Post on 11-Dec-2015
transcript
Canterbury Tales
3 Types of Social Class Military
Nobility
Knight
Squire
Clergy
Prioress (nun and three priests)
Monk
Friar
Parson
Social Class (con’t)
Laity
Landowners Franklin
Professionals Clerk, Man of law, Guildsmen, Physician (doctor), Shipman
(skipper)
Laborers Cook and Plowman
Stewards Miller, Manciple and Reeve
Church officers Summoner and Pardoner
Knight
Most noble of all of the pilgrims
He has military strength
Chivalric
Polite
Generous
Loyal
Squire
Son of the knight
Apprentice – knight in training
He has fought before in battles, but he is devoted to love
Strong, beautiful, curly-haired young man
Well-dressed in clothes with flowers on it.
Desires the attention of a lady
He enjoys playing the flute, writing, and riding.
He is a dutiful son and cuts his dad’s meat.
Yeoman
Freeborn Servant
Wears green from head to toe
Carries a large bow and feathered arrows
He also has a sword and shield
He is a forrester (knows how to get around the forest).
Prioress Madame Eglentyne
She is not part of the formal court but tries to act like she does.
She eats daintily (reaches for food daintily and delicately)
She speaks French, but with an English accent
She is compassionate towards animals (she cries when she sees a mouse trapped in a trap).
Feeds her dogs: roasted meat and milk– odd for this time, food was scarce.
She has an enormous forehead- this is beautiful for the time.
She wears prayer beads on her arm which hang from a gold brooch with the words “love conquers All”.
Another nun and 3 priests accompany her.
The Monk
Very handsome
Loves hunting
Keeps horses
Outrider– Looks after the monastery’s business with the external world).
His horse’s bridal can be heard jingling in the wind (like a church bell).
He knows that he isn’t supposed to hunt (as per the church), but he thinks that is ridiculous and dismisses those rules.
He is fat, bald, and well-dressed.
Friar
A member of a religious order who lives by begging.
Friar is jovial, pleasure-loving, well-spoken, and socially agreeable.
He hears confessions and gives easy penances for people who donate to the church.
He is popular with wealthy landowners.
He is all about the people who “help him”. He is liked by innkeepers and barmaids (food and drink).
Merchant
Tastefully attired (nice boots, fur hat)
He is a salesman
He borrows money, but is in debt
The narrator doesn’t know his name
Oxford Clerk
A thinker
Threadbare
Student of philosophy at Oxford
Loves books
Serjeant of Law
He was very revered in the group
Lawyer who is well spoken, and writes well.
He knows his case law by heart. He is often appointed by the king as a judge in the court.
He is wealthy and buys a lot of land (he owns it free and clear with no loans).
Franklin
white=-bearded
Wealthy gentleman farmer
Possesses a lot of land, but wasn’t born of nobility.
He has a preoccupation for food (he has plenty).
Guildsman
Artisans--tradesmen
Dressed in uniform of their guild.
The narrator likes their shiny attire. He thinks they are fit to be city officials
Cook
Chaucer feels he is skillful at his profession.
But Chaucer the cook has an ulcer that is put into the food (puss) and therefore, Chaucer can’t eat the food.
Shipman (Skipper)
Wears a dagger on a cord around his neck.
When he is on his ship he steals wine from the merchant (that is what he transports).
Doctor
He practices but he is into astronomy
He has a good set up with apothecaries because they work together to make each other money.
He is aware of modern and ancient medicine information, but isn’t involved in the religion part of the Middle ages.
He is frugal– Chaucer jokes that his favorite medicine is Gold (getting paid).
Wife of Bath
Seamstress
Always the first to offering at Mass.
She gets upset if someone goes in front of her.
She has had five husbands and 3 pilgrimages to Jerusalem.
She has also been Rome, Cologne, and other pilgrimage sites.
Her teeth have gaps between them
She is jolly and talkative. She gives good love advice because of her experience.
Parson Gentle
Poor villager
Pure of conscience
Truly believes in Christ
He enjoys preaching and instructing parishioners
He hates excommunicating those who cannot pay their tithes.
He walks with a cane and visits all of the parishoners no matter how far they live.
He is dedicated to his parish and doesn’t look for a promotion within the church.
He is even kind to sinners and tries to teach by example instead of scorn.
Plowman
Works hard
Loves God and his neighbor
Labors “for Christ’s sake”
Pays his tithes on time
Miller
Red Hair
Makes crude and bawdy jokes
Drinks
Is is stout and strong. He lifts doors off their hinges.
He has a wart on his nose with bright red hairs sticking out of it like bristles.
He has a mouth like a furnace.
He wears a sword and buckeler, and loves to joke and tell dirty stories.
Manciple
He is the administrative assistant of the Inn of Court (school of law).
He is uneducated, but is very smart common sense wise.
Reeve
He is long, tall, and thin
Has short hair (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 from the lord.
He is a good carpenter, and always rides behind everyone else.
Summoner
Arraigns those accused of violating Church law.
When drunk he speaks a few Latin phrases he knows.
His face is bright red from an unspecified disease.
He is corrupt—he uses his power for his own gain.
He uses his power with the young women and tries to have sex with them in his area of jurisdiction.
For example- for a quart of wine, he would let another man sleep with his girlfriend for a year and then not charge him with a crime.
Pardoner
He was just in the court of Rome.
Rides with the Summoner.
He has long blond hair
He sings while he rides.
He thinks he rides very fashionable (nothing covering his head).
He brought a lot of souvenirs from his trip in Rome.
The narrator compares his voice to a goat because it is so high pitched (alluding to the fact that he may be homosexual).
He is disrespectful to the poor (and tries to get money for his own gain).
The pardoner is a good preacher, storyteller, and singer.
Host He is a corrupt figure – named Bailey
The group stayed with the host.
He was a beautiful man
He had bright eyes and a large man
He had bold speech patterns
He was jovial friendly
Shrewd businessman
After he takes their money, he flatters them to make them forget how much money the just gave him.
The word quiet means repay– it is a motif throughout the tales—each characters put in a sort of debt by the previous character’s tale, and must repay him or her with a new tale.
7 Deadly Sins
wrath
greed
sloth
pride
lust,
envy,
Gluttony -- Franklin