narrator of  The Canterbury Tales  rents a room at the Tabard Inn before he recommences his journey to Canterbury. That evening, a group of people arrive at the inn, all of whom are also going to Canterbury to receive the blessings of "the holy blissful martyr," St. Thomas à Becket. Calling themselves "pilgrims" because of their destination, they accept the Narrator into their company. The Narrator describes his newfound traveling companions.

The Host at the inn, Harry Bailey, suggests that, to make the trip to Canterbury pass more pleasantly, each member of the party tell two tales on the journey to Canterbury and two more tales on the journey back. The person who tells the best story will be rewarded with a sumptuous dinner paid for by the other members of the party. The Host decides to accompany the pilgrims to Canterbury and serve as the judge of the tales.

The primary function of these opening lines is to provide a physical setting and the motivation for the Canterbury pilgrimage. Chaucer's original plan, to have each pilgrim tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two more on the way back, was never completed; we have tales only on the way to Canterbury. In The Prologue are portraits of all levels of English life. The order of the portraits is important because it provides a clue as to the social standing of the different occupations. The pilgrims presented first are representative of the highest social rank, with social rank descending with every new pilgrim introduced.

Highest in the social rank are representatives of the aristocracy or those with pretensions toward nobility. First in this group are the Knight and his household, including the Squire. The second group within those of the highest social standing includes the Prioress, the Monk, and the Friar, who ought to be of the lower class, but who, as a pious beggar, has begged so well that his prosperity ironically slips him into the company of the nobles. Of these pilgrims, probably only the Knight and his son, the Squire, qualify as true aristocrats, both outwardly and inwardly. The "gentilesse" — refinement resulting from good breeding — of the Prioress and the Monk is largely external and affected.

Following this class are pilgrims whose high social rank is mainly derived from commercial wealth. Included in this group are the Merchant, who illegally made much of his money from selling French coins (a practice that was forbidden in England at the time); the Sergeant of Law, who made his fortune by using his knowledge as a lawyer to buy up foreclosed property for practically nothing; the Clerk, who belongs with this group of pilgrims because of his gentle manners and extensive knowledge of books; and the Franklin, who made enough money to become a country gentleman and is in a position to push for a noble station. (It is evident both from the relationship of the Franklin's portrait to that of the guildsmen, presented next, and from Harry Bailey's scornful remarks to him, however, that he is not yet of the noble class).

The next class of pilgrims is the guildsmen, consisting of men who belong to something similar to specialized unions of craftsmen guilds. Among this group of specialized laborers are the Haberdasher, the Dyer, the Carpenter, the Weaver, and the Tapestry-Maker. None of them tell a tale.

A middle-class group of pilgrims comprises the next lower position of social rank. First presented in this group is the Cook, whom we might consider out of place — ranked too high — but who, as a master of his trade, is greatly respected by his fellow travelers. Also included in this social class are the Shipman, because of his immense knowledge of and travels throughout the world, and the Physician, a doctor of medicine (a career that was less revered in the Middle Ages than it is now). The Wife of Bath, who is the last of this group to be presented, is included in this group because of her knowledge and deportment and her many other pilgrimages.

The Parson and the Plowman comprise the next group of pilgrims, the virtuous poor or lower class. Each, although very poor, represents all of the Christian virtues.

The last group of pilgrims include those of the immoral lower class. Among this group of pilgrims are the Manciple, who profits from buying food for the lawyers in the Inns of Court, and the vulgar Miller, who steals from his customers. The Reeve tells dirty stories and cheats his trusting young master, and the corrupt Summoner takes bribes. Last, and most corrupt in this litany of undesirables is the Pardoner, who sells false pardons and fake relics.

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Harvard's geoffrey chaucer website.

  • 1.1 General Prologue

The Middle English text is from Larry D. Benson., Gen. ed., The Riverside Chaucer, Houghton-Mifflin Company; used with permission of the publisher.

1         Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote                   When April with its sweet-smelling showers 2         The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,                  Has pierced the drought of March to the root, 3         And bathed every veyne in swich licour                  And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid 4         Of which vertu engendred is the flour;                  By which power the flower is created; 5         Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth                  When the West Wind also with its sweet breath, 6         Inspired hath in every holt and heeth                  In every wood and field has breathed life into 7         The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne                  The tender new leaves, and the young sun 8         Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,                  Has run half its course in Aries, 9         And smale foweles maken melodye,                  And small fowls make melody, 10         That slepen al the nyght with open ye                  Those that sleep all the night with open eyes 11         (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),                  (So Nature incites them in their hearts), 12         Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,                  Then folk long to go on pilgrimages, 13         And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,                  And professional pilgrims to seek foreign shores, 14         To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;                  To distant shrines, known in various lands; 15         And specially from every shires ende                  And specially from every shire's end 16         Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,                  Of England to Canterbury they travel, 17         The hooly blisful martir for to seke,                  To seek the holy blessed martyr, 18         That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.                  Who helped them when they were sick.

19         Bifil that in that seson on a day,                  It happened that in that season on one day, 20         In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay                  In Southwark at the Tabard Inn as I lay 21         Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage                  Ready to go on my pilgrimage 22         To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,                  To Canterbury with a very devout spirit, 23         At nyght was come into that hostelrye                  At night had come into that hostelry 24         Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye                  Well nine and twenty in a company 25         Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle                  Of various sorts of people, by chance fallen 26         In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,                  In fellowship, and they were all pilgrims, 27         That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde.                  Who intended to ride toward Canterbury. 28         The chambres and the stables weren wyde,                  The bedrooms and the stables were spacious, 29         And wel we weren esed atte beste.                  And we were well accommodated in the best way. 30         And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,                  And in brief, when the sun was (gone) to rest, 31         So hadde I spoken with hem everichon                  I had so spoken with everyone of them 32         That I was of hir felaweshipe anon,                  That I was of their fellowship straightway, 33         And made forward erly for to ryse,                  And made agreement to rise early, 34         To take oure wey ther as I yow devyse.                  To take our way where I (will) tell you.

35         But nathelees, whil I have tyme and space,                  But nonetheless, while I have time and opportunity, 36         Er that I ferther in this tale pace,                  Before I proceed further in this tale, 37         Me thynketh it acordaunt to resoun                  It seems to me in accord with reason 38         To telle yow al the condicioun                  To tell you all the circumstances 39         Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,                  Of each of them, as it seemed to me, 40         And whiche they weren, and of what degree,                  And who they were, and of what social rank, 41         And eek in what array that they were inne;                  And also what clothing that they were in; 42         And at a knyght than wol I first bigynne.                  And at a knight then will I first begin.

43         A KNYGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,                  A KNIGHT there was, and that (one was) a worthy man, 44         That fro the tyme that he first bigan                  Who from the time that he first began 45         To riden out, he loved chivalrie,                  To ride out, he loved chivalry, 46         Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie.                  Fidelity and good reputation, generosity and courtesy. 47         Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,                  He was very worthy in his lord's war, 48         And therto hadde he riden, no man ferre,                  And for that he had ridden, no man farther, 49         As wel in cristendom as in hethenesse,                  As well in Christendom as in heathen lands, 50         And evere honoured for his worthynesse;                  And (was) ever honored for his worthiness; 51         At Alisaundre he was whan it was wonne.                  He was at Alexandria when it was won. 52         Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne                  He had sat very many times in the place of honor, 53         Aboven alle nacions in Pruce;                  Above (knights of) all nations in Prussia; 54         In Lettow hadde he reysed and in Ruce,                  He had campaigned in Lithuania and in Russia, 55         No Cristen man so ofte of his degree.                  No Christian man of his rank so often. 56         In Gernade at the seege eek hadde he be                  Also he had been in Grenada at the siege 57         Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.                  Of Algeciras, and had ridden in Morocco. 58         At Lyeys was he and at Satalye,                  He was at Ayash and at Atalia, 59         Whan they were wonne, and in the Grete See                  When they were won, and in the Mediterranean 60         At many a noble armee hadde he be.                  He had been at many a noble expedition. 61         At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,                  He had been at fifteen mortal battles, 62         And foughten for oure feith at Tramyssene                  And fought for our faith at Tlemcen 63         In lystes thries, and ay slayn his foo.                  Three times in formal duels, and each time slain his foe. 64         This ilke worthy knyght hadde been also                  This same worthy knight had also been 65         Somtyme with the lord of Palatye                  At one time with the lord of Balat 66         Agayn another hethen in Turkye;                  Against another heathen in Turkey; 67         And everemoore he hadde a sovereyn prys.                  And evermore he had an outstanding reputation 68         And though that he were worthy, he was wys,                  And although he was brave, he was prudent, 69         And of his port as meeke as is a mayde.                  And of his deportment as meek as is a maid. 70         He nevere yet no vileynye ne sayde                  He never yet said any rude word 71         In al his lyf unto no maner wight.                  In all his life unto any sort of person. 72         He was a verray, parfit gentil knyght.                  He was a truly perfect, noble knight. 73         But for to tellen yow of his array,                  But to tell you of his clothing, 74         His hors were goode, but he was nat gay.                  His horses were good, but he was not gaily dressed. 75         Of fustian he wered a gypon                  He wore a tunic of coarse cloth 76         Al bismotered with his habergeon,                  All stained (with rust) by his coat of mail, 77         For he was late ycome from his viage,                  For he was recently come (back) from his expedition, 78         And wente for to doon his pilgrymage.                  And went to do his pilgrimage.

79         With hym ther was his sone, a yong SQUIER,                  With him there was his son, a young SQUIRE, 80         A lovyere and a lusty bacheler,                  A lover and a lively bachelor, 81         With lokkes crulle as they were leyd in presse.                  With locks curled as if they had been laid in a curler. 82         Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.                  He was twenty years of age, I guess. 83         Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,                  Of his stature he was of moderate height, 84         And wonderly delyvere, and of greet strengthe.                  And wonderfully agile, and of great strength. 85         And he hadde been somtyme in chyvachie                  And he had been for a time on a cavalry expedition 86         In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Pycardie,                  In Flanders, in Artois, and Picardy, 87         And born hym weel, as of so litel space,                  And conducted himself well, for so little a space of time, 88         In hope to stonden in his lady grace.                  In hope to stand in his lady's good graces. 89         Embrouded was he, as it were a meede                  He was embroidered, as if it were a mead 90         Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and reede.                  All full of fresh flowers, white and red. 91         Syngynge he was, or floytynge, al the day;                  Singing he was, or fluting, all the day; 92         He was as fressh as is the month of May.                  He was as fresh as is the month of May. 93         Short was his gowne, with sleves longe and wyde.                  His gown was short, with long and wide sleeves. 94         Wel koude he sitte on hors and faire ryde.                  He well knew how to sit on horse and handsomely ride. 95         He koude songes make and wel endite,                  He knew how to make songs and well compose (the words), 96         Juste and eek daunce, and weel purtreye and write.                  Joust and also dance, and well draw and write. 97         So hoote he lovede that by nyghtertale                  He loved so passionately that at nighttime 98         He sleep namoore than dooth a nyghtyngale.                  He slept no more than does a nightingale. 99         Curteis he was, lowely, and servysable,                  Courteous he was, humble, and willing to serve, 100         And carf biforn his fader at the table.                  And carved before his father at the table.

101         A YEMAN hadde he and servantz namo                  He (the Knight) had A YEOMAN and no more servants 102         At that tyme, for hym liste ride so,                  At that time, for it pleased him so to travel, 103         And he was clad in cote and hood of grene.                  And he (the yeoman) was clad in coat and hood of green. 104         A sheef of pecok arwes, bright and kene,                  A sheaf of peacock arrows, bright and keen, 105         Under his belt he bar ful thriftily                  He carried under his belt very properly 106         (Wel koude he dresse his takel yemanly;                  (He well knew how to care for his equipment as a yeoman should; 107         His arwes drouped noght with fetheres lowe),                  His arrows did not fall short because of drooping feathers), 108         And in his hand he baar a myghty bowe.                  And in his hand he carried a mighty bow. 109         A not heed hadde he, with a broun visage.                  He had a close-cropped head, with a brown face. 110         Of wodecraft wel koude he al the usage.                  He well knew all the practice of woodcraft. 111         Upon his arm he baar a gay bracer,                  He wore an elegant archer's wrist-guard upon his arm, 112         And by his syde a swerd and a bokeler,                  And by his side a sword and a small shield, 113         And on that oother syde a gay daggere                  And on that other side an elegant dagger 114         Harneised wel and sharp as point of spere;                  Well ornamented and sharp as the point of a spear; 115         A Cristopher on his brest of silver sheene.                  A Christopher-medal of bright silver on his breast. 116         An horn he bar, the bawdryk was of grene;                  He carried a horn, the shoulder strap was green; 117         A forster was he, soothly, as I gesse.                  He was a forester, truly, as I guess.

118         Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE,                  There was also a Nun, a PRIORESS, 119         That of hir smylyng was ful symple and coy;                  Who was very simple and modest in her smiling; 120         Hire gretteste ooth was but by Seinte Loy;                  Her greatest oath was but by Saint Loy; 121         And she was cleped madame Eglentyne.                  And she was called Madam Eglantine. 122         Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne,                  She sang the divine service very well, 123         Entuned in hir nose ful semely;                  Intoned in her nose in a very polite manner; 124         And Frenssh she spak ful faire and fetisly,                  And she spoke French very well and elegantly, 125         After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,                  In the manner of Stratford at the Bow, 126         For Frenssh of Parys was to hire unknowe.                  For French of Paris was to her unknown. 127         At mete wel ytaught was she with alle;                  At meals she was well taught indeed; 128         She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,                  She let no morsel fall from her lips, 129         Ne wette hir fyngres in hir sauce depe;                  Nor wet her fingers deep in her sauce; 130         Wel koude she carie a morsel and wel kepe                  She well knew how to carry a morsel (to her mouth) and take good care 131         That no drope ne fille upon hire brest.                  That no drop fell upon her breast. 132         In curteisie was set ful muchel hir lest.                  Her greatest pleasure was in good manners. 133         Hir over-lippe wyped she so clene                  She wiped her upper lip so clean 134         That in hir coppe ther was no ferthyng sene                  That in her cup there was seen no tiny bit 135         Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir draughte.                  Of grease, when she had drunk her drink. 136         Ful semely after hir mete she raughte.                  She reached for her food in a very seemly manner. 137         And sikerly she was of greet desport,                  And surely she was of excellent deportment, 138         And ful plesaunt, and amyable of port,                  And very pleasant, and amiable in demeanor, 139         And peyned hire to countrefete cheere                  And she took pains to imitate the manners 140         Of court, and to been estatlich of manere,                  Of court, and to be dignified in behavior, 141         And to ben holden digne of reverence.                  And to be considered worthy of reverence. 142         But for to speken of hire conscience,                  But to speak of her moral sense, 143         She was so charitable and so pitous                  She was so charitable and so compassionate 144         She wolde wepe, if that she saugh a mous                  She would weep, if she saw a mouse 145         Kaught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.                  Caught in a trap, if it were dead or bled. 146         Of smale houndes hadde she that she fedde                  She had some small hounds that she fed 147         With rosted flessh, or milk and wastel-breed.                  With roasted meat, or milk and fine white bread. 148         But soore wepte she if oon of hem were deed,                  But sorely she wept if one of them were dead, 149         Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte;                  Or if someone smote it smartly with a stick; 150         And al was conscience and tendre herte.                  And all was feeling and tender heart. 151         Ful semyly hir wympul pynched was,                  Her wimple was pleated in a very seemly manner, 152         Hir nose tretys, hir eyen greye as glas,                  Her nose well formed, her eyes gray as glass, 153         Hir mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed.                  Her mouth very small, and moreover soft and red. 154         But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed;                  But surely she had a fair forehead; 155         It was almoost a spanne brood, I trowe;                  It was almost nine inches broad, I believe; 156         For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.                  For, certainly, she was not undergrown. 157         Ful fetys was hir cloke, as I was war.                  Her cloak was very well made , as I was aware. 158         Of smal coral aboute hire arm she bar                  About her arm she bore of small coral 159         A peire of bedes, gauded al with grene,                  A set of beads, adorned with large green beads, 160         And theron heng a brooch of gold ful sheene,                  And thereon hung a brooch of very bright gold, 161         On which ther was first write a crowned A,                  On which there was first written an A with a crown, 162         And after Amor vincit omnia.                  And after "Love conquers all."

163         Another NONNE with hire hadde she,                  She had another NUN with her, 164         That was hir chapeleyne, and preestes thre.                  Who was her secretary, and three priests.

165         A MONK ther was, a fair for the maistrie,                  There was a MONK, an extremely fine one, 166         An outridere, that lovede venerie,                  An outrider (a monk with business outside the monastery), who loved hunting, 167         A manly man, to been an abbot able.                  A virile man, qualified to be an abbot. 168         Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable,                  He had very many fine horses in his stable, 169         And whan he rood, men myghte his brydel heere                  And when he rode, one could hear his bridle 170         Gynglen in a whistlynge wynd als cleere                  Jingle in a whistling wind as clear 171         And eek as loude as dooth the chapel belle                  And also as loud as does the chapel belle 172         Ther as this lord was kepere of the celle.                  Where this lord was prior of the subordinate monastery. 173         The reule of Seint Maure or of Seint Beneit --                  The rule of Saint Maurus or of Saint Benedict -- 174         By cause that it was old and somdel streit                  Because it was old and somewhat strict 175         This ilke Monk leet olde thynges pace,                  This same Monk let old things pass away, 176         And heeld after the newe world the space.                  And followed the broader customs of modern times. 177         He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,                  He gave not a plucked hen for that text 178         That seith that hunters ben nat hooly men,                  That says that hunters are not holy men, 179         Ne that a monk, whan he is recchelees,                  Nor that a monk, when he is heedless of rules, 180         Is likned til a fissh that is waterlees --                  Is like a fish that is out of water -- 181         This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre.                  This is to say, a monk out of his cloister. 182         But thilke text heeld he nat worth an oystre;                  But he considered that same text not worth an oyster; 183         And I seyde his opinion was good.                  And I said his opinion was good. 184         What sholde he studie and make hymselven wood,                  Why should he study and make himself crazy, 185         Upon a book in cloystre alwey to poure,                  Always to pore upon a book in the cloister, 186         Or swynken with his handes, and laboure,                  Or work with his hands, and labor, 187         As Austyn bit? How shal the world be served?                  As Augustine commands? How shall the world be served? 188         Lat Austyn have his swynk to hym reserved!                  Let Augustine have his work reserved to him! 189         Therfore he was a prikasour aright:                  Therefore he was indeed a vigorous horseman: 190         Grehoundes he hadde as swift as fowel in flight;                  He had greyhounds as swift as fowl in flight; 191         Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare                  Of tracking and of hunting for the hare 192         Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.                  Was all his pleasure, by no means would he refrain from it. 193         I seigh his sleves purfiled at the hond                  I saw his sleeves lined at the hand 194         With grys, and that the fyneste of a lond;                  With squirrel fur, and that the finest in the land; 195         And for to festne his hood under his chyn,                  And to fasten his hood under his chin, 196         He hadde of gold ywroght a ful curious pyn;                  He had a very skillfully made pin of gold; 197         A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was.                  There was an elaborate knot in the larger end. 198         His heed was balled, that shoon as any glas,                  His head was bald, which shone like any glass, 199         And eek his face, as he hadde been enoynt.                  And his face did too, as if he had been rubbed with oil. 200         He was a lord ful fat and in good poynt;                  He was a very plump lord and in good condition; 201         His eyen stepe, and rollynge in his heed,                  His eyes were prominent, and rolling in his head, 202         That stemed as a forneys of a leed;                  Which gleamed like a furnace under a cauldron; 203         His bootes souple, his hors in greet estaat.                  His boots supple, his horse in excellent condition. 204         Now certeinly he was a fair prelaat;                  Now certainly he was a handsome ecclesiastical dignitary; 205         He was nat pale as a forpyned goost.                  He was not pale as a tormented spirit. 206         A fat swan loved he best of any roost.                  A fat swan loved he best of any roast. 207         His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.                  His saddle horse was as brown as is a berry.

208         A FRERE ther was, a wantowne and a merye,                  There was a FRIAR, a pleasure-loving and merry one, 209         A lymytour, a ful solempne man.                  A limiter (with an assigned territory), a very solemn man. 210         In alle the ordres foure is noon that kan                  In all the four orders of friars is no one that knows 211         So muchel of daliaunce and fair langage.                  So much of sociability and elegant speech. 212         He hadde maad ful many a mariage                  He had made very many a marriage 213         Of yonge wommen at his owene cost.                  Of young women at his own cost. 214         Unto his ordre he was a noble post.                  He was a noble supporter of his order. 215         Ful wel biloved and famulier was he                  Very well beloved and familiar was he 216         With frankeleyns over al in his contree,                  With landowners every where in his country, 217         And eek with worthy wommen of the toun;                  And also with worthy women of the town; 218         For he hadde power of confessioun,                  For he had power of confession, 219         As seyde hymself, moore than a curat,                  As he said himself, more than a parish priest, 220         For of his ordre he was licenciat.                  For he was licensed by his order. 221         Ful swetely herde he confessioun,                  He heard confession very sweetly, 222         And plesaunt was his absolucioun:                  And his absolution was pleasant: 223         He was an esy man to yeve penaunce,                  He was a lenient man in giving penance, 224         Ther as he wiste to have a good pitaunce.                  Where he knew he would have a good gift. 225         For unto a povre ordre for to yive                  For to give to a poor order (of friars) 226         Is signe that a man is wel yshryve;                  Is a sign that a man is well confessed; 227         For if he yaf, he dorste make avaunt,                  For if he gave, he (the friar) dared to assert, 228         He wiste that a man was repentaunt;                  He knew that a man was repentant; 229         For many a man so hard is of his herte,                  For many a man is so hard in his heart, 230         He may nat wepe, althogh hym soore smerte.                  He can not weep, although he painfully suffers. 231         Therfore in stede of wepynge and preyeres                  Therefore instead of weeping and prayers 232         Men moote yeve silver to the povre freres.                  One may give silver to the poor friars. 233         His typet was ay farsed ful of knyves                  His hood was always stuffed full of knives 234         And pynnes, for to yeven faire wyves.                  And pins, to give to fair wives. 235         And certeinly he hadde a murye note:                  And certainly he had a merry voice: 236         Wel koude he synge and pleyen on a rote;                  He well knew how to sing and play on a rote (string instrument); 237         Of yeddynges he baar outrely the pris.                  He absolutely took the prize for reciting ballads. 238         His nekke whit was as the flour-de-lys;                  His neck was white as a lily flower; 239         Therto he strong was as a champioun.                  Furthermore he was strong as a champion fighter. 240         He knew the tavernes wel in every toun                  He knew the taverns well in every town 241         And everich hostiler and tappestere                  And every innkeeper and barmaid 242         Bet than a lazar or a beggestere,                  Better than a leper or a beggar-woman, 243         For unto swich a worthy man as he                  For unto such a worthy man as he 244         Acorded nat, as by his facultee,                  It was not suitable, in view of his official position, 245         To have with sike lazars aqueyntaunce.                  To have acquaintance with sick lepers. 246         It is nat honest; it may nat avaunce,                  It is not respectable; it can not be profitable, 247         For to deelen with no swich poraille,                  To deal with any such poor people, 248         But al with riche and selleres of vitaille.                  But all with rich people and sellers of victuals. 249         And over al, ther as profit sholde arise,                  And every where, where profit should arise, 250         Curteis he was and lowely of servyse;                  He was courteous and graciously humble; 251         Ther nas no man nowher so vertuous.                  There was no man anywhere so capable (of such work). 252         He was the beste beggere in his hous;                  He was the best beggar in his house; 252a         [And yaf a certeyn ferme for the graunt;             [And he gave a certain fee for his grant (of begging rights); 252a         Noon of his bretheren cam ther in his haunt;]             None of his brethren came there in his territory;] 253         For thogh a wydwe hadde noght a sho,                  For though a widow had not a shoe, 254         So plesaunt was his "In principio,"                  So pleasant was his "In the beginning," 255         Yet wolde he have a ferthyng, er he wente.                  Yet he would have a farthing, before he went away. 256         His purchas was wel bettre than his rente.                   His total profit was much more than his proper income. 257         And rage he koude, as it were right a whelp.                  And he knew how to frolic, as if he were indeed a pup. 258         In love-dayes ther koude he muchel help,                  He knew how to be much help on days for resolving disputes, 259         For ther he was nat lyk a cloysterer                  For there he was not like a cloistered monk 260         With a thredbare cope, as is a povre scoler,                  With a threadbare cope, like a poor scholar, 261         But he was lyk a maister or a pope.                  But he was like a master of arts or a pope. 262         Of double worstede was his semycope,                  Of wide (expensive) cloth was his short cloak, 263         That rounded as a belle out of the presse.                  Which was round as a bell fresh from the clothespress. 264         Somwhat he lipsed, for his wantownesse,                  Somewhat he lisped, for his affectation, 265         To make his Englissh sweete upon his tonge;                  To make his English sweet upon his tongue; 266         And in his harpyng, whan that he hadde songe,                  And in his harping, when he had sung, 267         His eyen twynkled in his heed aryght                  His eyes twinkled in his head exactly 268         As doon the sterres in the frosty nyght.                  As do the stars in the frosty night. 269         This worthy lymytour was cleped Huberd.                  This worthy friar was called Huberd.

270         A MARCHANT was ther with a forked berd,                  There was a MERCHANT with a forked beard, 271         In mottelee, and hye on horse he sat;                  Wearing parti-colored cloth, and proudly he sat on his horse; 272         Upon his heed a Flaundryssh bever hat,                  Upon his head (he wore a) Flemish beaver hat, 273         His bootes clasped faire and fetisly.                  His boots were buckled handsomely and elegantly. 274         His resons he spak ful solempnely,                  His opinions he spoke very solemnly, 275         Sownynge alwey th' encrees of his wynnyng.                  Concerning always the increase of his profits. 276         He wolde the see were kept for any thyng                  He wanted the sea to be guarded at all costs 277         Bitwixe Middelburgh and Orewelle.                  Between Middelburgh (Holland) and Orwell (England). 278         Wel koude he in eschaunge sheeldes selle.                  He well knew how to deal in foreign currencies. 279         This worthy man ful wel his wit bisette:                  This worthy man employed his wit very well: 280         Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,                  There was no one who knew that he was in debt, 281         So estatly was he of his governaunce                  He was so dignified in managing his affairs 282         With his bargaynes and with his chevyssaunce.                  With his buying and selling and with his financial deals. 283         For sothe he was a worthy man with alle,                  Truly, he was a worthy man indeed, 284         But, sooth to seyn, I noot how men hym calle.                  But, to say the truth, I do not know what men call him.

285         A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,                  There was also a CLERK (scholar) from Oxford, 286         That unto logyk hadde longe ygo.                  Who long before had begun the study of logic. 287         As leene was his hors as is a rake,                  His horse was as lean as is a rake, 288         And he nas nat right fat, I undertake,                  And he was not very fat, I affirm, 289         But looked holwe, and therto sobrely.                  But looked emaciated, and moreover abstemious. 290         Ful thredbare was his overeste courtepy,                  His short overcoat was very threadbare, 291         For he hadde geten hym yet no benefice,                  For he had not yet obtained an ecclesiastical living, 292         Ne was so worldly for to have office.                  Nor was he worldly enough to take secular employment. 293         For hym was levere have at his beddes heed                  For he would rather have at the head of his bed 294         Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reed,                  Twenty books, bound in black or red, 295         Of Aristotle and his philosophie                  Of Aristotle and his philosophy 296         Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrie.                  Than rich robes, or a fiddle, or an elegant psaltery. 297         But al be that he was a philosophre,                  But even though he was a philosopher, 298         Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;                  Nevertheless he had but little gold in his strongbox; 299         But al that he myghte of his freendes hente,                  But all that he could get from his friends, 300         On bookes and on lernynge he it spente,                  He spent on books and on learning, 301         And bisily gan for the soules preye                  And diligently did pray for the souls 302         Of hem that yaf hym wherwith to scoleye.                  Of those who gave him the wherewithal to attend the schools. 303         Of studie took he moost cure and moost heede.                  He took most care and paid most heed to study. 304         Noght o word spak he moore than was neede,                  He spoke not one word more than was needed, 305         And that was seyd in forme and reverence,                  And that was said with due formality and respect, 306         And short and quyk and ful of hy sentence;                  And short and lively and full of elevated content; 307         Sownynge in moral vertu was his speche,                  His speech was consonant with moral virtue, 308         And gladly wolde he lerne and gladly teche.                  And gladly would he learn and gladly teach.

309         A SERGEANT OF THE LAWE, war and wys,                  A SERGEANT OF THE LAW (high-ranking attorney), prudent and wise, 310         That often hadde been at the Parvys,                  Who often had been at the Porch of St. Paul's (where lawyers gather) 311         Ther was also, ful riche of excellence.                  Was also there, very rich in superior qualities. 312         Discreet he was and of greet reverence --                  He was judicious and of great dignity -- 313         He semed swich, his wordes weren so wise.                  He seemed such, his words were so wise. 314         Justice he was ful often in assise,                  He was very often a judge in the court of assizes, 315         By patente and by pleyn commissioun.                  By royal appointment and with full jurisdiction. 316         For his science and for his heigh renoun,                  For his knowledge and for his excellent reputation, 317         Of fees and robes hadde he many oon.                  He had many grants of yearly income. 318         So greet a purchasour was nowher noon:                  There was nowhere so great a land-buyer: 319         Al was fee symple to hym in effect;                  In fact, all was unrestricted possession to him; 320         His purchasyng myghte nat been infect.                  His purchasing could not be invalidated. 321         Nowher so bisy a man as he ther nas,                  There was nowhere so busy a man as he, 322         And yet he semed bisier than he was.                  And yet he seemed busier than he was. 323         In termes hadde he caas and doomes alle                  He had in Year Books all the cases and decisions 324         That from the tyme of kyng William were falle.                  That from the time of king William have occurred. 325         Therto he koude endite and make a thyng,                  Furthermore, he knew how to compose and draw up a legal document, 326         Ther koude no wight pynche at his writyng;                  So that no one could find a flaw in his writing; 327         And every statut koude he pleyn by rote.                  And he knew every statute completely by heart. 328         He rood but hoomly in a medlee cote,                  He rode but simply in a parti-colored coat, 329         Girt with a ceint of silk, with barres smale;                  Girded with a belt of silk, with small stripes; 330         Of his array telle I no lenger tale.                  I tell no longer tale of his clothing.

331         A FRANKELEYN was in his compaignye.                  A FRANKLIN was in his company. 332         Whit was his berd as is the dayesye;                  His beard was white as a daisy; 333         Of his complexioun he was sangwyn.                  As to his temperament, he was dominated by the humor blood. 334         Wel loved he by the morwe a sop in wyn;                  He well loved a bit of bread dipped in wine in the morning; 335         To lyven in delit was evere his wone,                  His custom was always to live in delight, 336         For he was Epicurus owene sone,                  For he was Epicurus' own son, 337         That heeld opinioun that pleyn delit                  Who held the opinion that pure pleasure 338         Was verray felicitee parfit.                  Was truly perfect happiness. 339         An housholdere, and that a greet, was he;                  He was a householder, and a great one at that; 340         Seint Julian he was in his contree.                  He was Saint Julian (patron of hospitality) in his country. 341         His breed, his ale, was alweys after oon;                  His bread, his ale, was always of the same (good) quality; 342         A bettre envyned man was nowher noon.                  Nowhere was there any man better stocked with wine. 343         Withoute bake mete was nevere his hous,                  His house was never without baked pies 344         Of fissh and flessh, and that so plentevous                  Of fish and meat, and that so plentiful 345         It snewed in his hous of mete and drynke;                  That in his house it snowed with food and drink; 346         Of alle deyntees that men koude thynke,                  Of all the dainties that men could imagine, 347         After the sondry sesons of the yeer,                  In accord with the various seasons of the year, 348         So chaunged he his mete and his soper.                  So he varied his midday meal and his supper. 349         Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in muwe,                  He had very many fat partridges in pens, 350         And many a breem and many a luce in stuwe.                  And many a bream and many a pike in his fish pond. 351         Wo was his cook but if his sauce were                  Woe was his cook unless his sauce was 352         Poynaunt and sharp, and redy al his geere.                  Hotly spiced and sharp, and ready all his cooking equipment. 353         His table dormant in his halle alway                  In his hall his dining table always 354         Stood redy covered al the longe day.                  Stood covered (with table cloth) and ready all the long day. 355         At sessiouns ther was he lord and sire;                  He presided as lord and sire at court sessions; 356         Ful ofte tyme he was knyght of the shire.                  He was a member of parliament many times. 357         An anlaas and a gipser al of silk                  A dagger and a purse all of silk 358         Heeng at his girdel, whit as morne milk.                  Hung at his belt, white as morning milk. 359         A shirreve hadde he been, and a contour.                  He had been a sheriff, and an auditor of taxes. 360         Was nowher swich a worthy vavasour.                  There was nowhere such a worthy landowner.

361         AN HABERDASSHERE and a CARPENTER,                  A HABERDASHER and a CARPENTER, 362         A WEBBE, a DYERE, and a TAPYCER --                  A WEAVER, a DYER, and a TAPESTRY-MAKER -- 363         And they were clothed alle in o lyveree                  And they were all clothed in one livery 364         Of a solempne and a greet fraternitee.                  Of a solemn and a great parish guild. 365         Ful fressh and newe hir geere apiked was;                  Their equipment was adorned all freshly and new; 366         Hir knyves were chaped noght with bras                  Their knives were not mounted with brass 367         But al with silver, wroght ful clene and weel,                  But entirely with silver, wrought very neatly and well, 368         Hire girdles and hir pouches everydeel.                  Their belts and their purses every bit. 369         Wel semed ech of hem a fair burgeys                  Each of them well seemed a solid citizen 370         To sitten in a yeldehalle on a deys.                  To sit on a dais in a city hall. 371         Everich, for the wisdom that he kan,                  Every one of them, for the wisdom that he knows, 372         Was shaply for to been an alderman.                  Was suitable to be an alderman. 373         For catel hadde they ynogh and rente,                  For they had enough possessions and income, 374         And eek hir wyves wolde it wel assente;                  And also their wives would well assent to it; 375         And elles certeyn were they to blame.                  And otherwise certainly they would be to blame. 376         It is ful fair to been ycleped "madame,"                  It is very fine to be called "my lady," 377         And goon to vigilies al bifore,                  And go to feasts on holiday eves heading the procession, 378         And have a mantel roialliche ybore.                  And have a gown with a train royally carried.

379         A COOK they hadde with hem for the nones                  A COOK they had with them for the occasion 380         To boille the chiknes with the marybones,                  To boil the chickens with the marrow bones, 381         And poudre-marchant tart and galyngale.                  And tart poudre-marchant and galingale (spices). 382         Wel koude he knowe a draughte of Londoun ale.                  He well knew how to judge a draft of London ale. 383         He koude rooste, and sethe, and broille, and frye,                  He knew how to roast, and boil, and broil, and fry, 384         Maken mortreux, and wel bake a pye.                  Make stews, and well bake a pie. 385         But greet harm was it, as it thoughte me,                  But it was a great harm, as it seemed to me, 386         That on his shyne a mormal hadde he.                  That he had an open sore on his shin. 387         For blankmanger, that made he with the beste.                  As for white pudding, he made that of the best quality.

388         A SHIPMAN was ther, wonynge fer by weste;                  A SHIPMAN was there, dwelling far in the west; 389         For aught I woot, he was of Dertemouthe.                  For all I know, he was from Dartmouth. 390         He rood upon a rouncy, as he kouthe,                  He rode upon a cart horse, insofar as he knew how, 391         In a gowne of faldyng to the knee.                  In a gown of woolen cloth (that reached) to the knee. 392         A daggere hangynge on a laas hadde he                  He had a dagger hanging on a cord 393         Aboute his nekke, under his arm adoun.                  About his neck, down under his arm. 394         The hoote somer hadde maad his hewe al broun;                  The hot summer had made his hue all brown; 395         And certeinly he was a good felawe.                  And certainly he was a boon companion. 396         Ful many a draughte of wyn had he ydrawe                  He had drawn very many a draft of wine 397         Fro Burdeux-ward, whil that the chapman sleep.                  While coming from Bordeaux, while the merchant slept. 398         Of nyce conscience took he no keep.                  He had no concern for a scrupulous conscience. 399         If that he faught and hadde the hyer hond,                  If he fought and had the upper hand, 400         By water he sente hem hoom to every lond.                  He sent them home by water to every land (they walked the plank). 401         But of his craft to rekene wel his tydes,                  But of his skill to reckon well his tides, 402         His stremes, and his daungers hym bisides,                  His currents, and his perils near at hand, 403         His herberwe, and his moone, his lodemenage,                  His harbors, and positions of his moon, his navigation, 404         Ther nas noon swich from Hulle to Cartage.                  There was none other such from Hull to Cartagena (Spain). 405         Hardy he was and wys to undertake;                  He was bold and prudent in his undertakings; 406         With many a tempest hadde his berd been shake.                  His beard had been shaken by many a tempest. 407         He knew alle the havenes, as they were,                  He knew all the harbors, how they were, 408         Fro Gootlond to the cape of Fynystere,                  From Gotland to the Cape of Finisterre, 409         And every cryke in Britaigne and in Spayne.                  And every inlet in Brittany and in Spain. 410         His barge ycleped was the Maudelayne.                  His ship was called the Maudelayne.

411         With us ther was a DOCTOUR OF PHISIK;                  With us there was a DOCTOR OF MEDICINE 412         In al this world ne was ther noon hym lik,                  In all this world there was no one like him, 413         To speke of phisik and of surgerye,                  To speak of medicine and of surgery, 414         For he was grounded in astronomye.                  For he was instructed in astronomy. 415         He kepte his pacient a ful greet deel                  He took care of his patient very many times 416         In houres by his magyk natureel.                  In (astronomically suitable) hours by (use of) his natural science. 417         Wel koude he fortunen the ascendent                  He well knew how to calculate the planetary position 418         Of his ymages for his pacient.                  Of his astronomical talismans for his patient. 419         He knew the cause of everich maladye,                  He knew the cause of every malady, 420         Were it of hoot, or coold, or moyste, or drye,                  Were it of hot, or cold, or moist, or dry elements, 421         And where they engendred, and of what humour.                  And where they were engendered, and by what bodily fluid. 422         He was a verray, parfit praktisour:                  He was a truly, perfect practitioner: 423         The cause yknowe, and of his harm the roote,                  The cause known, and the source of his (patient's) harm, 424         Anon he yaf the sike man his boote.                  Straightway he gave the sick man his remedy. 425         Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries                  He had his apothecaries all ready 426         To sende hym drogges and his letuaries,                  To send him drugs and his electuaries, 427         For ech of hem made oother for to wynne --                  For each of them made the other to profit -- 428         Hir frendshipe nas nat newe to bigynne.                  Their friendship was not recently begun. 429         Wel knew he the olde Esculapius,                  He well knew the old Aesculapius, 430         And Deyscorides, and eek Rufus,                  And Dioscorides, and also Rufus, 431         Olde Ypocras, Haly, and Galyen,                  Old Hippocrates, Haly, and Galen, 432         Serapion, Razis, and Avycen,                  Serapion, Rhazes, and Avicenna, 433         Averrois, Damascien, and Constantyn,                  Averroes, John the Damascan, and Constantine, 434         Bernard, and Gatesden, and Gilbertyn.                  Bernard, and Gaddesden, and Gilbertus. 435         Of his diete mesurable was he,                  He was moderate in his diet, 436         For it was of no superfluitee,                  For it was of no excess, 437         But of greet norissyng and digestible.                  But greatly nourishing and digestible. 438         His studie was but litel on the Bible.                  His study was but little on the Bible. 439         In sangwyn and in pers he clad was al,                  He was clad all in red and in blue, 440         Lyned with taffata and with sendal.                  Lined with taffeta and with silk. 441         And yet he was but esy of dispence;                  And yet he was moderate in spending; 442         He kepte that he wan in pestilence.                  He kept what he earned in (times of) plague. 443         For gold in phisik is a cordial,                  Since in medicine gold is a restorative for the heart, 444         Therefore he lovede gold in special.                  Therefore he loved gold in particular.

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445         A good WIF was ther OF biside BATHE,                  There was a good WIFE OF beside BATH, 446         But she was somdel deef, and that was scathe.                  But she was somewhat deaf, and that was a pity. 447         Of clooth-makyng she hadde swich an haunt                  She had such a skill in cloth-making 448         She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.                  She surpassed them of Ypres and of Ghent. 449         In al the parisshe wif ne was ther noon                  In all the parish there was no wife 450         That to the offrynge bifore hire sholde goon;                  Who should go to the Offering before her; 451         And if ther dide, certeyn so wrooth was she                  And if there did, certainly she was so angry 452         That she was out of alle charitee.                  That she was out of all charity (love for her neighbor). 453         Hir coverchiefs ful fyne weren of ground;                  Her kerchiefs were very fine in texture; 454         I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound                  I dare swear they weighed ten pound 455         That on a Sonday weren upon hir heed.                  That on a Sunday were upon her head. 456         Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,                  Her stockings were of fine scarlet red, 457         Ful streite yteyd, and shoes ful moyste and newe.                  Very closely laced, and shoes very supple and new. 458         Boold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.                  Bold was her face, and fair, and red of hue. 459         She was a worthy womman al hir lyve:                  She was a worthy woman all her life: 460         Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve,                  She had (married) five husbands at the church door, 461         Withouten oother compaignye in youthe --                  Not counting other company in youth -- 462         But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nowthe.                  But there is no need to speak of that right now. 463         And thries hadde she been at Jerusalem;                  And she had been three times at Jerusalem; 464         She hadde passed many a straunge strem;                  She had passed many a foreign sea; 465         At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne,                  She had been at Rome, and at Boulogne, 466         In Galice at Seint-Jame, and at Coloigne.                  In Galicia at Saint-James (of Compostella), and at Cologne. 467         She koude muchel of wandrynge by the weye.                  She knew much about wandering by the way. 468         Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.                  She had teeth widely set apart, truly to say. 469         Upon an amblere esily she sat,                  She sat easily upon a pacing horse, 470         Ywympled wel, and on hir heed an hat                  Wearing a large wimple, and on her head a hat 471         As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;                  As broad as a buckler or a shield; 472         A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,                  An overskirt about her large hips, 473         And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.                  And on her feet a pair of sharp spurs. 474         In felaweshipe wel koude she laughe and carpe.                  In fellowship she well knew how to laugh and chatter. 475         Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce,                  She knew, as it happened, about remedies for love 476         For she koude of that art the olde daunce.                  For she knew the old dance (tricks of the trade) of that art.

477         A good man was ther of religioun,                  A good man was there of religion, 478         And was a povre PERSOUN OF A TOUN,                  And (he) was a poor PARSON OF A TOWN, 479         But riche he was of hooly thoght and werk.                  But he was rich in holy thought and work. 480         He was also a lerned man, a clerk,                  He was also a learned man, a scholar, 481         That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;                  Who would preach Christ's gospel truly; 482         His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.                  He would devoutly teach his parishioners. 483         Benygne he was, and wonder diligent,                  He was gracious, and wonderfully diligent, 484         And in adversitee ful pacient,                  And very patient in adversity, 485         And swich he was ypreved ofte sithes.                  And such he was proven many times. 486         Ful looth were hym to cursen for his tithes,                  He was very reluctant to excommunicate for (nonpayment of) his tithes, 487         But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,                  But rather would he give, there is no doubt, 488         Unto his povre parisshens aboute                  Unto his poor parishioners about 489         Of his offryng and eek of his substaunce.                  Some of his offering (received at mass) and also some of his income. 490         He koude in litel thyng have suffisaunce.                  He knew how to have sufficiency in few possessions. 491         Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer asonder,                  His parish was wide, and houses far apart, 492         But he ne lefte nat, for reyn ne thonder,                  But he did not omit, for rain nor thunder, 493         In siknesse nor in meschief to visite                  In sickness or in trouble to visit 494         The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lite,                  Those living farthest away in his parish, high-ranking and low, 495         Upon his feet, and in his hand a staf.                  Going by foot, and in his hand a staff. 496         This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,                  He gave this noble example to his sheep, 497         That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte.                  That first he wrought, and afterward he taught. 498         Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte,                  He took those words out of the gospel, 499         And this figure he added eek therto,                  And this metaphor he added also to that, 500         That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?                  That if gold rust, what must iron do? 501         For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,                  For if a priest, on whom we trust, should be foul 502         No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;                  It is no wonder for a layman to go bad; 503         And shame it is, if a prest take keep,                  And it is a shame, if a priest is concerned: 504         A shiten shepherde and a clene sheep.                  A shit-stained shepherd and a clean sheep. 505         Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,                  Well ought a priest to give an example, 506         By his clennesse, how that his sheep sholde lyve.                  By his purity, how his sheep should live. 507         He sette nat his benefice to hyre                  He did not rent out his benefice (ecclesiastical living) 508         And leet his sheep encombred in the myre                  And leave his sheep encumbered in the mire 509         And ran to Londoun unto Seinte Poules                  And run to London unto Saint Paul's 510         To seken hym a chaunterie for soules,                  To seek an appointment as a chantry priest (praying for a patron) 511         Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;                  Or to be hired (as a chaplain) by a guild; 512         But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde,                  But dwelt at home, and kept well his sheep fold (parish), 513         So that the wolf ne made it nat myscarie;                  So that the wolf did not make it go wrong; 514         He was a shepherde and noght a mercenarie.                  He was a shepherd and not a hireling. 515         And though he hooly were and vertuous,                  And though he was holy and virtuous, 516         He was to synful men nat despitous,                  He was not scornful to sinful men, 517         Ne of his speche daungerous ne digne,                  Nor domineering nor haughty in his speech, 518         But in his techyng discreet and benygne.                  But in his teaching courteous and kind. 519         To drawen folk to hevene by fairnesse,                  To draw folk to heaven by gentleness, 520         By good ensample, this was his bisynesse.                  By good example, this was his business. 521         But it were any persone obstinat,                  Unless it were an obstinate person, 522         What so he were, of heigh or lough estat,                  Whoever he was, of high or low rank, 523         Hym wolde he snybben sharply for the nonys.                  He would rebuke him sharply at that time. 524         A bettre preest I trowe that nowher noon ys.                  I believe that nowhere is there a better priest. 525         He waited after no pompe and reverence,                  He expected no pomp and ceremony, 526         Ne maked him a spiced conscience,                  Nor made himself an overly fastidious conscience, 527         But Cristes loore and his apostles twelve                  But Christ's teaching and His twelve apostles 528         He taughte; but first he folwed it hymselve.                  He taught; but first he followed it himself.

529         With hym ther was a PLOWMAN, was his brother,                  With him there was a PLOWMAN, who was his brother, 530         That hadde ylad of dong ful many a fother;                  Who had hauled very many a cartload of dung; 531         A trewe swynkere and a good was he,                  He was a true and good worker, 532         Lyvynge in pees and parfit charitee.                  Living in peace and perfect love. 533         God loved he best with al his hoole herte                  He loved God best with all his whole heart 534         At alle tymes, thogh him gamed or smerte,                  At all times, whether it pleased or pained him, 535         And thanne his neighebor right as hymselve.                  And then (he loved) his neighbor exactly as himself. 536         He wolde thresshe, and therto dyke and delve,                  He would thresh, and moreover make ditches and dig, 537         For Cristes sake, for every povre wight,                  For Christ's sake, for every poor person, 538         Withouten hire, if it lay in his myght.                  Without payment, if it lay in his power. 539         His tithes payde he ful faire and wel,                  He paid his tithes completely and well, 540         Bothe of his propre swynk and his catel.                  Both of his own labor and of his possessions. 541         In a tabard he rood upon a mere.                  He rode in a tabard (sleeveless jacket) upon a mare.

542         Ther was also a REVE, and a MILLERE,                  There was also a REEVE, and a MILLER, 543         A SOMNOUR, and a PARDONER also,                  A SUMMONER, and a PARDONER also, 544         A MAUNCIPLE, and myself -- ther were namo.                  A MANCIPLE, and myself -- there were no more.

545         The MILLERE was a stout carl for the nones;                  The MILLER was a stout fellow indeed; 546         Ful byg he was of brawn, and eek of bones.                  He was very strong of muscle, and also of bones. 547         That proved wel, for over al ther he cam,                  That was well proven, for wherever he came, 548         At wrastlynge he wolde have alwey the ram.                  At wrestling he would always take the the prize. 549         He was short-sholdred, brood, a thikke knarre;                  He was stoutly built, broad, a large-framed fellow; 550         Ther was no dore that he nolde heve of harre,                  There was no door that he would not heave off its hinges, 551         Or breke it at a rennyng with his heed.                  Or break it by running at it with his head. 552         His berd as any sowe or fox was reed,                  His beard was red as any sow or fox, 553         And therto brood, as though it were a spade.                  And moreover broad, as though it were a spade. 554         Upon the cop right of his nose he hade                  Upon the exact top of his nose he had 555         A werte, and theron stood a toft of herys,                  A wart, and thereon stood a tuft of hairs, 556         Reed as the brustles of a sowes erys;                  Red as the bristles of a sow's ears; 557         His nosethirles blake were and wyde.                  His nostrils were black and wide. 558         A swerd and a bokeler bar he by his syde.                  He wore a sword and a buckler by his side. 559         His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys.                  His mouth was as large as a large furnace. 560         He was a janglere and a goliardeys,                  He was a loudmouth and a buffoon, 561         And that was moost of synne and harlotries.                  And that was mostly of sin and deeds of harlotry. 562         Wel koude he stelen corn and tollen thries;                  He well knew how to steal corn and take payment three times; 563         And yet he hadde a thombe of gold, pardee.                  And yet he had a thumb of gold, indeed. 564         A whit cote and a blew hood wered he.                  He wore a white coat and a blue hood. 565         A baggepipe wel koude he blowe and sowne,                  He well knew how to blow and play a bag-pipe, 566         And therwithal he broghte us out of towne.                  And with that he brought us out of town.

567         A gentil MAUNCIPLE was ther of a temple,                  There was a fine MANCIPLE of a temple (law school), 568         Of which achatours myghte take exemple                  Of whom buyers of provisions might take example 569         For to be wise in byynge of vitaille;                  For how to be wise in buying of victuals; 570         For wheither that he payde or took by taille,                  For whether he paid (cash) or took (goods) on credit, 571         Algate he wayted so in his achaat                  Always he watched so (carefully for his opportunity) in his purchases 572         That he was ay biforn and in good staat.                  That he was always ahead and in good state. 573         Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace                  Now is not that a very fair grace of God 574         That swich a lewed mannes wit shal pace                  That such an unlearned man's wit shall surpass 575         The wisdom of an heep of lerned men?                  The wisdom of a heap of learned men? 576         Of maistres hadde he mo than thries ten,                  He had more than three times ten masters, 577         That weren of lawe expert and curious,                  Who were expert and skillful in law, 578         Of which ther were a duszeyne in that hous                  Of whom there were a dozen in that house 579         Worthy to been stywardes of rente and lond                  Worthy to be stewards of rent and land 580         Of any lord that is in Engelond,                  Of any lord that is in England, 581         To make hym lyve by his propre good                  To make him live by his own wealth 582         In honour dettelees (but if he were wood),                  In honor and debtless (unless he were crazy), 583         Or lyve as scarsly as hym list desire;                  Or live as economically as it pleased him to desire; 584         And able for to helpen al a shire                  And (they would be) able to help all a shire 585         In any caas that myghte falle or happe.                  In any emergency that might occur or happen. 586         And yet this Manciple sette hir aller cappe.                  And yet this Manciple fooled them all.

587         The REVE was a sclendre colerik man.                  The REEVE was a slender choleric man. 588         His berd was shave as ny as ever he kan;                  His beard was shaved as close as ever he can; 589         His heer was by his erys ful round yshorn;                  His hair was closely cropped by his ears; 590         His top was dokked lyk a preest biforn.                  The top of his head in front was cut short like a priest's. 591         Ful longe were his legges and ful lene,                  His legs were very long and very lean, 592         Ylyk a staf; ther was no calf ysene.                  Like a stick; there was no calf to be seen. 593         Wel koude he kepe a gerner and a bynne;                  He well knew how to keep a granary and a storage bin; 594         Ther was noon auditour koude on him wynne.                  There was no auditor who could earn anything (by catching him). 595         Wel wiste he by the droghte and by the reyn                  He well knew by the drought and by the rain 596         The yeldynge of his seed and of his greyn.                  (What would be) the yield of his seed and of his grain. 597         His lordes sheep, his neet, his dayerye,                  His lord's sheep, his cattle, his herd of dairy cows, 598         His swyn, his hors, his stoor, and his pultrye                  His swine, his horses, his livestock, and his poultry 599         Was hoolly in this Reves governynge,                  Was wholly in this Reeve's control, 600         And by his covenant yaf the rekenynge,                  And in accord with his contract he gave the reckoning, 601         Syn that his lord was twenty yeer of age.                  Since his lord was twenty years of age. 602         Ther koude no man brynge hym in arrerage.                  There was no man who could find him in arrears. 603         Ther nas baillif, ne hierde, nor oother hyne,                  There was no farm manager, nor herdsman, nor other servant, 604         That he ne knew his sleighte and his covyne;                  Whose trickery and treachery he did not know; 605         They were adrad of hym as of the deeth.                  They were afraid of him as of the plague. 606         His wonyng was ful faire upon an heeth;                  His dwelling was very nicely situated upon an heath; 607         With grene trees yshadwed was his place.                  His place was shaded by green trees. 608         He koude bettre than his lord purchace.                  He could buy property better than his lord could. 609         Ful riche he was astored pryvely.                  He was secretly very richly provided. 610         His lord wel koude he plesen subtilly,                  He well knew how to please his lord subtly, 611         To yeve and lene hym of his owene good,                  By giving and lending him some of his lord's own possessions, 612         And have a thank, and yet a cote and hood.                  And have thanks, and also a coat and hood (as a reward). 613         In youthe he hadde lerned a good myster:                  In youth he had learned a good craft: 614         He was a wel good wrighte, a carpenter.                  He was a very good craftsman, a carpenter. 615         This Reve sat upon a ful good stot                  This Reeve sat upon a very good horse 616         That was al pomely grey and highte Scot.                  That was all dapple gray and was called Scot. 617         A long surcote of pers upon he hade,                  He had on a long outer coat of dark blue, 618         And by his syde he baar a rusty blade.                  And by his side he wore a rusty sword. 619         Of Northfolk was this Reve of which I telle,                  Of Northfolk was this Reeve of whom I tell, 620         Biside a toun men clepen Baldeswelle.                  Near to a town men call Bawdeswelle. 621         Tukked he was as is a frere aboute,                  He had his coat hitched up and belted, like a friar, 622         And evere he rood the hyndreste of oure route.                  And ever he rode as the last of our company.

623         A SOMONOUR was ther with us in that place,                  There was a SUMMONER with us in that place, 624         That hadde a fyr-reed cherubynnes face,                  Who had a fire-red cherubim's face, 625         For saucefleem he was, with eyen narwe.                  For it was pimpled and discolored, with swollen eyelids. 626         As hoot he was and lecherous as a sparwe,                  He was as hot and lecherous as a sparrow, 627         With scalled browes blake and piled berd.                  With black, scabby brows and a beard with hair fallen out. 628         Of his visage children were aferd.                  Children were afraid of his face. 629         Ther nas quyk-silver, lytarge, ne brymstoon,                  There was no mercury, lead monoxide, nor sulphur, 630         Boras, ceruce, ne oille of tartre noon,                  Borax, white lead, nor any oil of tarter, 631         Ne oynement that wolde clense and byte,                  Nor ointment that would cleanse and burn, 632         That hym myghte helpen of his whelkes white,                  That could cure him of his white pustules, 633         Nor of the knobbes sittynge on his chekes.                  Nor of the knobs sitting on his cheeks. 634         Wel loved he garleek, oynons, and eek lekes,                  He well loved garlic, onions, and also leeks, 635         And for to drynken strong wyn, reed as blood;                  And to drink strong wine, red as blood; 636         Thanne wolde he speke and crie as he were wood.                  Then he would speak and cry out as if he were crazy. 637         And whan that he wel dronken hadde the wyn,                  And when he had drunk deeply of the wine, 638         Thanne wolde he speke no word but Latyn.                  Then he would speak no word but Latin. 639         A fewe termes hadde he, two or thre,                  He had a few legal terms, two or three, 640         That he had lerned out of som decree --                  That he had learned out of some text of ecclesiastical law -- 641         No wonder is, he herde it al the day;                  That is no wonder, he heard it all the day; 642         And eek ye knowen wel how that a jay                  And also you know well how a jay 643         Kan clepen "Watte" as wel as kan the pope.                  Can call out "Walter" as well as the pope can. 644         But whoso koude in oother thyng hym grope,                  But whoever knew how to examine him in other matters, 645         Thanne hadde he spent al his philosophie;                  (Would find that) he had used up all his learning; 646         Ay "Questio quid iuris" wolde he crie.                  Always "The question is, what point of the law applies?" he would cry. 647         He was a gentil harlot and a kynde;                  He was a fine rascal and a kind one; 648         A bettre felawe sholde men noght fynde.                  One could not find a better fellow. 649         He wolde suffre for a quart of wyn                  For a quart of wine he would allow 650         A good felawe to have his concubyn                  A good fellow to have his concubine 651         A twelf month, and excuse hym atte fulle;                  For twelve months, and excuse him completely; 652         Ful prively a fynch eek koude he pulle.                  Secretly he also knew how to pull off a clever trick. 653         And if he foond owher a good felawe,                  And if he found anywhere a good fellow, 654         He wolde techen him to have noon awe                  He would teach him to have no awe 655         In swich caas of the ercedekenes curs,                  Of the archdeacon's curse (of excommunication) in such a case, 656         But if a mannes soule were in his purs;                  Unless a man's soul were in his purse; 657         For in his purs he sholde ypunysshed be.                  For in his purse he would be punished. 658         "Purs is the ercedekenes helle," seyde he.                  "Purse is the archdeacon's hell," he said. 659         But wel I woot he lyed right in dede;                  But well I know he lied right certainly; 660         Of cursyng oghte ech gilty man him drede,                  Each guilty man ought to be afraid of excommunication, 661         For curs wol slee right as assoillyng savith,                  For excommunication will slay just as forgiveness saves, 662         And also war hym of a Significavit.                  And let him also beware of a Significavit (order for imprisonment). 663         In daunger hadde he at his owene gise                  In his control he had as he pleased 664         The yonge girles of the diocise,                  The young people of the diocese, 665         And knew hir conseil, and was al hir reed.                  And knew their secrets, and was the adviser of them all. 666         A gerland hadde he set upon his heed,                  He had set a garland upon his heed, 667         As greet as it were for an ale-stake.                  As large as if it were for the sign of a tavern 668         A bokeleer hadde he maad hym of a cake.                  He had made himself a shield of a cake.

669         With hym ther rood a gentil PARDONER                  With him there rode a fine PARDONER 670         Of Rouncivale, his freend and his compeer,                  Of Rouncivale, his friend and his companion, 671         That streight was comen fro the court of Rome.                  Who had come straight from the court of Rome. 672         Ful loude he soong "Com hider, love, to me!"                  Very loud he sang "Come hither, love, to me!" 673         This Somonour bar to hym a stif burdoun;                  This Summoner harmonized with him in a strong bass; 674         Was nevere trompe of half so greet a soun.                  There was never a trumpet of half so great a sound. 675         This Pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex,                  This Pardoner had hair as yellow as wax, 676         But smothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex;                  But smooth it hung as does a clump of flax; 677         By ounces henge his lokkes that he hadde,                  By small strands hung such locks as he had, 678         And therwith he his shuldres overspradde;                  And he spread them over his shoulders; 679         But thynne it lay, by colpons oon and oon.                  But thin it lay, by strands one by one. 680         But hood, for jolitee, wered he noon,                  But to make an attractive appearance, he wore no hood, 681         For it was trussed up in his walet.                  For it was trussed up in his knapsack. 682         Hym thoughte he rood al of the newe jet;                  It seemed to him that he rode in the very latest style; 683         Dischevelee, save his cappe, he rood al bare.                  With hair unbound, save for his cap, he rode all bare-headed. 684         Swiche glarynge eyen hadde he as an hare.                  He had glaring eyes such as has a hare. 685         A vernycle hadde he sowed upon his cappe.                  He had sewn a Veronica upon his cap. 686         His walet, biforn hym in his lappe,                  Before him in his lap, (he had) his knapsack, 687         Bretful of pardoun comen from Rome al hoot.                  Brimful of pardons come all fresh from Rome. 688         A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot.                  He had a voice as small as a goat has. 689         No berd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have;                  He had no beard, nor never would have; 690         As smothe it was as it were late shave.                  It (his face) was as smooth as if it were recently shaven. 691         I trowe he were a geldyng or a mare.                  I believe he was a eunuch or a homosexual. 692         But of his craft, fro Berwyk into Ware                  But as to his craft, from Berwick to Ware 693         Ne was ther swich another pardoner.                  There was no other pardoner like him. 694         For in his male he hadde a pilwe-beer,                  For in his pouch he had a pillow-case, 695         Which that he seyde was Oure Lady veyl;                  Which he said was Our Lady's veil; 696         He seyde he hadde a gobet of the seyl                  He said he had a piece of the sail 697         That Seint Peter hadde, whan that he wente                  That Saint Peter had, when he went 698         Upon the see, til Jhesu Crist hym hente.                  Upon the sea, until Jesus Christ took him. 699         He hadde a croys of latoun ful of stones,                  He had a cross of latten (brass-like alloy) covered with stones, 700         And in a glas he hadde pigges bones.                  And in a glass container he had pigs' bones. 701         But with thise relikes, whan that he fond                  But with these relics, when he found 702         A povre person dwellynge upon lond,                  A poor parson dwelling in the countryside, 703         Upon a day he gat hym moore moneye                  In one day he got himself more money 704         Than that the person gat in monthes tweye;                  Than the parson got in two months; 705         And thus, with feyned flaterye and japes,                  And thus, with feigned flattery and tricks, 706         He made the person and the peple his apes.                  He made fools of the parson and the people. 707         But trewely to tellen atte laste,                  But truly to tell at the last, 708         He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.                  He was in church a noble ecclesiast. 709         Wel koude he rede a lessoun or a storie,                  He well knew how to read a lesson or a story, 710         But alderbest he song an offertorie;                  But best of all he sang an Offertory; 711         For wel he wiste, whan that song was songe,                  For he knew well, when that song was sung, 712         He moste preche and wel affile his tonge                  He must preach and well smooth his speech 713         To wynne silver, as he ful wel koude;                  To win silver, as he very well knew how; 714         Therefore he song the murierly and loude.                  Therefore he sang the more merrily and loud.

715         Now have I toold you soothly, in a clause,                  Now have I told you truly, briefly, 716         Th' estaat, th' array, the nombre, and eek the cause                  The rank, the dress, the number, and also the cause 717         Why that assembled was this compaignye                  Why this company was assembled 718         In Southwerk at this gentil hostelrye                  In Southwark at this fine hostelry 719         That highte the Tabard, faste by the Belle.                  That is called the Tabard, close by the Bell. 720         But now is tyme to yow for to telle                  But now it is time to tell to you 721         How that we baren us that ilke nyght,                  How we conducted ourselves that same night, 722         Whan we were in that hostelrie alyght;                  When we had arrived in that hostelry; 723         And after wol I telle of our viage                  And after that I will tell of our journey 724         And al the remenaunt of oure pilgrimage.                  And all the rest of our pilgrimage. 725         But first I pray yow, of youre curteisye,                  But first I pray yow, of your courtesy, 726         That ye n' arette it nat my vileynye,                  That you do not attribute it to my rudeness, 727         Thogh that I pleynly speke in this mateere,                  Though I speak plainly in this matter, 728         To telle yow hir wordes and hir cheere,                  To tell you their words and their behavior, 729         Ne thogh I speke hir wordes proprely.                  Nor though I speak their words accurately. 730         For this ye knowen al so wel as I:                  For this you know as well as I: 731         Whoso shal telle a tale after a man,                  Whoever must repeat a story after someone, 732         He moot reherce as ny as evere he kan                  He must repeat as closely as ever he knows how 733         Everich a word, if it be in his charge,                  Every single word, if it be in his power, 734         Al speke he never so rudeliche and large,                  Although he may speak ever so rudely and freely, 735         Or ellis he moot telle his tale untrewe,                  Or else he must tell his tale inaccurately, 736         Or feyne thyng, or fynde wordes newe.                  Or make up things, or find new words. 737         He may nat spare, althogh he were his brother;                  He may not refrain from (telling the truth), although he were his brother; 738         He moot as wel seye o word as another.                  He must as well say one word as another. 739         Crist spak hymself ful brode in hooly writ,                  Christ himself spoke very plainly in holy writ, 740         And wel ye woot no vileynye is it.                  And you know well it is no rudeness. 741         Eek Plato seith, whoso kan hym rede,                  Also Plato says, whosoever knows how to read him, 742         The wordes moote be cosyn to the dede.                  The words must be closely related to the deed. 743         Also I prey yow to foryeve it me,                  Also I pray you to forgive it to me, 744         Al have I nat set folk in hir degree                  Although I have not set folk in order of their rank 745         Heere in this tale, as that they sholde stonde.                  Here in this tale, as they should stand. 746         My wit is short, ye may wel understonde.                  My wit is short, you can well understand.

747         Greet chiere made oure Hoost us everichon,                  Our Host made great hospitality to everyone of us, 748         And to the soper sette he us anon.                  And to the supper he set us straightway. 749         He served us with vitaille at the beste;                  He served us with victuals of the best sort; 750         Strong was the wyn, and wel to drynke us leste.                  The wine was strong, and it well pleased us to drink. 751         A semely man OURE HOOSTE was withalle                  OUR HOST was an impressive man indeed 752         For to been a marchal in an halle.                  (Qualified) to be a master of ceremonies in a hall. 753         A large man he was with eyen stepe --                  He was a large man with prominent eyes -- 754         A fairer burgeys was ther noon in Chepe --                  There was no better business man in Cheapside -- 755         Boold of his speche, and wys, and wel ytaught,                  Bold of his speech, and wise, and well mannered, 756         And of manhod hym lakkede right naught.                  And he lacked nothing at all of the qualities proper to a man. 757         Eek therto he was right a myrie man;                  Also moreover he was a right merry man; 758         And after soper pleyen he bigan,                  And after supper he began to be merry, 759         And spak of myrthe amonges othere thynges,                  And spoke of mirth among other things, 760         Whan that we hadde maad oure rekenynges,                  When we had paid our bills, 761         And seyde thus: "Now, lordynges, trewely,                  And said thus: "Now, gentlemen, truly, 762         Ye been to me right welcome, hertely;                  You are right heartily welcome to me; 763         For by my trouthe, if that I shal nat lye,                  For by my word, if I shall not lie (I must say), 764         I saugh nat this yeer so myrie a compaignye                  I saw not this year so merry a company 765         Atones in this herberwe as is now.                  At one time in this lodging as is (here) now. 766         Fayn wolde I doon yow myrthe, wiste I how.                  I would gladly make you happy, if I knew how. 767         And of a myrthe I am right now bythoght,                  And I have just now thought of an amusement, 768         To doon yow ese, and it shal coste noght.                  To give you pleasure, and it shall cost nothing.

769         "Ye goon to Caunterbury -- God yow speede,                  "You go to Canterbury -- God give you success, 770         The blisful martir quite yow youre meede!                  May the blessed martyr give you your reward! 771         And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye,                  And well I know, as you go by the way, 772         Ye shapen yow to talen and to pleye;                  You intend to tell tales and to amuse yourselves; 773         For trewely, confort ne myrthe is noon                  For truly, it is no comfort nor mirth 774         To ride by the weye doumb as a stoon;                  To ride by the way dumb as a stone; 775         And therfore wol I maken yow disport,                  And therefore I will make a game for you, 776         As I seyde erst, and doon yow som confort.                  As I said before, and provide you some pleasure. 777         And if yow liketh alle by oon assent                  And if pleases you all unanimously 778         For to stonden at my juggement,                  To be subject to my judgment, 779         And for to werken as I shal yow seye,                  And to do as I shall tell you, 780         Tomorwe, whan ye riden by the weye,                  Tomorrow, when you ride by the way, 781         Now, by my fader soule that is deed,                  Now, by the soul of my father who is dead, 782         But ye be myrie, I wol yeve yow myn heed!                  Unless you be merry, I will give you my head! 783         Hoold up youre hondes, withouten moore speche."                  Hold up your hands, without more speech."

784         Oure conseil was nat longe for to seche.                  Our decision was not long to seek out. 785         Us thoughte it was noght worth to make it wys,                  It seemed to us it was not worthwhile to deliberate on it, 786         And graunted hym withouten moore avys,                  And (we) granted his request without more discussion, 787         And bad him seye his voirdit as hym leste.                  And asked him to say his decision as it pleased him. 788         "Lordynges," quod he, "now herkneth for the beste;                  "Gentlemen," said he, "now listen for the best course of action; 789         But taak it nought, I prey yow, in desdeyn.                  But, I pray yow, do not take it in disdain (scorn it). 790         This is the poynt, to speken short and pleyn,                  This is the point, to speak briefly and clearly, 791         That ech of yow, to shorte with oure weye,                  That each of yow, to make our way seem short by this means, 792         In this viage shal telle tales tweye                  Must tell two tales in this journey 793         To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,                  On the way to Canterbury, that is what I mean, 794         And homward he shal tellen othere two,                  And on the homeward trip he shall tell two others, 795         Of aventures that whilom han bifalle.                  About adventures that in old times have happened. 796         And which of yow that bereth hym best of alle --                  And whoever of you who does best of all -- 797         That is to seyn, that telleth in this caas                  That is to say, who tells in this case 798         Tales of best sentence and moost solaas --                  Tales of best moral meaning and most pleasure -- 799         Shal have a soper at oure aller cost                  Shall have a supper at the cost of us all 800         Heere in this place, sittynge by this post,                  Here in this place, sitting by this post, 801         Whan that we come agayn fro Caunterbury.                  When we come back from Canterbury. 802         And for to make yow the moore mury,                  And to make you the more merry, 803         I wol myselven goodly with yow ryde,                  I will myself gladly ride with you, 804         Right at myn owene cost, and be youre gyde;                  Entirely at my own cost, and be your guide; 805         And whoso wole my juggement withseye                  And whosoever will not accept my judgment 806         Shal paye al that we spenden by the weye.                  Shall pay all that we spend by the way. 807         And if ye vouche sauf that it be so,                  And if you grant that it be so, 808         Tel me anon, withouten wordes mo,                  Tell me straightway, without more words, 809         And I wol erly shape me therfore."                  And I will get ready early for this."

810         This thyng was graunted, and oure othes swore                  This thing was granted, and our oaths sworn 811         With ful glad herte, and preyden hym also                  With very glad hearts, and (we) prayed him also 812         That he wolde vouche sauf for to do so,                  That he would consent to do so, 813         And that he wolde been oure governour,                  And that he would be our governor, 814         And of oure tales juge and reportour,                  And judge and score keeper of our tales, 815         And sette a soper at a certeyn pris,                  And set a supper at a certain price, 816         And we wol reuled been at his devys                  And we will be ruled as he wishes 817         In heigh and lough; and thus by oon assent                  In every respect; and thus unanimously 818         We been acorded to his juggement.                  We are accorded to his judgment. 819         And therupon the wyn was fet anon;                  And thereupon the wine was fetched immediately; 820         We dronken, and to reste wente echon,                  We drank, and each one went to rest, 821         Withouten any lenger taryynge.                  Without any longer tarrying.

822         Amorwe, whan that day bigan to sprynge,                  In the morning, when day began to spring, 823         Up roos oure Hoost, and was oure aller cok,                  Our Host arose, and was the rooster of us all (awakened us). 824         And gadrede us togidre alle in a flok,                  And gathered us together all in a flock, 825         And forth we riden a litel moore than paas                  And forth we rode at little more than a walk 826         Unto the Wateryng of Seint Thomas;                  Unto the Watering of Saint Thomas; 827         And there oure Hoost bigan his hors areste                  And there our Host stopped his horse 828         And seyde, "Lordynges, herkneth, if yow leste.                  And said, "Gentlemen, listen, if you please. 829         Ye woot youre foreward, and I it yow recorde.                  You know your agreement, and I remind you of it. 830         If even-song and morwe-song accorde,                  If what you said last night agrees with what you say this morning, 831         Lat se now who shal telle the firste tale.                  Let's see now who shall tell the first tale. 832         As evere mote I drynke wyn or ale,                  As ever I may drink wine or ale, 833         Whoso be rebel to my juggement                  Whosoever may be rebel to my judgment 834         Shal paye for al that by the wey is spent.                  Shall pay for all that is spent by the way. 835         Now draweth cut, er that we ferrer twynne;                  Now draw straws, before we depart further (from London); 836         He which that hath the shorteste shal bigynne.                  He who has the shortest shall begin. 837         Sire Knyght," quod he, "my mayster and my lord,                  Sir Knight," said he, "my master and my lord, 838         Now draweth cut, for that is myn accord.                  Now draw a straw, for that is my decision. 839         Cometh neer," quod he, "my lady Prioresse.                  Come nearer," he said, "my lady Prioress. 840         And ye, sire Clerk, lat be youre shamefastnesse,                  And you, sir Clerk, let be your modesty, 841         Ne studieth noght; ley hond to, every man!"                  And study not; lay hand to (draw a straw), every man!" 842         Anon to drawen every wight bigan,                  Every person began straightway to draw, 843         And shortly for to tellen as it was,                  And shortly to tell as it was, 844         Were it by aventure, or sort, or cas,                  Were it by chance, or destiny, or luck, 845         The sothe is this: the cut fil to the Knyght,                  The truth is this: the draw fell to the Knight, 846         Of which ful blithe and glad was every wyght,                  For which everyone was very happy and glad, 847         And telle he moste his tale, as was resoun,                  And he must tell his tale, as was reasonable, 848         By foreward and by composicioun,                  By our previous promise and by formal agreement, 849         As ye han herd; what nedeth wordes mo?                  As you have heard; what more words are needed? 850         And whan this goode man saugh that it was so,                  And when this good man saw that it was so, 851         As he that wys was and obedient                  Like one who was wise and obedient 852         To kepe his foreward by his free assent,                  To keep his agreement by his free assent, 853         He seyde, "Syn I shal bigynne the game,                  He said, "Since I must begin the game, 854         What, welcome be the cut, a Goddes name!                  What! Welcome be the draw, in God's name! 855         Now lat us ryde, and herkneth what I seye."                  Now let us ride, and listen to what I say." 856         And with that word we ryden forth oure weye,                  And with that word we rode forth on our way, 857         And he bigan with right a myrie cheere                  And he began with a truly merry demeanor 858         His tale anon, and seyde as ye may heere.                  To tell his tale straightway, and said as you may hear.

  • Synopses and Prolegomena
  • 1.2 The Knight's Tale
  • 1.3 The Miller's Prologue and Tale
  • 1.4 The Reeve's Prologue and Tale
  • 1.5 The Cook's Prologue and Tale
  • 2.1 The Man of Law's Introduction, Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue
  • 3.1 The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale
  • 3.2 The Friar's Prologue and Tale
  • 3.3 The Summoner's Prologue and Tale
  • 4.1 The Clerk's Prologue, Tale, and Envoy
  • 4.2 The Merchant's Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue
  • 5.1 The Squire's Introduction and Tale
  • 5.2 The Franklin's Prologue and Tale
  • 6.1 The Physician's Tale
  • 6.2 The Pardoner's Prologue, Introduction, and Tale
  • 7.1 The Shipman's Tale
  • 7.2 The Shipman-Prioress Link
  • 7.3 The Prioress' Prologue and Tale
  • 7.4 The Prologue and Tale of Sir Thopas, and the Host's Interruption
  • 7.5 The Tale of Melibee
  • 7.6 The Monk's Prologue and Tale
  • 7.7 The Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue of the Nun's Priest
  • 8.1 The Second Nun's Prologue and Tale
  • 8.2 The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue and Tale
  • 9.1 The Manciple's Prologue and Tale
  • 10.1 The Parson's Prologue and Tale
  • 10.2 Chaucer's Retraction

The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story Introduction

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Want more deets? We've also got a complete  Online Course  about  The Canterbury Tales , with three weeks worth of readings and activities to make sure you know your stuff.

The Canterbury Tales  is the world's weirdest road trip.

It tells the story of a group of pilgrims (fancy word for travelers) on their way to Canterbury, who engage in a tale-telling contest to pass the time. Besides watching the interactions between the characters, we get to read 24 of the tales the pilgrims tell. 

And as it turns out, Medieval storytellers had some 'tude.

Geoffrey Chaucer likely wrote The Canterbury Tales in the late 1380s and early 1390s, after his retirement from life as a civil servant. In this professional life, Chaucer was able to travel from his home in England to France and Italy. There, he not only had the chance to read Italian and French literature, but possibly, even to meet Boccaccio, whose Decameron —a collection of tales told by Italian nobility holed up in a country house to escape the plague ravaging their city—may have inspired the frame story of The Canterbury Tales .

Chaucer's decision to write in his country's language, English, rather than in the Latin of so many of his educated colleagues, was a big break with learned tradition. But the risk paid off: we know The Canterbury Tales were enormously popular because so many more manuscripts of the tales survive than of almost any other work of this time period. The Canterbury Tales were still going strong when the first printers made their way to England, and William Caxton published the first printed version of The Canterbury Tales in 1476.

One of the things that makes The Canterbury Tales so fun to read is the great (and often, uh, grotesque) detail with which the narrator describes each of the pilgrims. We learn, for example, that the cook has a pustule on his leg that very much resembles one of the desserts he cooks...and that the miller has a huge, pug nose. For many of his portraits, Chaucer is relying on a medieval tradition of "estates satire," a collection of stereotypes about people based on what occupation they had or what social class they belonged to. Another medieval idea his portraits draw upon is "anticlericalism," a tradition that got its start in reaction to a lot of abuses by clergy in the medieval church, but which basically became a collection of stereotypes about friars, monks, nuns, priests, and the like. 

Sounds funny? It is.

Chaucer draws upon these traditions, but he doesn't necessarily regurgitate them whole: as you'll see when you examine the portraits of the pilgrims more closely, many of them are not what they appear. What does that say about the strength of the conclusions we draw about people based upon first impressions, or appearances?

Since The Canterbury Tales is a story about a storytelling competition, many of the questions it asks are about stories: 

  • What makes for a good story?
  • Why do we tell stories?
  • Why should we tell stories? 

As the pilgrims tell their stories, though, they turn out to be talking not just about fairytale people in far-off lands, but also about themselves and their society. This leads to a lot of conflict in a group of pilgrims formed by members of that same society, who often take offense at the versions of themselves they see portrayed in the tales. 

The General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales  and the interactions between the pilgrims that occur in between the tales, then, form a story of their own. Dare we say, a Canterbury tale?

the canterbury tales summary and analysis of general prologue

What is The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story About and Why Should I Care?

You know those movies where a new kid moves to town and has to go to a new high school, like Mean Girls ? On his first day of school, the new kid meets a friendly nerd who takes him to the cafeteria and introduces him to all the cliques that make up his new social existence: "And here we have the jocks. And here are the math geeks…" Well, in The Canterbury Tales , you're the new kid, and Chaucer is your friendly nerd, serving as your guide to the jocks, cheerleaders, and math geeks of medieval society. Like your friendly nerd, he's witty and sarcastic, revealing all of the posing and preening that's going on in this cafeteria while at the same time desperately longing to be a part of it. Of course, the same thing always happens in the course of those movies: the new kid ends up wanting to date outside of, or socialize beyond, the clique into which he's immediately cast because of his "new kid" status. Angst ensues, but, at the end of the day, everybody figures out that the cheerleader really isn't shallow after all, the jock has a heart of gold, and the math geek a beautiful soul. Everybody is hiding something interesting. Nobody is exactly what they first appeared to be. Well, in The Canterbury Tales , the same thing is true: appearances can be deceiving. Or can they? The Canterbury Tales are written in a society that, to some extent, believed you could judge a book by its cover – that the physical characteristics, or the mere category of a person, might reveal something about what was on the inside. In some ways, the pilgrims' portraits in The Canterbury Tales confirm the common stereotypes: the lower-class person is extremely physical, the consummate wife is lustful. But, as the Tales progress, these people have the chance to speak for themselves. What happens then isn't exactly a contradiction of the stereotypes about them, but it isn't exactly a confirmation of them, either. As so often happens when you really get to know someone, what you find out in The Canterbury Tales is that people, even the ones we think we have figured out, are never one-dimensional and always worth getting to know better.

the canterbury tales summary and analysis of general prologue

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W hy's T his F unny?

The Canterbury Tales The General Prologue Summary & Analysis

The canterbury tales summary.

The Canterbury tales summary will help us in learning about the General Prologue. It gives a description of the twenty-nine people. These people are pilgrims that are going on a journey to Canterbury. What’s interesting in the Canterbury tales summary is that we learn of the tales each of them tells along the way.

The narrator is describing the pilgrims very skilfully. He lists them as per their rank and status. Thus, it contains a lot of interesting stories which will reveal the character of many pilgrims. In addition, it also tells us what the narrator thinks of them. As the group of pilgrims comprise of different personalities, clashes happen and we see the host struggling to solve them. Moreover, it is a great way of learning about the characters in detail.

The Canterbury Tales Summary in English

canterbury tales summary

The Canterbury tales summary will take us through the General Prologue in a brief manner. The General Prologue is the first part of The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer.

The play starts at a tavern outside London. A group of pilgrims are present there to prepare for their journey to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury. Chaucer is the narrator of the play who meets them there.

Thus, they convince him to accompany them and so he agrees. Through the Canterbury tales summary of the General Prologue, Chaucer gives a description of the pilgrims in a pleasant and grotesque manner.

At dinner with the pilgrims, the Host proposes a plan to the group. He says that on the way to Canterbury, each pilgrim must tell two tales and then two on the return journey. The Host will be the judge of the tales he says.

Further, he goes on to say that the pilgrim with the best tale will get a free dinner at the tavern when the journey ends. Moreover, he also states that anyone challenging his judgment will have to pay the bill for the whole pilgrimage.

This excites the pilgrims and all of them agree to this proposal. Moreover, they also swear to follow the rules of this game. They ride out of Canterbury the next morning when the tale-telling session begins.

However, in no time, a pilgrim challenges the authority of the host. At the end of the first tale, the Monk is asked to tell a tale but the drunken Miller wishes to take the next turn or leave.

Further, we go on to see the Host’s authority being challenged. After all, it was inevitable with drunken pilgrim and mystifying strangers put together. On the journey, we get to hear different types of stories from the pilgrims.

However, they now start taking personal digs at each other. For instance, when a Miller tells a degrading tale about a carpenter, the latter, in return, gets offended. Thus, he whips up a tale humiliating the Miller.

This keeps repeating with the Host’s struggle to resolve the conflicts arising continually. However, it ends only after twenty-four tales instead of the intended one hundred and twenty.

Finally, it ends with a sermon which the Parson gives. It is about sin and repentance and concludes with Chaucer’s withdrawal.

C onclusion of The Canterbury Tales Summary

The Canterbury Tales summary helps in giving an overview of the characters through the general prologue . It will help further in getting to know the pilgrims in a better manner and their mannerisms.

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3 responses to “My Greatest Olympic Prize Summary”

The wonderful summary thank you for this.

They did not belong to the family of gorden cook and you also didn’t write the spelling correct it’s James cook 😶😑

What’s funny is that Miss Fairchild said the line- “Money isn’t everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid-” when she herself misunderstood the situation.

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The Canterbury Tales

Introduction to the canterbury tales.

The Canterbury Tales is known as the foundational English literary book of tales written in verse style by Geoffrey Chaucer . The author is famous as one of the pioneers of English poetry. The book was likely published around 1387 to 1400 when Chaucer joined the royal court. The stories, in verses, though some are in prose , present the social norms, characters, situations, and religious devotion of the pilgrims presented in them. The stories became so much popular and are considered classics across the globe.

Summary of The Canterbury Tales

The book opens with The General Prologue and introduces a gathering of all the characters at the Tabard Inn tavern in London , ready to on the pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas in the town of Canterbury. The prologue shows a total of 77 persons, including some from the religious order, such as the Friar and the Monk, and social order, such as the Squire and the Knight, with some examples from the lower order. Harry Bailey, the host, throws the suggestion for each guest to narrate a story to pass the time during the long journey. The first tale is told by a knight known as The Knight’s Tale, which is about Theseus, the duke of Athens, who imprisons two Theban knights for violating a local norm.

Arcite, one of them, is freed, but then he returns to win the freedom of Palamon. He seeks refuge from Emelye, the sister of Theseus, with whom both have fallen in love earlier. She also is the reason for their banishment from the land. Meanwhile, Palamon escapes with their help and faces arrest. Theseus, then, forces them into dual for Emelye, in which Arcite wins but dies in the accident, while Emelye marries Palamon.

The second tale by Miller comprises the story of a poor student, Nicholas, who seduces his landlord’s wife, Alisoun, and terrifies him with an impending flood. A young priest is also in love with the same lady and asks her for a kiss, at which Nicholas plays a trick by thrusting out his bottom. Enraged, the young clerk brands his buttock with a hot poker when he does the same second time. Meanwhile, the landlord falls in frustration after he thinks that the flood has arrived and fractures his arm.

The third tale of Reeve contradicts Miller’s story of the stupid carpenter, considering it a criticism of him. He narrates the story of the dishonest miller, saying the miller robs the students by untying their horses, after which they run after them to catch them. Meanwhile, he steals their belongings. When they return, it is night . So, they are forced to stay with the miller, after which one of them seduces his daughter, and the other seduces his wife. When both husband and wife start a brawl in confusion, the students take their goods and run away. Later, the Cook also takes part in it and starts narrating the story of Perkyn Reveler but leaves it unfinished when a lawyer takes the stage.

When the lawyer or the Man of Law takes the stage, he apologizes and starts the story of the Muslim Sultan of Syria, his romance with the Roman girl, Custance, and her escape in the midst of the conflict between Islam and Christianity. Next, the Wife of Bath stands up to narrate her story after quoting from the Bible and stating her submissiveness to the five husbands she has married from time to time. She also berates the Friar for the interruption, after which the Host intervenes and asks her to narrate her tale about the knight of King Arthur, his rape, atonement, and winning of a beautiful as well as faithful wife, after which the Friar starts his tale.

The Friar narrates the story of a lecherous summoner who has his own spying network when working with an archdeacon. Once he calls a yeoman but confronts the devil in disguise, after which the devil drags him to hell, following which the summoner also retaliates with his own tale about a friar after clarification that there is no difference between the two. He states that when an angel was going to hell, he had around 20,000 friars with him. Following this, a little incident happens between a friar and Thomas, after which the friar complains to the squire.

This incident follows the Clerk’s tale, who narrates a beautiful tale of a farmer and his wife in which the farmer tests his wife and promises to live with her forever in case she passes the test. When the Merchant’s turn comes, he starts narrating the story about the evils of marriage, saying that a knight, January , marries May, who cheats on him, at which the Host prays that God must save them from such wives. Then the Squire starts his tale about love, narrating the story of King Cambyuskan that he leaves unfinished, whereas the Franklin starts his tale through a ballad in which he narrates the love story of Dorigen and Arveragus.

The physician also intervenes with his tale and starts narrating the story of Virginia, a tempting woman, who beheads herself at her father’s appeal instead of being handed over to Claudius. The Pardoner, waiting for his story, steps in after him and starts his story about morality. He tells about three young men looking for death. When they reach an old man, he directs them to a tree where they find gold bushels and kill each other for having all of them. The story creates bad blood between the Host and the Pardoner, but the Knight steps in to resolve the brawl, asking the Shipman to narrate his tale to reconcile them and resolve the situation.

Starting his tale with the monk’s degenerate nature, the Shipman tells his sexual advances toward the wife of a merchant, who realizes her mistake and asks her husband to forgive the debt. When the Prioress hears this tale, she starts her own story of the issue between a Jew who kills a devout Christian boy but then starts singing the song of Gracious Mother the boy was singing earlier when he got killed.

Following this, the Host asks Chaucer to narrate some tale at which he starts the story of Sir Thopas and his bawdy exploits. However, the Host gets irked and stops him, after which he starts the story of Melibee whose wife forgives all the attackers. When Chaucer finishes it, the Monk starts stories of Sampson, Hercules, Pedro, and Lucifer to come to a common point of the tragic fall, which the Nun comes forward and starts her tale of a rooster and a fox, followed by another Nun who narrates her story about Saint Cecilia after which the Yeoman starts making claims about the exploits he has performed with the help of Canon , who is with him.

When he finishes, the Manciple takes the stage and narrates his tale after lashing out at the cook for missing his turn to narrate the story. Then he narrates the story of a white crow and asks the Host to invite the Parson for his tale, who delivers a lecture on the deadly sins, after which Chaucer takes the stage to seek apology from readers in case the book proves lacking in anything.

Major Themes in The Canterbury Tales

  • Social Satire : The Canterbury Tales is a satire on the existing society of that time. The author describes the three pillars, the church, the nobility, as well as the peasantry, and their corruption and degrading morality. Chaucer includes all the characters of the society, such as the knight, the squire, the Wife of Bath, the Nun, the Friar, the Cook, etc. Then he proves that highly any character is upright and pious as they are supposed to be. He shows that most of them are quite allergic to their actual duties and poke their noses quite often into the fields irrelevant to their calling. This satire on society is apparent in the Nun’s tales of the rooster and the fox, while the Wife of Bath shows a different side of the social structure when she argues her own case contradictory to the prevalent religious logic. In fact, the very thematic strand of the satire starts with the Host himself, and it continues with the religious characters, such as the hypocrisy of the Friar, and then with the Miller as well as the greedy Pardoner.
  • Courtly Love and Lasciviousness: The Canterbury Tales shows the theme of love and lasciviousness through the tales of the Knight, the Miller, and the Wife of Bath, who narrate their tales about both of these points. The Knight’s Tale shows this love for the fair lady that leads to a duel in which they forget their personal duties, while the Squire is busy writing poetry and ballads in the praise of his fair lady. The same goes for the Wife of Bath, who is busy with carnal advances, while Miller demonstrates this sensual desire present in different individuals.
  • Religious Corruption: Although it is mild and somewhat latent in ironic remarks of different characters, Chaucer lets his character engage in religious criticism. This happens through different characters who show it through their corrupt practices, such as the greed of Pardoner and the lasciviousness of the Friar, who is a hypocrite to the core. Similarly, the tale of the Pardoner also demonstrates the corruption prevalent among different religious characters, who are hoarding and extracting money rather than performing their duties.
  • Competition: The competition between different persons, individuals, and professionals is an apparent theme when explored in the tale of the Knight. The Knight demonstrates this competition going on between both groups; the elder as well as the young. The first group involves two Knights who go for a duel to win a lady, while the Squire is busy writing in the praise of his fair lady. The other competition in The Canterbury Tales is between the storytellers who are jockeying to lead the others and jostling to take their turns first. For example, the Miller is too eager to speak, while the Nun also takes the lead.
  • Christianity: The Canterbury Tales show the significance of Christianity from the very title that the pilgrims are on their way to Canterbury and that they are telling stories to pass their time. Therefore, the Host calls the Christian figures, while Chaucer also relates to some Christian teachings and issues. The Christian figures included in the tales are the Nun, the Parson, the Friar, and the Monk. However, it is not necessary that their tales represent their duties or professions. They merely narrate tales to show that they, too, are taking part in the drive to pass the time during their travel to Canterbury.
  • Class: The theme of class in The Canterbury Tales is apparent through different characters selected from different walks of life to narrate a story during the journey. For example, where Chaucer presents the characters from the Church, such as the Nun or the Friar. He has also mentioned professionals such as the Miller and the Merchant, the Peasant, the Knight, and so on. In fact, these characters have presented their respective classes as well as the prominent features of the class, whether the class is good or bad.
  • Deception: The theme of deception is significant as several characters highlight this trait through their behavior as well as their tales. The Merchant appears wealthy, but his story shows that he is in debt. He is also involved in deception, stealing, and selling flour back to his customers. The greed of the Pardoner also forces him to extract money from the people, while the Wife of Bath also shows the same character by marrying different persons by deception.
  • Justice and Judgement: The Canterbury Tales shows that justice and judgment are two different things. While justice means to give a person his due share, judgment means to decide about a person from his appearances. The Knight’s Tale shows an entirely different character of the Knight as judged by his appearance, although justice has been shown through a duel. The same goes with the Merchant, whose tale forces the audience to judge the marriage of January from their perspective .
  • Rivalry: The significance of the theme of rivalry in The Canterbury Tales is seen in the characters going on the journey as well as in the characters presented in the story. For example, the duel between the knights in The Knight’s Tale is also a rivalry, though it is not very much obvious.
  • Storytelling: The significance of storytelling lies in that every character, whether he is religious, professional, or a common individual, has to narrate a story during the journey.

Major Characters of The Canterbury Tales

  • Chaucer: Chaucer is the author and also displays himself as one of the characters of The Canterbury Tales. He claims it so at different places when the narrators stop, and he talks to the Host. However, the readers must be cautious to accept him as Chaucer presents in the stories on account of his presentation of different characters closely with the claim that he is a gregarious and naïve fellow. Even the Host is fed up with his silence and calls him a sullen person. As he paints different pictures through his recollection of memories, it is up to him to paint somebody good or bad. Thus, it is Chaucerian prejudice or bias that his writing exudes.
  • The Knight: The Knight is a significant character who appears to be ahead in the social hierarchy as well as in the storytelling, while the Host is also captivated by his manners and qualities. His ideals are the same as expected during the medieval time. He possesses chivalry, honor, freedom, and truth. His narrative is full of his military exploits, considered insignia of bravery and courage during those times. His battle exploits in the foreign lands win him trust, honor, and respect, while his personality exudes awe among the audience. His interaction with other characters also sheds some light on his general demeanor with others and his status among them.
  • The Wife of Bath: She is the second significant character whom Chaucer gives some time to describe her character in detail. Her appearances show her lascivious nature, which is another evidence of her immorality. Her claim of having expertise in marriages, too, seems to go in the opposite direction to her current intention of wearing religious robes to accompany the religious pilgrims. It soon transpires that she has accompanied them only to satisfy her love for traveling.
  • The Miller: The character of the Miller is significant in the course of the tales in that he represents a common greedy individual whose temperamental appetite is toward greediness. His broad chest and shoulders demonstrate his lusty nature, showing him indulging in dishonest practices comprising charging double and stealing from the grain given to him for grinding. His arrogance makes him stand up after the Knight to narrate his version of the story.
  • The Parson: One of the respected characters in The Canterbury Tales, the Parson demonstrates patience and virtuosity. His few character traits are enough to show the life of priests during those times. Although he is quite low in the religious order, his knowledge and Christian devotion speak volumes about his ability to run a parish. His saintly nature also resembles the teachings of Jesus, while Chaucer points to his learning and teaching dedication.
  • The Pardoner: A very lowly figure in the Christian religious hierarchy, the Pardoner represents marginality, showing dubiousness of his character in extending pardons to different sinners after their confessions. In a way, it shows his doubt in deceiving the parishioners into giving donations that he obviously keeps a portion to himself. His skills of conning even extend to counterfeiting the signature of the higher authorities, showing predatory nature.
  • The Host: The Host lies is kind of a central character among the pilgrims. As once one of the narrators ends his tales, they turn to him to point out the turn of the next narrator . He also interrupts when the storytellers involve in arguments or brawls and interacts with the other pilgrims about their social roles when going through this journey.
  • The Merchant: The merchant represents the trading class involved in financial manipulation through lending and borrowing. The tricky nature of such classes lies in the never-to-face loss methods, as the Merchant shows through his appearance, outfits, and story.
  • The Clerk: A good character, the Clerk falls very low in the hierarchy of the Christian order, showing the sincerity and pious nature of his class. His story also shows the same devotion to true Christianity and his duties.
  • The Sergeant of Law: A professional lawyer and highly social person, the Sergeant of Law show his significance through his clients who come to consult him regarding their legal issues. Chaucer offers him as an impeccable legal professional with high regard for his profession

Writing Style of The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is written in the heroic couplet . It shows not only the poetic skills of Chaucer but also his descriptive and narrative skills respectively through character descriptions and narrations of each character. Chaucer’s use of diction corresponds with his satire and irony , while for figurative devices, he turns to personifications and similes.

Analysis of the Literary Devices in The Canterbury Tales

  • Action: The main action The Canterbury Tales comprises a journey of several pilgrims to Canterbury with different experiences.
  • Alliteration : The Canterbury Tales shows the use of alliteration in the following examples, i. And the small fowl are making melody That sleep away the night with open eye. (The Prologue) ii. He’d seen some service with the cavalry In Flanders and Artois and Picardy. (The Prologue) iii. Now old King Creon – O alas, alas! – The Lord of Thebes, grown cruel in his age. (The Knight’s Tale) iv. May the Lord send me misery and care If ever, since they called me Hodge of Ware. (The Cook’s Tale) v. Says Solomon in Ecclesiasticus, For guests who stay the night are dangerous. (The Cook’s Tale) These examples show the use of consonant sounds such as the sound of /m/, /m/, /k/, /m/ and then /s/ occurring after an interval, creating melody and rhythm in poetry.
  • Allusion : The below sentences are good examples of allusions, i. For he was Epicurus’ very son, In whose opinion sensual delight Was the one true felicity in sight. As noted as St Julian was for bounty He made his household free to all the County. (The Prologue) ii. That there was once a Duke called Theseus, Ruler of Athens, Lord and Governor, And in his time so great a conqueror There was none mightier beneath the sun. And many a rich country he had won. (The Knight’s Tale) iii. When all had laughed at the preposterous lark Of Absalon and Nicholas the Spark, Various folk made various comment after; But the majority dissolved in laughter. (The Reeve’s Tale) iv. Says Solomon in Ecclesiasticus, For guests who stay the night are dangerous. (The Cook’s Tale) These examples show the use of different historical and religious allusion such as the allusions of St. Julian, Theseus, Athens, Abaslon, Nicholas and Solomon show.
  • Characters: The novel , The Canterbury Tales, shows diverse characters from antiquity. These characters include the Host, the Knight, The Miller, the Wife of Bath, the Squire, The Friar, and the Nun.
  • Heroic Couplet: The following sentences are few examples of heroic couplets in the book, i. When in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root , and all The veins are bathed in liquor of such power As brings about the engendering of the flower . (The Prologue) ii. And on the very outskirts of the town In all felicity and height of pride Became aware, casting an eye aside , That kneeling on the highway, two by two. (The Knight’s Tale) iii. When all had laughed at the preposterous lark Of Absalon and Nicholas the Spark, Various folk made various comment after; But the majority dissolved in laughter. (The Reeve’s Tale) These examples show the use of heroic couplets as the two verses rhyme with each other with rhyming words such as fall and all, power and flower, pride and aside, lark and spark, and then after and laughter.
  • Imagery : The following sentences are examples of imagery , i. When in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all The veins are bathed in liquor of such power As brings about the engendering of the flower, When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run, And the small fowl are making melody That sleep away the night with open ey. (The Prologue) ii. Once, long ago, there dwelt a poor old widow In a small cottage, by a little meadow Beside a grove and standing in a dale. This widow-woman of whom I tell my tale Since the sad day when last she was a wife Had led a very patient, simple life. Little she had in capital or rent, But still, by making do with what God sent, She kept herself and her two daughters going. (The Nun Priest’s Tale) These two examples show images of seasons, feelings, sight, color and emotions.
  • Irony : The Canterbury Tales shows examples of irony in the following sentences, i. There also was a Nun, a Prioress, Her way of smiling very simple and coy. Her greatest oath was only ‘By St Loy!’ And she was known as Madam Eglantyne. (The Prologue) ii. He sees the mote in my eye, if there is un, But cannot see the beam there is in his’n. (The Reeve’s Tale) iii. And there she ate full many a slender meal; There was no sauce piquante to spice her veal, No dainty morsel ever passed her throat, According to her cloth she cut her coat. (The Nun’s Priest’s Tale) These examples show the use of irony such as the first one shows the Nun swearing but not actually, the second shows how the Reeve sees a mote and the third shows presence of every sauce but not dainty morsel.
  • Metaphor : The Canterbury Tales shows good use of metaphors in the following sentences, i. Young Emily, that fairer was of mien Than is the lily on its stalk of green, And fresher in her colouring that strove With early roses in a May-time grove. (The Knight’s Tale) ii. Rose and arrayed her beauty as was right, For May will have no sluggardry at night, Season that pricks in every gentle heart, Awaking it from sleep, and bids it start. (The Knight’s Tale) iii. Well is it said that neither love nor power Admit a rival, even for an hour. (The Knight’s Tale) iv. You fool! Your wits have gone beyond recall.’ ‘Now listen,’ said the Miller, ‘one and all, To what I have to say. But first I’m bound To say I’m drunk, I know it by my sound. (The Miller’s Tale) v. For even now I have a coltish tooth, Many as be the years now dead and done Before my tap of life began to run. Certain, when I was born, so long ago, Death drew the tap of life and let it flow; And ever since the tap has done its task, And now there’s little but an empty cask. My stream of life’s but drops upon the rim. An old fool’s tongue will run away with him To chime and chatter of monkey-tricks that’s past; There’s nothing left but dotage at the last!’ (The Reeve’s Tlae) These examples show that several things have been compared directly in the novel such as the first shows Emily compared to a lily, the second shows seasons compared to moods, the third shows love and power having human traits, the fourth shows wits compared to some person, while the last one is an extended metaphor comparing life to different things.
  • Mood : The book, The Canterbury Tales, shows a very pleasant mood in the beginning but turns out to be highly ironic and satiric at some points.
  • Narrator : The book, The Canterbury Tales, is narrated by Chaucer himself, but he also presents characters narrating their tales in the first person narrative.
  • Paradox : The following sentences are examples of paradox , i. My dear old brother Oswald, such is life . A man’s no cuckold if he has no wife. For all that, I’m not saying you are one; There’s many virtuous wives, all said and done. (The Miller’s Tale) ii. Their tales as told, for better or for worse, For else I should be false to what occurred. So if this tale had better not be heard, Just turn the page and choose another sort; You’ll find them here in plenty, long and short;” (The Miller’s Tale) These examples show that the writer has put paradoxical ideas or things together.
  • Personification : The below sentences are examples of personifications, i. When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run. (The Prologue) ii. They made us easy, all was of the best. And, briefly, when the sun had gone to rest. (The Prologue) iiii. But none the less, while I have time and space, Before my story takes a further pace. (The Prologue) iv. ‘Cousin, believe me, your opinion springs From ignorance and vain imaginings. (The Knight’s Tale) v. This lady as she roamed there to and fro, And, at the sight, her beauty hurt him so That if his cousin had felt the wound before, Arcite was hurt as much as he, or more. (The Knight’s Tale) These examples show as if Zephyrus, the sun, the story, opinions, and beauty have life and emotions of their own.
  • Setting : The setting of the novel, The Canterbury Tales, is the way to Canterbury from London.
  • Simile : The below sentences show good use of similes, i. Our Host, on hearing all this sermoning, Began to speak as lordly as a king, And said, ‘What does it come to, all this wit ? What! Spend the morning talking Holy Writ? (The Reeve’s Tale) ii. There was a miller lived there many a day As proud as any peacock and as gay; He could play bag-pipes too, fish, mend his gear, And turn a lathe, and wrestle, and poach deer. (The Reeve’s Tale) iii. The Cook, in joy to hear the Miller pickled, Laughed like a man whose back is being tickled. (The Cook’s Tale) iv. (Fair Pertelote was next him on the perch), This Chanticleer began to groan and lurch Like someone sorely troubled by a dream , And Pertelote who heard him roar and scream. (The Nun’s Priest’s Tale) The first simile shows the comparison between the sound of the Host and that of the king, the second shows a comparison between the miller and a peacock, the third shows a comparison between the Miller and a tickled man, and the last one shows a comparison between the troubled man and the rooster. Note that almost all the similes use the word “like.”

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the canterbury tales summary and analysis of general prologue

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey chaucer, everything you need for every book you read..

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Canterbury Tales: Introduction

The canterbury tales: plot summary, the canterbury tales: detailed summary & analysis, the canterbury tales: themes, the canterbury tales: quotes, the canterbury tales: characters, the canterbury tales: symbols, the canterbury tales: theme wheel, brief biography of geoffrey chaucer.

The Canterbury Tales PDF

Historical Context of The Canterbury Tales

Other books related to the canterbury tales.

  • Full Title: The Canterbury Tales
  • When Written: End of the 14th century
  • Where Written: London, England
  • Literary Period: Medieval
  • Genre: Estate satire
  • Setting: The road to Canterbury, England
  • Climax: No climax: each Tale has its own climax, but the Tales as a whole are unfinished, and though they are interconnected in terms of characters and themes, there is not a single plot thread that develops throughout.
  • Point of View: Many different characters tell their tales, but the whole frame narrative is told through the eyes of Chaucer the pilgrim. It’s also important to keep in mind that the Tales are unfinished. Each pilgrim is supposed to get two tales––one for the road to Canterbury, and one for the way back––but several of the pilgrims don’t even get one story, and they never actually make it to Canterbury.

Extra Credit for The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer Tweeteth. Though Chaucer likely did not foresee a digital future for the Tales , he has a very active social networking presence, particular under the Twitter handle “LeVostreGC”(https://twitter.com/LeVostreGC). The blogosphere has adopted Chaucer in sites such as “Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog” (http://houseoffame.blogspot.com), which is written in a fake Middle English and features entries “written” not only by Chaucer but by his son and his contemporaries.

Chaucer Through the Ages. Since its first publication, The Canterbury Tales has never been out of print, and they have inspired countless adaptations and re-workings. In his Autobiography , Ben Franklin claimed, perhaps as a joke, that his last name came from Chaucer’s Franklin. The whole genre of the buddy road-trip movie can be traced to the structure of the Tales . Some recent adaptations have included the 2001 film A Knight’s Tale , featuring Paul Bettany playing Chaucer himself.

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  1. The Canterbury Tales General Prologue: Part 1 Summary & Analysis

    The Canterbury Tales General Prologue: Part 1 Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes The Canterbury Tales Full Book Analysis Characters The Miller The Squire The Monk The Friar The Reeve The Parson Literary Devices Themes Motifs Symbols Protagonist Antagonist Setting Genre Style Point of View Tone Questions & Answers

  2. The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue Summary & Analysis

    The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue Summary & Analysis Next The Knight's Tale Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis The General Prologue opens with a description of April showers and the return of spring.

  3. The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue

    1 Summary of The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue 2 Characters in The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue 3 Themes and Setting of The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue 4 Form and Structure of The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue 5 The Tone of The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue 6 Use of Irony in The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue

  4. The Canterbury Tales General Prologue Summary and Analysis

    Buy Study Guide The Canterbury Tales Summary and Analysis of General Prologue "When April comes with his sweet, fragrant showers, which pierce the dry ground of March, and bathe every root of every plant in sweet liquid, then people desire to go on pilgrimages." Thus begins the famous opening to The Canterbury Tales.

  5. A Summary and Analysis of Geoffrey Chaucer's 'General Prologue'

    By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The General Prologue to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is one of the jewels in the crown of medieval English literature.

  6. The Prologue

    Summary One spring day, the Narrator of The Canterbury Tales rents a room at the Tabard Inn before he recommences his journey to Canterbury. That evening, a group of people arrive at the inn, all of whom are also going to Canterbury to receive the blessings of "the holy blissful martyr," St. Thomas à Becket.

  7. General Prologue to The Canterbury Tales Analysis

    The "General Prologue" is analogous to a Gothic processional with individual portraits. The roll call of characters accords with the medieval dedication to hierarchy, beginning with the Knight,...

  8. 1.1 General Prologue

    1 Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote When April with its sweet-smelling showers 2 The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, Has pierced the drought of March to the root, 3 And bathed every veyne in swich licour And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid 4 Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

  9. The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story Introduction

    The Canterbury Tales is the world's weirdest road trip. It tells the story of a group of pilgrims (fancy word for travelers) on their way to Canterbury, who engage in a tale-telling contest to pass the time. Besides watching the interactions between the characters, we get to read 24 of the tales the pilgrims tell.

  10. The Canterbury Tales The General Prologue

    The General Prologue is the first part of The Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer. The play starts at a tavern outside London. A group of pilgrims are present there to prepare for their journey to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury. Chaucer is the narrator of the play who meets them there.

  11. The Canterbury Tales

    Visit us at https://www.gradesaver.com/the-canterbury-tales/study-guide/video-the-canterbury-tales-general-prologue to read the full video transcript and our...

  12. The Canterbury Tales

    The book opens with The General Prologue and introduces a gathering of all the characters at the Tabard Inn tavern in London, ready to on the pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Thomas in the town of Canterbury.The prologue shows a total of 77 persons, including some from the religious order, such as the Friar and the Monk, and social order, such as the Squire and the Knight, with some examples ...

  13. The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue

    By Geoffrey Chaucer Here bygynneth the Book of the tales of Caunterbury Whan that Aprille with his shour e s soot e, The droghte of March hath perc e d to the root e, And bath e d every veyne in swich licóur Of which vertú engendr e d is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swet e breeth Inspir e d hath in every holt and heeth

  14. The Canterbury Tales Prologue

    The first few lines of The Canterbury Tales are: "Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote/ The droughte of March hat perced to the roote,/ And bathed every veyne in swich licour/ Of which vertu...

  15. The Canterbury Tales

    Author Emily Rogers View bio Instructor Kelly Sjol Examine the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer. Read a summary and analysis of Chaucer's General Prologue and...

  16. The Canterbury Tales Study Guide

    The whole genre of the buddy road-trip movie can be traced to the structure of the Tales. Some recent adaptations have included the 2001 film A Knight's Tale, featuring Paul Bettany playing Chaucer himself. The best study guide to The Canterbury Tales on the planet, from the creators of SparkNotes.

  17. The Canterbury Tales

    The Canterbury Tales, frame story by Geoffrey Chaucer, written in Middle English in 1387-1400.. The framing device for the collection of stories is a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, Kent.The 30 pilgrims who undertake the journey gather at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames from London.They agree to engage in a storytelling contest as they travel, and ...

  18. The Canterbury Tales Prologue to the Miller's Tale & The ...

    The Canterbury Tales Prologue to the Miller's Tale & The Miller's Tale Summary & Analysis | SparkNotes The Canterbury Tales Full Book Summary Full Book Analysis Key Facts Characters Character List The Knight The Pardoner The Wife of Bath The Miller The Host Chaucer (The Narrator) The Squire The Prioress The Monk The Friar The Reeve The Parson

  19. The Canterbury Tales Summary and Analysis of General Prologue

    The Canterbury Tales Summary and Analysis of General Prologue - Read online for free.