Pilgrims Canterbury Tales

Doctor

"He did not read the Bible very much."

During the Middle Ages, Monks emphasized the importance of the written word, especially of the:

Bible

"But what a pity—so it seemed to me, That he should have an ulcer on his knee. As for blancmange, he made it with the best."

Cook

"Could distinguish London ale by flavor/And he could roast and seethe and broil and fry/ Make a good thick soup, and bake a tasty pie"

Cook

A lewd and vulgar man, often engages in violent and contentious behavior. He tells a tale that appears to be a fabliau. However, this tale does not exist in a completed form.

Cook

"And kept the gold he won in pestilences. Gold stimulates the heart, or so we're told. He therefore had a special love of gold."

Doctor

"Harry Bailly": The proprietor of the Tabard Inn where the pilgrims to Canterbury stay before beginning their journey. He accompanies the pilgrims on their journey.

Host

"There is no finer burgess in Cheapside. Bold in his speech, yet wise and full of tact, There was no manly attribute he lacked, What's more he was a merry-hearted man. After our meal he jokingly began"

Host

devised the scheme of the tales, proposing that each tell two tales on the way to Canterbury, and he frequently mediates arguments between pilgrims and suggests who shall tell the next story. He has a bit of a class complex, and can be seen regularly toadying up to the upper-class and higher-status characters.

Host

"His only care was study, and indeed He never spoke a word more than was need, Formal at that, respectful in the extreme, Short, to the point, and lofty in his theme. A tone of moral virtue filled his speech And gladly would he learn, and gladly teach."

Oxford Cleric

a student at Oxford, and his lack of an actual profession leaves him impoverished. Although educated, his intellectual pursuits have left him virtually unemployable. He tells a tale of the humble Griselde, who marries a man of high status who cruelly tests her devotion to him.

Oxford Cleric

"In one short day, in money down, he drew More than the parson in a month or two, And by his flatteries and prevarication Made monkeys of the priest and congregation."

Pardoner

intensely self-loathing yet devoted to his task of defrauding people of their money by making them believe that they have sinned and need to buy pardons. His tale is an allegory about three rioters who find death through their avarice.

Pardoner

used relics and songs during offertory to swindle money

Pardoner

uses this tale as an attempt to sell pardons to the company, but is silenced by the Host.

Pardoner

"A holy-minded man of good renown There was, and poor,.... Yet he was rich in holy thought and work. He also was a learned man, a clerk, Who truly knew Christ's gospel and would preach it"

Parson

"Or so he seemed, his sayings were so wise. He often had been Justice of Assize By letters patent, and in full commission. His fame and learning and his high position Had won him many a robe and many a fee."

Sergeant at the Law

Good guy, he's wise and discreet, he's not a bully.

Sergeant at the Law

tells a religiously inspired tale concerning Constance, a woman who suffers a number of tragedies but is at each turn saved by her devotion to her Christian beliefs.

Sergeant at the Law

"But had you tried to test his wits and grope For more, you'd have found nothing in the bag. Then "Questio quid juris" was his tag. He was a noble varlet° and a kind one, You'd meet none better if you went to find one."

Summoner

He was a drunk, took bribes

Summoner

is to issue summons for people to appear in front of the Church court

Summoner

tells a tale in response to the Friar's diatribe against summoners that parodies the Friar's profession.

Summoner

As Christianity spread in the Middle Ages, some chose to dedicate their lives to:

prayer and service

Anglo-Saxon storytellers creates heroic songs describing warriors' great deeds and celebration going qualities such as:

strength, courage, and loyalty

The Anglo-Saxons recognize only a single heroic type which is:

the warrior

During the Middle Ages, the church used sermons, stain-glass windows, and popular entertainment to teach:

truths and historical events

For the early Anglo-Saxon rulers,________ was a way of life

warfare

Anglo-Saxon literary tradition was deeply rooted in the dark, heroic tales of:

Germanic Mythology

In Anglo-Saxon works such as Beowulf, the poet combines both ________ and________ elements.

Germanic/Christian

not the most religious person as he doesn't follow the proper rules of life. A hypocrite

Monk

All his apothecaries in a tribe Were ready with the drugs he would prescribe And each made money from the other's guile

Doctor

His heart is not in the right place- does not perform medical examinations for purposes of making people healthier, but for the money.

Doctor

tells a tale about a father who, in order to protect his daughter from scoundrels who contrive to rape her, murders his daughter.

Doctor

"He loved a morning sop° of cake in wine. He lived for pleasure and had always done, For he was Epicurus'° very son, In whose opinion sensual delight Was the one true felicity in sight"

Franklin

He travels with the Man of Law. A man who takes delight in all simple pleasures, most prominently culinary ones. His story is that of a woman who promises to have an affair with a man if he can save her husband.

Franklin

Overindulgent, He is a little generous with the way he lives his life, a wealthy land owner

Franklin

"He kept his tippet°stuffed with pins for curls, And pocket-knives, to give to pretty girls."

Friar

"nothing good can come Of commerce with such slum-and-gutter dwellers, But only with the rich and victual-sellers. But anywhere a profit might accrue Courteous he was and lowly of service too."

Friar

He only acquainted himself with rich people, since he could get more money from them.

Friar

attached to world things, the opposite of the Franciscans.

Friar

"...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"

Knight

A noble fighter who served in the Crusades. He travels with his son, the Squire.

Knight

"His was a master-hand at stealing grain. He felt it with his thumb and thus he knew Its quality and took three times his due—A thumb of gold, by God, to gauge an oat! He wore a hood of blue and a white coat. He liked to play his bagpipes up and down And that was how he brought us out of town"

Miller

lived by chivalry "To ride abroad and followed chivalry, truth, honor, generousness, and courtesy"

Knight

tells the first tale, a romantic tale of a love triangle between two knights and a woman they both love

Knight

Although less educated than the people he serves, he is proved to be more intelligent and knowledgeable

Manciple

trained in the law, tells a fable that attributes the dark appearance and unpleasant sound of crows to the actions of a white crow who told the god Phoebus of his wife's infidelity.

Manciple

"...had set His wits to work, none knew he was in debt,"

Merchant

"with a forking beard And motley° dress; high on his horse he sat, Upon his head a Flemish beaver hat And on his feet daintily buckled boots.He told of his opinions and pursuits In solemn tones, he harped on his increase Of capital"

Merchant

an arrogant man obsessed with profit margins. His story is a comic tale concerning an elderly blind man who takes a young wife who proves unfaithful.

Merchant

expressed upper class society

Merchant

Did not adhere to these rules: Was heavy, did not traditionally fast therefore, Did not follow "rule of saint Benet"

Monk

a large bearded man who is strong enough to win any wrestling match. He carries a sword and buckler, a small shield. He can cheat anyone out of giving him more grain. He plays the bagpipes as the pilgrims leave town.

Miller

"The Rule of good St. Benet or St. Maur° As old and strict he tended to ignore"

Monk

A robust and masculine man, travels with the Prioress and Second Nun.

Monk

Ideal Version of the Lay Man

Parson

a man devoted to his congregation, decent and principled. His tale is a long dissertation on the definition of sin and its various forms.

Parson

"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."

Plowman

brother of the parson

Plowman

has to do the dirtiest jobs of the medieval world, like load carts full of cow manure. Yet he never complains, for his labor is work he must do both for his fellow-Christians and for Christ. Therefore he loves God, whether the going is easy or hard.

Plowman

"She certainly was very entertaining, Pleasant and friendly in her ways, and straining To counterfeit a courtly kind of grace,"

Prioress

A delicate, sentimental woman who weeps over any small tragedy such as the death of a mouse. She attempts to appear refined, but her refinement is superficial. Her tale concerns the murder of a small child at the hands of Jews who loathe the child for singing about the Virgin Mary.

Prioress

Where's a Pin that says "love conquers all" in Latin. Something's not corresponding to chosen path in life. She's more interested in courtly life than devotions

Prioress

"The accounts, right from his master's earliest years. No one had ever caught him in arrears. No bailiff, serf or herdsman dared to kick, He knew their dodges, knew their every trick; Feared like the plague he was, by those beneath."

Reeve

A slender man with a fiery temper, he tells a tale in response to the Miller's Tale. His tale concerns a villainous Miller who is humiliated by two Oxford students.

Reeve

financial manager for a rich lot or lady

Reeve

"Hardy he was, prudent in undertaking; His beard in many a tempest had its shaking"

Skipper

"The nicer rules of conscience he ignored. If, when he fought, the enemy vessel sank, He sent his prisoners home; they walked the plank."

Skipper

tells the tale of a woman who agrees to have an affair with a monk who will pay her so that she can repay a debt to her husband, but this monk ultimately borrows this money from the husband himself.

Skipper

"I'd spoken to them all upon the trip And was soon one with them in fellowship, Pledged to rise early and to take the way To Canterbury, as you heard me say."

Speaker

"It happened in that season that one day In Southwark, at The Tabard, as I lay Ready to go on pilgrimage and start For Canterbury, most devout at heart, At night there came into that hostelry"

Speaker

"..A lover and cadet, a lad of fire With locks as curly as if they had been pressed."

Squire

"He knew the way to sit a horse and ride. He could make songs and poems and recite, Knew how to joust and dance, to draw and write."

Squire

"He was embroidered like a meadow bright And full of freshest flowers, red and white."

Squire

A "lusty bachelor" of twenty,... is the son of the Knight, and the only pilgrim other than Chaucer stated as having literary ambitions: he can "wel endite". He tells an interrupted tale concerning the gifts that a mysterious knight brings to the court of Tartary."

Squire

The son of the Knight, who is youthful and thus enjoys dancing and courtship, as well as drawing and writing

Squire

What was the famous, very spiritual and influential monk who wrote Ecclesiastical History of the English People?

The Venerable Bede

"Her hose were of the finest scarlet red And gartered tight; her shoes were soft and new. Bold was her face, handsome, and red in hue. A worthy woman all her life, what's more She'd had five husbands, all at the church door, Apart from other company in youth"

Woman of Bath

The most ostentatious of the travelers, has been married five times and is currently searching for another man to marry. The Wife of Bath is opinionated and boisterous, and her tale, which centers around the question "what do women want?," promotes her view that women wish to have authority over men.

Woman of Bath

What controlled human destiny and that one's ultimate and inescapable fate was death?

Wyrd

"A medal of St. Christopher° he wore Of shining silver on his breast, and bore A hunting-horn, well slung and burnished clean, That dangled from a baldrick° of bright green. He was a proper forester, I guess."

Yeoman

a proper hunter and he carried a bow. He wore a green hood (basically Robin Hood as a servant)

Yeoman

the second servant who travels with the Knight. He does not tell a tale.

Yeoman

With Christianity came education in the Middle Ages, Anglo-Saxon culture reached its peak in the Northumbrian monasteries that produced:

decorated books

An Anglo-Saxon ruler was primarily a warlord who protected his people from attacks and led his followers on:

expeditions

If English pilgrims could not visit sites like Jerusalem, or Rome, or the famous shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain, they could visit:

holy sites in the area

A journey to a sacred site is called a:

pilgrimage

One way to express religious devotion in the Middle Ages was to undertake a:

pilgrimage