Introduction:
Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is an anthology of 24 tales written in Middle English.
Background:
Geoffrey Chaucer wrote this story in the late 1300’s but never finished it. He wrote in the native language or vernacular of the Medieval period in Britain called Middle English. Chaucer's original plan was for over 100 stories, but only 24 were completed, some of which had already been written for earlier works.
Overview:
👉Fragment I:
General Prologue
The General Prologue is a basic descriptive list of the twenty-nine people who become pilgrims to journey to Canterbury. The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to kill time while they travel to Canterbury. The Host, Harry Bailey decides that every pilgrim will tell 2 stories on the road to Canterbury and other 2 on the way back. The person he judges to tell the best tale will receive a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark when they return.
Knight
The Knight's tale is about two young knights that strive for Emily, who is the sister of queen Hippolyta who is married to duke Theseus, lord and governour of Athens. The story contains many aspects of knighthood, including discussions on love, courtly manners, brotherhood and loyalty. Several fights and battles are fought and even foreign kings are brought in to emphasize the epical meaning and shape of the last battle. Finally, death is the end of every worldly sore.
Miller
The Miller's tale is about an old carpenter who has a young wife and is duped by the suitor of his wife. The suitor is eventually duped by another suitor.
Reeve
All people find the story amusing except the grumbling Reeve, who takes the story personally as he is a carpenter by trade. The Host urges the Reeve to stop grumbling and sermonising and start telling a tale. The Reeve obeys and tells a tale about a haughty miller who deceives two students but is deceived in return: the deceiver is deceived.
Cook
The Cook’s Tale is an unfinished fragment and deals with the story of an apprentice cook named Perkin who loses his job because of his loose habits. The dismissal however has no effect on Perkin and he moves in with a like-minded friend whose wife is a prostitute.
👉Fragment II:
Man of Law
The Man of Law's Tale is about Constance, the daughter of the emperor of Rome. She, a devoted Christian, is shipped to Syria to marry the sultan who is willing to convert to Christianity to overcome legal difficulties. However, the sultan's mother is not amused by her son's conversion and pushes Constance back into the sea. Despite her sufferings, Constance remains faithful and even converts the hosts that give her shelter. At the end, her Christian faith is her protection and her reward.
👉Fragment III:
Wife of Bath
The Wife of Bath presents herself as the authority on marriage and marital life. She comments on the social and legal position of women in marriage and daily life. She claims she has her knowledge from experience, not from scriptural authority. Rather than rejecting scriptural authority, she appeals to logic thus rejecting too strict interpretations of scriptural rules and commandments.
Friar
The Friar's tale is about the trade and earnings of a nameless summoner who attempts to blackmail and old widow by serving a false summons. Eventually the summoner is cursed to hell by the old woman.
Summoner
The Summoner's tale is about a greedy friar who has no shame cajoling churchly donations out of his people and friends. The Summoner obviously seeks some revenge for the Friar's tale.
👉Fragment IV:
Clerk
The Clerk's tale is about a marquis called Walter. Lord Walter is a bachelor who is asked by his subjects to marry in order to provide a heir. Lord Walter assents and marries a poor girl called Griselda. After some time, Walter starts testing Griselda's patience. Ultimately, the clerk's tale is about unconditional female submissiveness.
Merchant
The Merchant tells a tale about a sixty-year old knight who decides he should marry a wife. The meaning of love, marriage, truth and faithfulness are being discussed.
👉Fragment V:
Squire
The Squire’s Tale is an unfinished fragment. King Cambyuskan receives a magic horse, sword, mirror and ring as gifts from the king of Araby and India. The horse has the ability to transport a man anywhere he wants to go in a flash. The sword could magically cut through the thickest armor and even heal wounds. The mirror can reveal future misfortunes and tragedies and the ring imparts to its wearer the power to understand the speech of birds. The king’s daughter wears the ring and hears a falcon miserably lamenting her betrayal by her fickle lover. She takes the poor falcon to court and nurses its self-inflicted wounds.
Franklin
The Franklin's tale is about a knight called Arviragus who is married with a lady called Dorigen. During Arviragus' absence, a squire called Aurelius attempts to court Dorigen. She thinks to get rid of him by demanding something apparently impossible. When Aurelius however performs the impossible, Dorigen is faced with a major dilemma: either being faithfull to her husband and break her promise or being unfaithfull to her husband and keep her promise.
👉Fragment VI:
Physician
The Physician's tale about a knight called Virginius has a wife and a beautiful virtuous fourteen-year-old daughter called Virginia. One day, a false judge named Appius sees Virginia and decides he will have her regardless the cost. However, Virginius rather kills his daughter instead of handing her over to the judge.
Pardoner
The Pardoner's tale about three frequently drinking young men who become acquainted with the killings of Death. They decide to find, stop and kill Death.
👉Fragment VII:
Shipman
The Shipman tells a story about a merchant, his wife and a frequently visiting monk called Dan John, who pretends to be the merchant's cousin. The wife secretly asks the monk to lend her money. The monk gladly promises to bring her the money she asks. The interchangeability and exchangeability of sex and money are emphatically elaborated in the Shipman's Tale.
The Prioress
The Prioress Tale is a hymn to Mary and Jesus, Christianity, motherhood and anti-Semitism.
Sir Thopas
Chaucer tells a story about a knight called Sir Thopas who wishes to love a fairy queen. Sir Thopas rides to fairyland on horseback, but finds the entrance blocked by a three-headed giant called Sir Oliphant who challenges Sir Thopas to fight. Sir Thopas returns home to get his gear and rides out again.
Melibee
Chaucer then relates the Tale of Melibee. Melibee’s enemies attack his house and his daughter is injured. But his wife, Dame Prudence persuades him to banish all thoughts of revenge and to forgive his enemies.
Monk
The Monk mentions and describes biblical, classical, Greec, Roman and worldy leaders who all have one thing in common: once they were great, but fortune has abandoned them.
The Nun's Priest
The Nun's Priest's tale is about a rooster called Chauntecleer that lives with seven chickens and several other animals in the yard of a poor old widow.
👉Fragment VIII:
Second Nun
The Second Nun's tale is about the life of Saint Cecilia who refuses to worship Roman gods. Still being a virgin, she is arrested, interrogated, executed and martyred for her Christian beliefs.
Canon’s Yeoman
The Canon's Yeoman’s Tale deals with his own experiences during the practice of alchemy. The tale recounts how a Canon duped a priest into believing that he could transform mercury into silver and sold him the fake formula for forty pounds.
👉Fragment IX:
Manciple
The Manciple's tale is about Phoebus, who possesses a white crow. Phoebus has a wife who is (symbolically) kept in a golden cage. Despite his efforts to keep his wife clean, she commits adultery.
👉Fragment X:
Parson
The Parson’s Tale is the concluding tale. It is a very long prose sermon on the seven deadly sins. The story contains examples of the seven deadly sins and explanations, indicating what people need to do in order to get redemption.
👉Chaucer’s Retraction
Chaucer finishes the tales by a Retraction, asking the people that have been offended by the tales to blame it on his lack of manners and education, because he did not have immoral intentions and asked the people who found something useful in his stories to give all the credit for them to Christ. He retracts by a prayer for forgiveness for all his works narrating about secular and pagan characters, asking his readers to remember him for his homilies and his works about the lives of saints.
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