Summary of the prologue to The Canterbury Tales

THE PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES

                                                                                              - Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English Literature, was born in London in the year

1340. Chaucer was not a professional writer, but a courtier and civil servant who successfully

served three kings in a long and varied career. He died in1400 and he was buried in Westminster

Abbey, later this place came to be called the Poet’s Corner. The framework of the Canterbury

Tales is based on that of Boccaccio’s Decameron. Both are collections of Tales. This poem

represents a cross-section of the England of Chaucer’s time. It has bestowed on the poet the twin

titles, “The Father of English Poetry” and “The Father of the English Novel”.

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines. The

tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together

on a journey from London to Canterbury in order to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at

Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Tales is unanimously seen as Chaucer’s magnum opus.

He uses the tales and the descriptions of this character to paint an ironic and critical portrait of

English society at the time, and particularly of the church. Chaucer portraits characters like

Noble Knight, the Honorable Clerk, the Rich Landowner, the Worldly and Crude Wife, Vulgar

Miller and Carpenter and the Corrupt Pardoner. Although these characters are fictional, they still

offer a variety of insights into the customs and practices of the times.

THE PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES

The Canterbury Tales begins with a prologue in which Chaucer sketches the various men

and women who are grouped together and going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The narrator

opens the prologue with a description of the return of spring. He describes the April rains,

burgeoning flowers and leaves, and the chirping birds. Around this time of year, the narrator

says, people begin to feel the desire to go on a pilgrimage. Many devotee English Pilgrims set

off to visit shrines in distant holy lands, but even more choose to travel to Canterbury to visit the

relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, where they thank the martyr for having

helped them when they were in need.

The narrator says that as he was prepared to go on such a pilgrimage, staying at a tavern

in Southwark called the Tabard Inn, when a company of twenty-nine people descend on the inn,

preparing to go on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. After talking to them, he agrees to join them on

their pilgrimage. Yet before the narrator goes any further in the tale, he describes the

circumstances and the social rank of each pilgrim. He describes each one in turn starting with

the highest status individuals.

The narrator begins by describing with the Knight. The Knight is a noble man. He loves

truth, honour, freedom and courtesy. The Knight has fought in many battles for his country and

religion and always been honoured for his worthiness and courtesy-wherever he went, he has

been praised for his valor. In addition to being worthy and brave, says the narrator, the Knight is

modest and meek as a maid. He never speak ill of anyone. The Knight is dressed in a „fustian‟

tunic, made of coarse cloth, which is stained by the rust from his coat of chainmail, because he

has come straight from a battle-field to join the pilgrimage.

The narrator next describes the Knight’s son, a Squire, who is a lively and a lusty

bachelor. He is a young man of twenty, like his father, the Squire also participated in many

battles. He is in love with a girl and always sings and dances or plays on the flute. He dresses

fashionably. His short gown has long sleeves and is embroidered with floral designs. The

Squire is so passionately in love that he sleeps no more than a nightingale. This shows his

restlessness. The Squire is a bit vain; he does always act in accordance with his social position.

The only servant the Knight has with him is the Yeoman, who wears a green hood and

coat. The Yeoman takes great care of his bow and sharp, keen peacock arrows. He has closely

cropped hair and tanned skin. On his arm he wears a bright arm guard and carried a sword as

well as a dagger. The Yeoman also wears a badge of St. Christopher.

The Prioress, a nun named Madame Eglentyne is the next. She sings sweetly the religious

services. She speaks French elegantly, though in an English accent and has excellent table

manners. The Prioress is so charitable and compassionate; the narrator says that, whenever she

sees a mouse caught and bleeding in a trap, she weeps. She keeps small dogs with her. The

Prioress wears a wimple draped to show off her well-formed nose, grey eyes, and small red

mouth. She wears a coral rosary with green beads with the inscription „Amor Vincit Omnia‟

(Love conquers all).

The narrator notes that a Second Nun rides with the Prioress as well as a Chaplain and

three priests.

The Monk is next, an extremely fine and handsome man. The Monk is contrary to the

Prioress. He loves to hunt instead of studying in cloisters. He is a good horseman and rides

along with a pack of swift greyhounds. His head is bald and his face glows as if he had been

rubbed with oil. He is a plump, lively man whose eyes gleam like fire under a cauldron. In

short, he is an epicurean.

The Friar is expected by the Franciscan order to which he belongs to support himself by

begging. He is licensed to begin a certain district. He is a limiter, that is, the area within which

only he is authorized by the authorities to beg is limited. He is also expected to nurse beggars

and lepers. But he has thrown these religious duties to the winds. He moves only with rich men

and women and, listening to their insincere confessions, absolved them because he is paid by

them. He marries off young women who were formerly his mistresses. He cannot weep for his

sins: instead of tears and prayers, he gave silver to poor friars.

The Merchant wears a forked beard. He is dressed in a multicolor cloak, fur hat, and

boots. He speaks slowly, weighing the profit of expressing his opinions. He does excellent

business as a merchant, and never being in debt.

The Clerk follows the merchant. He is an Oxford University student. He would rather

have twenty books by Aristotle than rich clothes or musical instruments and dressed in

threadbare clothes. Though he is a philosopher, he has not found the philosopher‟s stone. He

only has a little money, which he tends to spend on books and learning. He takes his studies

very seriously, and whenever he speaks, his speech is full of moral virtue.

The Man of Law is referred as “A Sergeant of the Law”. He shares some of the good

qualities of the Clerk of Oxford. He is an excellent buyer of land. The Man of Laws is

extremely busy and pretends to be even busier than he is. No one could ever find a flaw in his

legal documents. He has much knowledge. But he misuses his knowledge, acquiring property

through crooked methods and cheating his clients and extorting money from them.

The Franklin is a free tenant of the Crown, holding his land without having to render any

military service or pays any rent. He travels with the Man of Law. He is a white-bearded,

cheerful landowner whose main goal in life is pleasure and delight. He is found of drinking and

eating. His house is always full of meat pie, fish and meat. The food changes with the seasons,

but it is always abundant.

A Haberdasher and a Carpenter, a Weaver, a Dyer and a Tapestry – Maker are next

described. These five pilgrims are dressed well like a guildmen with brightly polished belts and

knives. None of these pilgrims, in the end, actually tell a tale.

The guildmen hired a cook for the journey. The cook, Roger de Ware, is very skillful.

But, to offset all his skills, there is an ugly gangrene on his chin.

The Shipman is an expert navigator with a thorough knowledge of currents, storms and

the other dangers that he has to face in his job. When he was on his ship, he stole wire from the

merchant, whose goods he was transporting, while the merchant slept. When he wins a naval

battle, he throws into the ocean those prisoners who are a burden to him.

A doctor of Physique is the next pilgrim described, clad in red and blue, and no-one in

the world can match him speaking about medicine and surgery. He knows the cause of every

malady based on the four humors: hot, cold, moist and dry. But he knows very title about the

Bible. The narrator says the doctor saved much of what he earned: gold is the best medicine. So

the Physician loves gold best.

The Wife of Bath is one of the much-discussed women characters of Chaucer. She was

slightly deaf. If anyone brings alms before her, she becomes extremely angry. On the way to

Sunday mass, she wraps her head in scarves that the narrator says must weigh ten pounds. She is

proud and quick tempered. The Wife of Bath has been married five times and has gone on three

pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome and Boulogne. She is gap-toothed. The Wife of Bath speaks

from the voice of authority, and although she is no longer young and beautiful, she has a wealth

of worldly knowledge. She is probably a widow, because only women who have been widowed

would have the money and power to travel as widely and freely as she does.

A Parson from a small town is also among the company. He is poor in wealth but rich in

holy thoughts and deeds. This Parson practices what he preaches. He is a learned man, who

truly preaches Christ’s gospel, and devoutly teaches his parishioners. Neither rain nor thunder

nor sickness prevents him from visiting his parishioners: he picks up his staff and walk to all

corners of his parish. He is a shepherd, not a mercenary. The Parson wants to draw people

closer to God through graciousness and kindness.

The Parson’s brother, the Plowman, is next described, who, although poor in goods, is

rich in holy thoughts and work. He is a faithful worker who worships God and loves his

neighbour as he loves himself. He pays his tithe regularly. He wears a loose workman‟s tunic

and rides on a mare.

A miller comes next. He is a burly workman who always wins prizes at wrestling. He

has a head and beard of thick red hair and his nostrils and mouth are enormous. The Miller is a

buffoon who told dirty stories and played the bagpipes; he steals corn, yet has a “thombe of gold‟

– through his character Chaucer implies, there are no honest Millers.

A Manciple is the next pilgrim to be described. He is a business agent, purchaser of

religious provisions and a savvy financial operator. He is always ahead in his dealings! Even

though he is uneducated, he is cleverer than the lawyers he serves and is able to deceive them all.

A Reeve is a man attached to a manor. The Reeve is a slender, coleric man with a closely

cropped beard and stick-thin leg. No auditor can ever catch him. He knows the accounts of his

lord‟s estate extremely well, and all the farm-managers, herdsmen and servants fear him. The

miserly Reeve has hoarded so much money that he is wealthier than his lord. He is talented

carpenter and he always rides last among the company.

The Summoner is next and he has a disease that makes his face bright red and pimpled,

gives him scaly skin and makes his beard fall out. No medicine or ointment can treat the

pustules. He loves onions and garlic, and when he drinks; he speaks only in Latin – at least, the

few Latin phrases he knows. He also knows how to swindle (trick) people.

Pardoner is Summoner’s friend and his companion. His voice is as high as a goat’s. He

is the last pilgrim – teller to be described. He carries a wallet full of pardons come from Rome.

He is sexually ambiguous. He has a thin, boyish voice.

After providing descriptions of all the pilgrims who have assembled at the tavern in

Southwark, the narrator begs the reader’s forgiveness for anything unseemly in the tales, as the

narrator is simply trying to report the pilgrims‟ words and characters as plainly and truthfully as

he can. Whoever tells a tale about a man, he says, must repeat it word for word so that he does

not tell falsehoods or make up words.

The narrator returns to the story of the first night he spent with the pilgrims. The Host is

the last member of the company described, an excellent master of ceremonies and a cheerful

man. He is a large man with bright, large eyes and an extremely fair man. The Host welcomes

everyone to the inn, and announces the pilgrimage to Canterbury and he proposes that each

pilgrim must tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two more tales during the return

journey. Whoever tells the tale most meaningfully they shall have supper at the cost of all of the

other pilgrims, back at the Inn, once the pilgrimage returns from Canterbury. All the pilgrims

agree to the Host’s suggestions, and agree to accord to the Host’s judgment as master of the tale telling game. Next day morning, the Host awakes, raises everyone up and gathers them together.

After they ride a mile or two, the Host reminds them of the agreements of the night before. The

Host says that they must draw lots to see who will tell the first tale. He gives the privilege of

drawing the first straw to the Knight, in deference to his rank. The Knight draws the short straw

and nobly accepts the challenge.

In the description of the most prominent of his pilgrims Chaucer’s powers are shown at

their very highest, and The Prologue is a masterpiece of insight, sureness to touch, fine

discrimination and subtle humour. The Prologue is a picture gallery, the first and finest

specimen we have in English literature of the literature of characters. His descriptive power

enables him to present characters that are at once typical, universal and individual. The most

remarkable feature of The Prologue is the assembly of the portraits of the pilgrims. The portraits

highlight Chaucer’s finished art of character-drawing, his realism and his sense of humour.