Summary
Highlights
Written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 1300s, after the Bubonic Plague, and one of the first English poets to write in Middle English, popularizing the language. The poem is a collection of 24 stories within a frame narrative about pilgrims traveling to Canterbury. Chaucer critiques gender relations, religion, and sexual immorality in English society, using satire to highlight hypocrisy among the nobility, clergy, and peasantry, exposing their worldly preoccupations on a religious journey.
The famous opening lines describe the desire for pilgrimages in April. The narrator, a version of Chaucer, encounters 29 pilgrims at the Tabard Inn. The inn owner, Harry Bailey, proposes a storytelling challenge: each pilgrim will tell four tales (two on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back). The host will judge the best story, with the winner receiving a free supper upon their return.
The Knight, a chivalrous nobleman who fought in crusades, is highly regarded for his worthiness and courtesy, and has a simple, rust-stained tunic. He is accompanied by his son, the Squire, a 20-year-old lover and bachelor with literary ambitions, dressed in embroidered clothes. The Yeoman, a freeborn servant, travels with them, clad in green, carrying arrows with peacock feathers and a Saint Christopher image.
The Prioress, Madame Eglentyne, sings sweetly, speaks French, and exhibits excellent table manners, weeping for a mouse and wearing a 'love conquers all' brooch. She travels with a Second Nun and three priests. The Monk is a modern man who prefers hunting to reading, is well-fed, and has gleaming eyes. The Friar, Hubert, is a merry beggar, licensed to beg, who hears confessions and has a good reputation among landowners and women.
The Merchant wears motley clothes, has a forked beard, and appears successful and debt-free, though the narrator expresses uncertainty about his true character. The Clerk, a scholar from Oxford University, prefers Aristotle's books over riches, spending what little gold he has on learning, and is dressed in a threadbare coat. The Man of Law appears judicious and dignified, with flawless legal writings, riding in a homely multi-colored coat. The Franklin, traveling with the Man of Law, is cheerful, lives for culinary delights, and his house is always stocked with food.
The five Guildsmen (haberdasher, carpenter, weaver, dyer, and tapestry-maker) represent the emerging middle class, all dressed in distinctive guildsman's attire. Roger the Cook accompanies them, skilled in various cooking methods, but suffers from a shin ulcer. The Shipman, from Dartmouth, is tanned, rides a cart horse, and is known for secretly drinking wine and for his extensive knowledge of harbors; his ship is named The Madeleine.
The Doctor of Medicine, clad in red and blue, is authoritative in medicine and surgery, knowing the cause and cure of illnesses, well-read in medical authorities but not the Bible. The Wife of Bath, Alice Owen, is slightly deaf and excels at cloth-making. She wears heavy linen head coverings, has married five times, and has taken multiple pilgrimages. She is gap-toothed and knowledgeable in matters of love.
The Parson is a good, poor, yet holy religious man who travels on foot to visit his parishioners, acting as a noble example to his flock by prioritizing action before preaching. The Plowman, the Parson's brother, is a hardworking man who hauls dung, living in peace and charity, embodying a simple and devout life.
The Miller is strong, winning wrestling matches, able to break doors, and has a large mouth and black nostrils. He steals corn, but Chaucer implies an honest miller is rare. The Manciple is a shrewd business agent and financial operator, capable of deceiving even learned men. The Reeve is a slender, choleric man, an excellent accountant who knows everyone's secrets, instilling fear in bailiffs and servants. The Summoner has a fire-red, pimpled face with narrow eyes, a skin disease, is lecherous, and loves drinking and strong-smelling foods. The Pardoner, the Summoner's friend, sings loudly, has wax-yellow hair, and carries a wallet full of fake pardons from Rome, described as sexually ambiguous.
Harry Bailey, the host of the Tabard Inn, is described as outspoken, merry, large, bold, and bright-eyed. The narrator concludes by stating he has described the social status, clothing, and number of pilgrims, marking the beginning of their journey.