Canterbury Tales, The General Prologue

Pilgrim The Knight Appearance

NOT gaily dressed Wore a fustian tunic, stained & dark Had smudges where his armor had left mark

Actions
Fought nobly in his sovereigns war and always killed his man in 15 battles Never said a boorish thing

Background/ Commentary
Distinguished man honored for noble graces Epitomized chivalry Perfect gentle knight

Chaucers Attitude (Positive or Negative)

HIGHLY POSITIVE

Squire

Slept as lightly as a nightingale Embroidered like a meadow bright and full of freshest flowers, red and white Curly hair

Knew how to joust and dance, to draw and write, make songs, poems, and recite Cared to serve his father at the table Sang or fluted all day

Modest as a maid and wise Son of the knight Cadet Passionate, courteous, lowly & serviceable Serves the yeoman

Positive Positive

Yeoman

Wore a green coat & hood Had a bright and keen peacockfeathered arrow, neatly sheathed, hung at his belt the while, never drooping Bore a might bow in his hand Head like a nut, brown face Brace on his arm, and a shield and sword hung at one side, and at the other slipped a jaunty dirk, spearsharp and well-equipped Wore a shining silver medal of St. Christopher Had a well-slung, hunting horn burnished clean that dangled from a baldrick of bright green Coy smile Veil gathered in a seemly way Elegant nose Glass-grey eyes, almost a span across the brows Small, soft, red mouth Cloak had a graceful charm Forehead fair of spread Wore a coral trinket on her arm and a set of beads, whose gaudies tricked in green, hung a golden brooch of brightest sheen Manly man Bridle jingled in a whistling wind when he rode, loud as the chapel bell Sleeves garnished at the hand with fine grey fur, the finest in the land Fastened his hood to his chin with a wrought-gold cunningly fashioned pin Bald head and face that shone like looking-glass Fat and personable priest Prominent eyeballs never settled, glittering like the flames beneath a kettle

N/A

Knew the woodcraft up and down Proper forester

Nun

Manners were well taught No morsel fell from her lips Reached sedately for the meat

Tried hard to counterfeit a courtly kind of grace and to seem dignified in all her dealings Known as Madam Eglantyne

Negative

Greatest oath was By St. Loy! Certainly very entertaining Sang a service with a fine intoning through her nose Spoke daintily in French Wiped her upper lip so clean that not a trace of grease could be seen Pleasant and friendly Rode the country Hunting was his sport (in contradiction to custom that a monk could not hunt) Ignored the rule of good St. Benet & St. Maur Let go the things of yesterday and took the modern worlds more spacious way Monk of the finest sort Abbot able Had many dainty horses in his stable Liked a roasted fat swan Charitably solicitous All sentiment and tender heart

Monk

Negative

Boots and horse in fine condition Prelate fit for exhibition, not pale like a tormented soul Palfrey as brown as a berry Named Hubert Very festive Glib with gallant phrase and wellspoken speech Neck whiter than a lily-flower, but strong enough to butt a bruiser down Romped like a puppy Semi-cope double-worsted on his shoulders Swelling fold like a bell about its mold when it is casting rounded out his dress Lisped a little out of wantonness Eyes twinkled in his head as bright as any star upon a frosty night Forking beard Motley dress Sat high on his horse Flemish beaver hat on his head Daintily bucked boots Not too fat Had a hollow look, a sober stare Thread upon his overcoat was bare Whatever money he borrowed from friends, he bought books and prayed for them, returning thanks to them for paying for his learning Never spoke a word more than was needed Spoke in a tone of moral virtue Gladly learned and gladly taught Paid his calls Sayings were so wise Fame and learning and his high position had won him many a robe and many a fee No such conveyance as he Dictate defense or draft deeds Less busy than he seemed to be Knew every statue off by rote Kept his tippet stuffed with pins for curls and pocket-knives to give to pretty girls At sing-songs he was champion of the hour Sang well and played the hurdy-gurdy Too good to deal with a scum of wretched lepers and slum-and-gutter dwellers, but only with the rich and victual-sellers Finest beggar of his batch, and for this begging-district, paid a rent Pleasant was his holy how-dye-do Prompt on arbitrating disputes for a small fee Played the harp Told of his opinions and pursuits Harped on his increase of capital in solemn tones Expert at dabbling in exchanges Set his wits to work Stately in administration in loans and bargain and negotiation Found no preferment in the church and he was too unworldly to make search for secular employment

Friar

Fixed up many marriages, giving each of his young women what he could afford her

Noble pillar to his Order Highly beloved and intimate Wonton and merry Qualified to hear confessions Had a special license from the Pope Easy man in penance-giving Knew the taverns, innkeepers, and barmaids well in every town Voice was gay and sturdy

Negative

Merchant

Excellent fellow In debt

Clerk

Student at Oxford Cleric Formal and respectful in the extreme Short to the point and lofty in his theme Only care was study

Mostly positive Positive

Sergeant-atLaw

Discreet Busy Wore a homely parti-colored coat girt with a silken belt of pin-stripe stuff

Wary and wise Man to reverence Knew of every judgement, case and crime ever recorded since King Williams time

Mostly positive Positive

Franklin

Beard white as a daisy-petal High-colored and benign, sanguine Dagger and a little purse of silk hung at his girdle, white as morning milk

Lived for pleasure Made his household free to all the County Nobody had a better stock of wine House was never short of bake-meat pies Kept fat partridges in coops Had many bream and pike in his pond

Model among landed gentry Wealthy farmer

Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, Tapestry Maker

Trim and fresh Knives were wrought with purest silver which avouches a like display on girdles and on pouches

Checked very entry and audit Went to church to show off

Each seemed a worthy burgess, wise enough to justify making each one an alderman Had the capital and revenue Guildsmen/artist

Mostly positive

Cook

Ulcer on his knee

Made one of the best blancmanges Distinguished London ale by flavor Boiled chicken with a marrow-bone Roasted & seethed & fried

N/A
Hailed from far west Dartmouth Certainly an excellent fellow Had dispatch Prudent in undertaking Owned a barge

Shipman

Wore a woolen gown that reached his knee Wore a dagger on a lanyard falling free hung from his neck under his arm and down Tan

Made good thick soup & baked a tasty pie Rode a farmers horse as best he could Ignored the nicer rules of conscience When he fought, the enemy vessel sank Sent his prisoners home Skilled in reckoning his tides

Mostly positive Mostly positive

Negative

Beard in many a tempest had its shaking Blood-red garments, slashed with bluish grey & lined with taffeta

Knew all the havens as they were Stole wine from the trader when he snored Watched his patient closely for the hours Knew the powers of favorable planets by his horoscope Well-versed in Aesculapius Observed some measure in his own diet there were no superfluities for pleasure, only digestives, nutritives and such Did not read the Bible Kept the gold he won in pestilences In cahoots with the apothecary to make money Made good cloth Thrice been to Jerusalem Knew the cause of every malady Perfect practicing physician Loved money No one alive could talk as well as he did on points of medicine and of surgery Grounded in astronomy

Doctor of Medicine

Wife of Bath

Finely woven ground kerchiefs that weighed 10 lbs. Finest scarlet red and gartered tight hose Shoes were soft and new Bold face, handsome and red in hue Gap-toothed Wore a hat as broad as is a buckler or a shield Had a flowing mantle that concealed large hips Heels spurred sharply Upon his feet, and in his hand a stave

Somewhat deaf Worthy woman all her life Had five husbands, all at the church door Like to laugh and chat with company

Skilled in wandering been to Rome, Boulogne, St. James of Compostella and Cologne Knew the remedies for loves mischances

Mostly positive

Parson

Preached and taught the gospel devoutly to parishioners Shepherd to the members of his parish Hated cursing to extort a fee Preferred beyond a doubt giving to poor parishioners round about both from church offerings and his property Never failed to pay a call on the remotest, whether great or small, in sickness of in grief Business was to show a fair behavior and draw men thus to Heaven and their Savior Put a sharp rebuke to obstinate men Followed the lore of Christ and His Twelve Apostles

Rich in holy thought and work Learned man, a clerk, who truly knew Christs gospel and Benign and wonderfully diligent Patient when adversity was sent Wide was his parish, with houses far asunder Holy and virtuous Never contemptuous of sinful men Never disdainful, never too proud or fine Discreet in teaching and benign There never was a better priest in his dealings Sought no pomp or glory

Positive

Plowman

Wore a tabard smock and rode a mare

Carted many a load of dung through the morning dew Promptly paid his tithes in full when they were due on what he owned, and on his earnings too Willingly helped the poor for love of Christ, never taking a penny if he could help it Repined at no misfortune, slacked for no content Loved his neighbor as himself Went steadily about his work Helped the poor for love of Christ Lived in peace and perfect charity Loved God best with all his heart and mind Boasted that he could heave any door off hinge and post or take a run and break it with his head Master-hand at stealing grain

Honest worker, good and true

Positive

Miller

Great stout fellow big in brawn and bone Broad, knotty and short-shouldered Beard like any sow of fox, was red and broad as well, as though it were a spade Nostrils as black as they were wide Mouth was like a furnace door Had a sword & buckler at his side Mighty mouth like a furnace door

Chap of sixteen stone Could win the ram at any wrestling show Wrangler and buffoon, he had a store of tavern stories, filthy in the main

Negative

Took three time his due of grain

Manciple

N/A
Old, choleric & thin Beard shaven closely to the skin Shorn hair came abruptly to a stop above his ears, and he was docked on top just like a priest in front Legs were lean like sticks, no calf could be seen Very trim bins & garners Dpple gray Named Scot

Never rash whether he bought on credit or paid cash Watched the market most precisely and got in first, and so he did quite nicely Had more than 30 masters all versed in the abstrusest legal knowledge Could have produced a dozen from their College fit to be stewards in land and rents and game to any peer in England you could name and show him how to live on what he had debt-free or be as frugal as he might desire, and make them fit to help about the Shire Governed his masters sheep, animals, hens, pigs, horses, dairies, stores & cattle-pens Knew the every dodge & trick of the bailiffs, serfs, & herdsmen A better hand at bargains than his lord Rode the stallion-cob at a slow trot Rode the hindmost of the cavalcade Could judge by watching drought and rain the yield he might expect from seed and grain Suck up

from the Inns of Court All caterers might follow his example in buying victuals Illiterate

Positive

Reeve

Estate manager No auditor could gain a point on him Feared by those beneath him Had a lovely dwelling on a heath shadowed in green by trees above the sward Grew rich and had a store of treasure well tucked away

Negative

Wore a long overcoat of bluish shade Had a rusty blade slung at his side Coat splayed & tucked under his belt Face on fire like a cherubin Had carbuncles Narrow eyes Hot and lecherous as a sparrow Black scabby brows Thin beard Whelks of knobby white Wouldnt speak in anything other than Latin when he was drunk on strong red wine Allowed any good lad to keep a concubine a twelvemonth and dispense him altogether just for a quart of wine Lied Could bring duress on any young fellow in the diocese as he pleased Children were afraid when he appeared Loved garlic and onions and leeks

Summoner

Negative

Pimples on cheeks Kind, noble varlet Wore a garland on his head as large as a holly-bush upon a stake Gentle No hood on his bare head Hair yellow as wax hung down smoothly like a hank of flax; locks fell behind his head in driblets down to his shoulder which they overspread; thinly they fell, like rat-tails Bulging eye-balls like a hare No beard

Knew their secrets, and they did what he said

Pardoner

Sang loudly Sewed a holy relic on his cap Had a pillow-case in his trunk which he asserted was Our Ladys veil Said he had a gobbet of the sail Saint Peter had the time when he made bold to walk the waves, till Jesus Christ took hold Had a cross of metal set with stones and in glass a rubble of pigs bones Flattered and prevaricated to make monkeys of the priest and congregation Noble ecclesiast in church Read lessons & stories well Preached and tuned his toney-tongue as well as he could to win silver from the crowd Used relics to astound poor up-country people to make more money than the parson in a month or two Served the finest victuals you could think Bold in speech Jokingly began to talk of sport after the meal Wanted the lords to each tell four stories on during the round-trip to Canterbury

Voice like a goat A gelding or a mare No pardoner of equal grace

Negative

Host

Very striking man Bright eyes Wide girth Lacked no manly attribute

Fit to be a marshal in a hall No finer burgess in Cheapside Wise and full of tact Merry-hearted man

Positive