Geoffrey Chaucer
Prepared by Skylar Hamilton Burris
Papers on This Site:
Smart Sailor or Seditious Smuggler?
The Shipman in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Overview:
The middle class son of a wine merchant, Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400) had Henry IV as his patron. He wrote The Canterbury Tales, which tells of a pilgrimage to the tomb of Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury (who was murdered in 1170 at Henry II's command). On the way, several characters are called upon to tell tales, and the inn keeper is chosen to judge which is of best sentence (meaning) and solas (delight).
Below is a synopsis of some of the tales tales. Chaucer's description of the tellers may be found in parentheses.
The Knight's Tale ("he loved Chivalrye" and was "At Alisandre") is based on Boccaccio's courtly romance about rivalry of two noble lovers for a lady.
The Miller's Tale ("and yit he hadde a thombe of gold, perdee") is a comical tale about a clerk, Nicholas, who has an affair with an old carpenter's wife. She is also loved by Absalon. Nicholas convinces the carpenter a flood is coming, and he gets in a tub tied to his ceiling. Absalon begs a kiss from the wife, ends up kissing "hir naked ers, for wel he wiste a womman hath no beerd." He goes back for another kiss, ends up kissing Nicholas's butt, who farts on him. Absalon yells water, the carpenter thinks the flood is coming, so he cut the ropes.
The Reeve, ("a sclendre, colerik man," "they were adrad of him as of the deeth") thinking the carpenter character was aimed at him, retaliates with a story satirizing the arrogance of the Miller.
The Wife of Bath ("Housbandes at churche dore she hadde five" "Gat-toothed" "somdeel deef") tells of all her husbands and then goes into the tale of a knight who is saved by an ugly fairy who in return forces him to marry her. He loathes her, but she lets him choose whether she will be faithful and virtuous but stay ugly, or be young and beautiful. He says: "I put myself in your wise governance, choose yourself"--so she becomes both to him. Moral: Send a pestilence to those who will not be governed by their wives.
The Squire ("a lover and a lusty bachelor")
The Yeoman ("clad in...hood of greene" "His arwes drouped nought with fethers lowe")
Nun/Prioress ("Madame Eglantine" "Entuned in her nose ful semely" Motto: "Amor vincit omnia")
The Nun's Priest Tale is a beast fable from Reynard the Fox. The hero is Chanticleer the rooster, who dreams of the fox and fears it. Pertelote, the fairest hen, says she can't love a coward. (Woman's counsil has often been deathly). Russel the fox comes, flatters Chanticleer's singing, asks him to sing more, and when Chanticleer stretches his neck, Russel attacks. Chanticleer gets away, flies up a tree, and Russel tries to flatter him down again, but he will not be deceived. Moral: Murder will out.
Monk ("a manly man, to be an abbot able" "of huntin for the hare was al his lust")
Friar ("and with worthy wommen of the town -- for he hadde power of confession")
Merchant ("forked beerd" "he spak ful solemnely, souning alway th' encrees of his winning")
Clerk ("as lene was his hors as is a rake" "on bookes and on lerning he it spente")
Sergeant/Lawyer ("For his science, and for his heigh renown of fees and robes hadde he many")
Franklin ("of his complexion he was sanguin" "For he was Epicurus owene sone"). A knight marries a lady and is "servant in love and lord in marriage." A squire, Aurelie, wants her, and she says he can have her when he removes all the rocks from the coast, thinking it impossible. He gets the help of a magician for 1,000 lbs., and they are removed. Her husband won't let her break her vow, and so tells her to go to Aurelie. In pity, Aurelie releases her from her obligation. The magician releases Aurelie from his debt. The question is "Which was the most free (generous)?"
Sailor (see my paper in the literary criticism section)
Physician ("For he was grounded in astronyme" "For gold in physik is a cordial, therfore he loved gold in special"). Tale of a Roman maiden Virginia, whose beauty caused a judge to attempt to obtain her by a trumped-up law suit in which he connived with a churl who claimed her as a slave. In order to preserve her chastity, her father killed her.
Parson ("but rich he was of holy thought and work")
Plowman ("with him there was a plowman, was his brother...living in pees and parfit charitee")
Manciple ("swich a lewed mann es wit shal pace the wisdom of an heep of lerned men)
Summoner ("of his visage children were aferd", lecherous, pimply)
Pardoner ("heer as yellow as wax", "Vois he hadde as smal as hath a goat; no beerd hadde he"). Moral: Radix malorum est cupiditas (Avarice is the root of all evil). Three men go after Death in order to kill him. An old man tells them they can find Death under a tree. Instead, they find a bag of gold. They end up killing each other over it (so they find Death after all).
Books:
Quizzes about Chaucer:
A Test on the Tales
Covering parts of Chaucer's "Canterburry Tales"
The Life of
Chaucer
A biographical quiz
Websites about Chaucer:
Suggest a website. E-mail ssburris@msn.com.