Canterbury Tales

3 Types of Social Class Military

Nobility

Knight

Squire

Clergy

Prioress (nun and three priests)

Monk

Friar

Parson

Social Class (con’t)

Laity

Landowners Franklin

Professionals Clerk, Man of law, Guildsmen, Physician (doctor), Shipman

(skipper)

Laborers Cook and Plowman

Stewards Miller, Manciple and Reeve

Church officers Summoner and Pardoner

Knight

Most noble of all of the pilgrims

He has military strength

Chivalric

Polite

Generous

Loyal

Squire

Son of the knight

Apprentice – knight in training

He has fought before in battles, but he is devoted to love

Strong, beautiful, curly-haired young man

Well-dressed in clothes with flowers on it.

Desires the attention of a lady

He enjoys playing the flute, writing, and riding.

He is a dutiful son and cuts his dad’s meat.

Yeoman

Freeborn Servant

Wears green from head to toe

Carries a large bow and feathered arrows

He also has a sword and shield

He is a forrester (knows how to get around the forest).

Prioress Madame Eglentyne

She is not part of the formal court but tries to act like she does.

She eats daintily (reaches for food daintily and delicately)

She speaks French, but with an English accent

She is compassionate towards animals (she cries when she sees a mouse trapped in a trap).

Feeds her dogs: roasted meat and milk– odd for this time, food was scarce.

She has an enormous forehead- this is beautiful for the time.

She wears prayer beads on her arm which hang from a gold brooch with the words “love conquers All”.

Another nun and 3 priests accompany her.

The Monk

Very handsome

Loves hunting

Keeps horses

Outrider– Looks after the monastery’s business with the external world).

His horse’s bridal can be heard jingling in the wind (like a church bell).

He knows that he isn’t supposed to hunt (as per the church), but he thinks that is ridiculous and dismisses those rules.

He is fat, bald, and well-dressed.

Friar

A member of a religious order who lives by begging.

Friar is jovial, pleasure-loving, well-spoken, and socially agreeable.

He hears confessions and gives easy penances for people who donate to the church.

He is popular with wealthy landowners.

He is all about the people who “help him”. He is liked by innkeepers and barmaids (food and drink).

Merchant

Tastefully attired (nice boots, fur hat)

He is a salesman

He borrows money, but is in debt

The narrator doesn’t know his name

Oxford Clerk

A thinker

Threadbare

Student of philosophy at Oxford

Loves books

Serjeant of Law

He was very revered in the group

Lawyer who is well spoken, and writes well.

He knows his case law by heart. He is often appointed by the king as a judge in the court.

He is wealthy and buys a lot of land (he owns it free and clear with no loans).

Franklin

white=-bearded

Wealthy gentleman farmer

Possesses a lot of land, but wasn’t born of nobility.

He has a preoccupation for food (he has plenty).

Guildsman

Artisans--tradesmen

Dressed in uniform of their guild.

The narrator likes their shiny attire. He thinks they are fit to be city officials

Cook

Chaucer feels he is skillful at his profession.

But Chaucer the cook has an ulcer that is put into the food (puss) and therefore, Chaucer can’t eat the food.

Shipman (Skipper)

Wears a dagger on a cord around his neck.

When he is on his ship he steals wine from the merchant (that is what he transports).

Doctor

He practices but he is into astronomy

He has a good set up with apothecaries because they work together to make each other money.

He is aware of modern and ancient medicine information, but isn’t involved in the religion part of the Middle ages.

He is frugal– Chaucer jokes that his favorite medicine is Gold (getting paid).

Wife of Bath

Seamstress

Always the first to offering at Mass.

She gets upset if someone goes in front of her.

She has had five husbands and 3 pilgrimages to Jerusalem.

She has also been Rome, Cologne, and other pilgrimage sites.

Her teeth have gaps between them

She is jolly and talkative. She gives good love advice because of her experience.

Parson Gentle

Poor villager

Pure of conscience

Truly believes in Christ

He enjoys preaching and instructing parishioners

He hates excommunicating those who cannot pay their tithes.

He walks with a cane and visits all of the parishoners no matter how far they live.

He is dedicated to his parish and doesn’t look for a promotion within the church.

He is even kind to sinners and tries to teach by example instead of scorn.

Plowman

Works hard

Loves God and his neighbor

Labors “for Christ’s sake”

Pays his tithes on time

Miller

Red Hair

Makes crude and bawdy jokes

Drinks

Is is stout and strong. He lifts doors off their hinges.

He has a wart on his nose with bright red hairs sticking out of it like bristles.

He has a mouth like a furnace.

He wears a sword and buckeler, and loves to joke and tell dirty stories.

Manciple

He is the administrative assistant of the Inn of Court (school of law).

He is uneducated, but is very smart common sense wise.

Reeve

He is long, tall, and thin

Has short hair (reminds the narrator of a priest).

He manages his lord’s estate so well that he is able to hoard his own money and property from the lord.

He is a good carpenter, and always rides behind everyone else.

Summoner

Arraigns those accused of violating Church law.

When drunk he speaks a few Latin phrases he knows.

His face is bright red from an unspecified disease.

He is corrupt—he uses his power for his own gain.

He uses his power with the young women and tries to have sex with them in his area of jurisdiction.

For example- for a quart of wine, he would let another man sleep with his girlfriend for a year and then not charge him with a crime.

Pardoner

He was just in the court of Rome.

Rides with the Summoner.

He has long blond hair

He sings while he rides.

He thinks he rides very fashionable (nothing covering his head).

He brought a lot of souvenirs from his trip in Rome.

The narrator compares his voice to a goat because it is so high pitched (alluding to the fact that he may be homosexual).

He is disrespectful to the poor (and tries to get money for his own gain).

The pardoner is a good preacher, storyteller, and singer.

Host He is a corrupt figure – named Bailey

The group stayed with the host.

He was a beautiful man

He had bright eyes and a large man

He had bold speech patterns

He was jovial friendly

Shrewd businessman

After he takes their money, he flatters them to make them forget how much money the just gave him.

The word quiet means repay– it is a motif throughout the tales—each characters put in a sort of debt by the previous character’s tale, and must repay him or her with a new tale.

7 Deadly Sins

wrath

greed

sloth

pride

lust,

envy,

Gluttony -- Franklin