Canterbury Tales Character Descriptions

Miller

"A great stout fellow big in brawn and bone. He did well out of them, for he could go And win the ram at any wrestling show... A wrangler and buffoon, he had a store Of tavern stories, filthy in the main. His was a master-hand at stealing grain."

Knight

"A most distinguished man, Who from the day on which he first began to ride abroad had followed chivalry, truth, honor, generousness and courtesy. He had done Nobly in his sovereign's war."

Cook

"And he could roast and seethe and broil and fry, Make good thick soup and bake a tasty pie. But what a pity- so it seemed to me, That he should have an ulcer on his knee."

Sergeant at the Law

"He could dictate defenses or draft deeds; No one could pinch a comma from his screeds And he knew every statue off by rote. he wore a homely parti-colored coat, Grit with a silken belt of pin-stripe stuff."

Squire

"He could make songs and poems and recite, Knew how to joust and dance, to draw and write. He loved so hotly that till dawn grew pale. He slept as little as a nightingale."

Franklin

"He lived for pleasure and had always done, For he was Epicurus' very son."

Parson

"He was also a learned man, a clerk, Who truly knew Christ's gospel and would preach it Devoutly to parishioners, and teach it... Holy and virtuous he was, but then Never contemptuous of sinful men, never disdainful, never too proud or fine."

Plowman

"He was an honest worker, good and true, Living in peace and perfect charity, And, as the gospel bade him, so did he, Loving God best with all his heart and mind And then is neighbor as himself, repined At no misfortune, slacked for no content."

Friar

"He'd fixed up many a marriage giving each Of his young women what he could afford her."

Summoner

"His eyes were narrow, He was as hot and lecherous as a sparrow. Black scabby brows he had, and a thin bear. Children were afraid when he appeared."

Oxford Cleric

"His horse was thinner than a rake... By his bed he preferred having twenty books in red and black... Whatever money from his friends he took He spent on learning or another book And prayed for them most earnestly, returning thanks to them thus for paying for his learning."

Manciple

"In buying victuals; he was never rash Whether he bought on credit or paid cash... ALl versed in the abstrusest legal knowledge... To any peer in England you could name, And show him how to live on what he had Debt-free (unless of course the Peer were mad)

Reeve

"Old and choleric and thin; his beard was shaven closely to the skin... When young he'd learnt a useful trade and still He was a carpenter of first-rate skill."

Nun

"She used to weep if she saw but a mouse Caught in a trap, if it were dead of bleeding. And she had little dogs she would be feeding... Whence hung a golden brooch of brightest sheen On which there first was graven a crowned A, And lover, 'Amor Vincit Omnia' "

Merchant

"So had set his wits to work, none knew he was in debt, In loans and bargains and negotiation. He was an excellent fellow all the same..."

Doctor

"The causes being known for what they were, He gave the man his medicine then and there. All his apothecaries in a tribe Were ready with the drugs he would prescribe..."

Wife of Bath

"The ones she wore on Sunday, on her head. Her hose were of the finest scarlet red... she'd had five husbands, all at the church door."

Monk

"Who rode the country, hunting was his sport... His sleeves were garnished at the hand With fine grey fur, the finest in the land, And on his hood, to fasten at his chin, He had a wrought-gold cunningly fashioned pin."

Pardoner

"hair as yellow as wax, Hanging down smoothly like a hank of flax... He had the same small voice a goat has got. His chin no beard had harbored, nor would harbor, Smoother than ever chin was left by barber."

Yeoman

"wore a coat and hood of green. And peacock-feathered arrows, bright and keen And neatly sheathed hung at his belt... A medal of St. Christopher he wore Of shining silver on his breast..."

Skipper

And certainly he was an excellent fellow. Many a draft of vintage, red and yellow, He'd drawn at Bordeaux, while the trader snore. The nicer rules of conscience he ignored.