General
Prologue: The Franklin through the Pardoner
Fragment
1, lines 331–714
Summary
The white-bearded Franklin
is a wealthy gentleman farmer, possessed of lands but not of noble birth. His
chief attribute is his preoccupation with food, which is so plenteous in his
house that his house seemed to snow meat and drink (344–345). The narrator next
describes the five Guildsmen, all artisans. They are dressed in the livery, or
uniform, of their guild. The narrator compliments their shiny dress and mentions
that each was fit to be a city official. With them is their skillful Cook, whom
Chaucer would praise fully were it not for the ulcer on his shin. The hardy
Shipman wears a dagger on a cord around his neck. When he is on his ship, he
steals wine from the merchant he is transporting while he sleeps.
The taffeta-clad Physician
bases his practice of medicine and surgery on a thorough knowledge of astronomy
and the four humors. He has a good setup with his apothecaries, because they
make each other money. He is well acquainted with ancient and modern medical
authorities, but reads little Scripture. He is somewhat frugal, and the
narrator jokes that the doctor’s favorite medicine is gold.
Next, the narrator
describes the slightly deaf Wife of Bath. This keen seamstress is always first
to the offering at Mass, and if someone goes ahead of her she gets upset. She
wears head coverings to Mass that the narrator guesses must weigh ten pounds.
She has had five husbands and has taken three pilgrimages to Jerusalem. She has
also been to Rome, Cologne, and other exotic pilgrimage sites. Her teeth have
gaps between them, and she sits comfortably astride her horse. The Wife is
jolly and talkative, and she gives good love advice because she has had lots of
experience.
A gentle and poor village
Parson is described next. Pure of conscience and true to the teachings of
Christ, the Parson enjoys preaching and instructing his parishioners, but he
hates excommunicating those who cannot pay their tithes. He walks with his
staff to visit all his parishioners, no matter how far away. He believes that a
priest must be pure, because he serves as an example for his congregation, his
flock. The Parson is dedicated to his parish and does not seek a better
appointment. He is even kind to sinners, preferring to teach them by example
rather than scorn. The parson is accompanied by his brother, a Plowman, who
works hard, loves God and his neighbor, labors “for Christ’s sake” (537), and
pays his tithes on time.
The red-haired Miller loves
crude, bawdy jokes and drinking. He is immensely stout and strong, able to lift
doors off their hinges or knock them down by running at them with his head. He
has a wart on his nose with bright red hairs sticking out of it like bristles,
black nostrils, and a mouth like a furnace. He wears a sword and buckler, and
loves to joke around and tell dirty stories. He steals from his customers, and
plays the bagpipes.
The Manciple stocks an Inn
of Court (school of law) with provisions. Uneducated though he is, this manciple
is smarter than most of the lawyers he serves. The spindly, angry Reeve has
hair so short that he reminds the narrator of a priest. He manages his lord’s
estate so well that he is able to hoard his own money and property in a miserly
fashion. The Reeve is also a good carpenter, and he always rides behind
everybody else.
REFERENCE
BLAMIRES,
ALCUIN. Chaucer, Ethics, and Gender. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press, 2006.
BROWN,
PETER, ed. A
Companion to Chaucer. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, reprint
edition 2002.
CHAUCER,
GEOFFREY. The Riverside Chaucer. Ed. Larry Benson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1987.
COOPER,
HELEN. The Structure of THE
CANTERBURY TALES. London: Duckworth Press, 1983.
HOWARD,
DONALD. The Idea
of THE
CANTERBURY TALES. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.
KNAPP,
PEGGY A. Chaucer and the Social Contest. New York:
Routledge, 1990.
PEARSALL,
DEREK. The Canterbury Tales. London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1985, reprint
edition 1993.
WETHERBEE,
WINTHROP. Chaucer: THE
CANTERBURY TALES. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition 2003.
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