Characters of the
Canterbury Tales
Satire in Chaucer’s “General
Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales
Criticism through humour
⦿Estates Satire: each class or
profession is described to show how
it fails the ideal, implying a moral
judgment.
What is Satire?
⦿Satire is the use of humor, sarcasm,
irony, or wit to point out vice or
human folly to scorn and ridicule in
the hopes for change
⦿ Itworks to make vice laughable and/or
reprehensible and thus bring social pressure
on those who still engage in wrongdoing.
What is Satire?
⦿Satire usually attacks types or
stereotypes -- the fool, the boor, the
adulterer, the proud -- rather than
specific persons.
Medieval society
⦿Before the end of feudalism, and the
consolidation of the middle class, people were
grouped as follows:
1. Those who fight (knights)
2. Those who pray (clergy)
3. Those who labour (workers)
Knights
⦿ A warrior who relies on
the code of chivalry.
⦿ Knights were most known
for their fights abroad: in
France or the Crusades, so
they were often well
traveled.
Chaucer’s Knight
● distinguished ● NOT satirized
● followed chivalry ● He represents all that
● truthful, honorable is good about
● ridden into battle knighthood and
● honored for his nobility.
graces ● Idealised character
● fought in many battles
● modest, humble
● not boorish
● a true, perfect knight
Squires
⦿ A knight in training, he
should have many of the
same qualities that we
see in the knight
⦿ Oftena younger man of
wealth or position
Chaucer’s Squire
● lover ▶ “loved so hotly that till
● curly locks: vain dawn grew pale/He
● has fought in nearby slept as little as a
battles so he could nightingale”
impress the lady he ▶ courteous and
loves (courtly love) serviceable when father
● sings, dances and is around
writes poetry ▶ contrast with father
● could “joust and dance”
Yeomen
⦿ Heis a forester, and is
well-versed in woodcraft
and hunting.
⦿ He would be responsible
for helping find food and
shelter
Chaucer’s Yeoman
● wears coat & hood of ● wears St. Christopher
green medal (patron saint of
● is servant to knight, yet travellers)
a freeman ● a “proper forester”
● feathers perfectly made ● NOT satirized.
in arrows ● Good example from the
● knows his business as middle class
an archer and does it
well
Prioresses
⦿ A high ranking nun, this
is one of the few
positions a woman could
find power/ authority.
⦿ Itis usually a high born
woman who chose to
serve the Church instead
of getting married
Chaucer’s Prioress
● coy (falsely modest, flirtatious)
● known as Madam Eglantyne (not
a religious name)
● struggles to show grace,
manners, and sophistication, to
pretend to be high class
● speaks French because she has
learned at a school, not as
mother tongue (unlike nobility)
● owned hunting dogs (not proper
for her) yet was overly upset
when a mouse died
● fed dogs roasted flesh and fine
food while people were starving
Chaucer’s Prioress
● breaks church rules: owns pets
(small dogs), which she feeds
with luxurious food
● charity & generosity to animals
● NO reference to her attitude to
people in need
● seductive physical description:
improper for a nun
● wears expensive jewellery
(trinket, brooch)
● unreligious “Amor vincit omnia”
Strong implicit satire
Monks
⦿ Church academics that
live secluded in
monasteries.
⦿ Oaths of poverty, chastity,
humility, sometimes
silence, etc.
⦿ His job would be to copy
over texts and tend to the
daily tasks of the
monastery
Chaucer’s Monk
● Shouldn’t be outdoors ● expensive clothing (fur
● Rides and owns fine on sleeve) when monk is
horses & hunting to be poor
dogs, which he was ● fat (opposite of his vows)
not to do ● attitude of a nobleman
● ignores rules of his unsuitable for the church
order: considers them ● glittering, bulging eyes
old-fashioned (physiognomy)
● was “progressive” but
supposed to be poor
Strong implicit satire
Friars
⦿ Friars are homeless.
They work to help the
sick and the poor
⦿ Friars are beggars that
depend on good will of
those they help to live
⦿ They give up any
material possession
Chaucer’s Friar
● “fixed up” marriages
● “intimate” with city dames
● claims to have licence
from Pope to hear
confessions--charged ● brute: would butt down doors
money as penance with his head
● gifts to girls ● begs money even from
poorest, whom he is to help
● knows taverns and
● charges money on “settling
barmaids well
days”
● white neck, lisp (physiog.) ● wears clothes as costumes
● wanton (lecherous)
Strong implicit satire
Merchants
⦿ Merchants were a new
class at this time
⦿ They were the nouveaux
riche (newly rich) and
often obsessed with wealth
⦿ They often had more
money than the
aristocracy.
Chaucer’s Merchant
● forking beard
(physiognomy)
● sense of authority:
gave many opinions Mild satire
● dabbles in exchanges
● pretends to be rich and
stately
● in debt and no one
knows it from the way
he talks
Clerks
⦿ Scholars or students
studied at Oxford for
two main jobs: to be a
lawyer or a clergy man
⦿ These were men (never
women!) of high birth
and fortune who could
afford the education
Chaucer’s Oxford Cleric
(Student)
● hollow look ● was “book smart” but
● threadbare clothing “life dumb”
● could not find a job in ● speaks little and
the church gravely
● is too unworldly for ● sense of superiority
secular employment ● unconcerned about
● borrows money from others
friends, never repays
Mild satire
Sergeants at Law
⦿ He’s a lawyer.
⦿ Thisjob is very much
the same now as it was
then
⦿ He mostly works to
draw up contracts-
including property
buying.
Chaucer’s Sergeant at the Law
● an experienced lawyer ● could argue cases
● expert on real estate either way with
law impunity
● all was “fee-simple” to ● ambitious: no real
his strong digestion care for justice
● found loopholes in law
to deprive heirs of their
land
Mild satire
Franklins
⦿ A franklin is a free land
owner, although not a
member of the nobility
⦿ Wealthy landlord without a
title of nobility
⦿ Recent a social position in
Chaucer’s time, when the
feudal system deteriorated.
Chaucer’s Franklin
● wealthy landowner ● obscene waste of food
● lives for pleasure, at times of famine
particularly “Epicurean” ● tries to compensate for
delights: unchristian his lack of title by
● enjoys his food, has a showing off
table prepared all day
long
Strong satire
Guildsmen
⦿ Haberdasher ⦿ These men are all
members of a guild, or a
⦿ Dyer union, which is another
recent innovation from
⦿ Carpenter Chaucer’s time.
⦿ Weaver ⦿ They are specialized
craftsmen
⦿ Tapestry Maker
⦿ Thisunion helped to give
them more esteem and
respect.
Chaucer’s Haberdasher, Dyer,
Carpenter, Weaver, and Carpet-
Maker
● treated as a single ● ambitious wives: want to
character be called “Madam” and
● wealthier than expected to be “seen” like a
●impressive gear queen
● political aspirations ● they carry their own
(“alderman”) servant (Cook), unlike
richer characters
Mild satire
Cooks
⦿ This is a low level
servant’s position.
Cooks normally worked
in the kitchen as boys--
untrained
⦿ Cooks were responsible
for obtaining good meat,
cooking, and preserving
it
Chaucer’s Cook
● could distinguish London ale
by flavor (which was quite
cheap): drinks a lot
● has an ulcer on his knee
(probably from cooking at
open pot): not hygenic
●made good thick soup
●made good blancmange
(yellow-white, thick, creamy
chicken soup--much the color
of what might be in the ulcer) Mild satire
Skippers
⦿ He is a tough military man
who can navigate an ocean
and stand his own in a
fight.
⦿ Notnormally good at
dealing with “civil
society”
Chaucer’s Skipper
● not good at riding (does ● ignores conscience:
his best with a farmer’s unchristian
horse) ● kills his prisoners
● tanned (a mark of low
breeding)
● steals wine from traders
Strong satire
Doctors
⦿ Not like the professional
doctors we have today,
they were often “quacks”
at worst or pharmacists at
best
⦿ In the Medieval times,
they believed that all
disease was due to humors
(fluids) that were out of
balance.
Chaucer’s Doctor
● grounded in astronomy ● greedy: loves gold
& astrology, as most ● makes money during
doctors in the Middle Black Death: almost
Ages were immoral
●not very religious:
● business with does not read the Bible
apothecaries (modern
day laboratories) Strong satire
Medieval women
⦿ Women were not allowed many
rights during the Medieval Ages,
including holding a job or
property.
⦿ Widows had more freedom
⦿ Their job was to take care of the
home and family, so they were
often uneducated and illiterate.
Chaucer’s Wife of Bath
(woman from Bath)
● Five-time widow
● Professional: a weaver
● tight, red clothing
● half-deaf: speaks loudly
● gap-teeth (seductive)
● large hips
● Experienced: “knew the
remedies for love’s No satire in GP
mischances
Parsons
⦿ The lowest level of
priest. He is given care
of a small parish, and is
responsible for all who
live there.
⦿ Thisis a poorly paid
position, but he is given
a home to live in
Chaucer’s Parson
● holy-minded
● poor
● learned
● devout
● patient
Idealised character: redeeming
member of the Church
Chaucer’s Parson
● noble
● a shepherd
● virtuous rich in holy
thought
● served the poor
● gave own money
● practiced what he
preached
● NOT satirized
Idealised character
Plowmen
⦿ Poorfarmers: a ploughman is a farmer that does not have
his own land.
⦿ He makes his living through hard, manual labor
Chaucer’s Plowman
● honest hard worker, ● honest: always pays
good and true his tithes in full
● follows the Bible ● Parson’s brother
● helps poor by working
for free
Idealised character: redeeming
member of the working class
Millers
⦿ He runs a mill to grind
flour from wheat and
grain
⦿ Often millers cheated
the farmers they worked
with by overcharging
them. Because of that,
they were often thought
of as thieves.
Chaucer’s Miller
● great stout fellow
● brute: boasts he could
heave any door off the
hinge or break it with his
head
● red beard (similar to a
fox: cunning)
●disgusting: wart on end
of nose with tuft of hair; ●“stole”grain with his
black wide nostrils “thumb of gold”
●told filthy tavern stories ● plays bagpipes
(unsuitable for Strong satire
pilgrimage!)
Manciples
⦿ A Manciple is someone
that runs a college or
business.
⦿ (Think
mid-level
manager…)
⦿ Usually these are college
educated men that have
training as a lawyer
Chaucer’s Manciple
● buyer of food for the 30 ● wise in practical
Knights of the Temple matters, though
(lawyers) ● lived debt free on what
● got to market early to he “saved”
get best values ● deceived his masters
● was illiterate and is proud of it
(boasts about it to the
rest)
Strong satire
Reeves
⦿ A reeve is a servant that
runs a rich man’s house.
(We might think of him as
a butler.) He is usually
elected from among the
servants
⦿ This servant also has
another trade that he is
responsible for as well as
the run of the home.
Chaucer’s Reeve
● supervisor of the serfs ● was a carpenter
● calfless legs ● rode at back of
● no one ever caught procession
him in arrears ● hated the Miller
● knew the serfs’ ● IS satirized
dodges, so they
feared him
● better at bargains
than his lord
Strong satire
Summoners
⦿ Summoners delivered
subpoenas for the
church court
⦿ Thisis a low ranking
position in the Church
Chaucer’s Summoner
● face like a cherubin ● drinks wine ‘til all was
(irony) hazy: shouts in Latin
● carbuncles and ● takes bribes: quart of
pimples wine or “favors” from
● black scabby brows, women
thin beard ● threatens people with
● frightened the children excommunication
● loves garlic, onions, ● grotesque description
leeks and strong wine
(stinky breath!) Very strong satire
Pardoners
⦿ Pardonerssold
Indulgences to raise
money for the Church.
• An indulgence was a way to
“buy your way out of hell”
⦿ LikeFriars, they did not
have a home base, but
traveled from town to
town as a missive from
Rome
Chaucer’s Pardoner
● effeminate appearance
● similes of animals
● hair: rat-tails, like wax
● bulging eyeballs like a hare
● goat-like voice
● carries pardons from Rome
●could not grow a beard
● like a gelding or mare
Very strong satire
Chaucer’s Pardoner
● corrupt: sells fake relics
(pillow case = Virgin Mary’s
veil
● gobbet of Peter’s sail
● pigs’ bones
● good at singing and
oratory
Very strong satire
Hosts
⦿ An Innkeeper
⦿ They were usually very jolly to
put people at their ease.
⦿ Inns were a combination of a
restaurant and hotel, so the more
comfortable the people were, the
more money the innkeeper made
Chaucer’s Host
● serves fine food ● return trip would mean
● suggests the tale-telling another round of meals
contest and lodging
● prize will be a meal in ● he will be sole judge of
his tavern for the the tales
winner paid for by the ● accompanies the
others pilgrims to Canterbury
● businessman ● provides framework for
the tales
The Narrator
⦿ Thenarrator is also called
Chaucer
⦿ Different from author: he
is an unreliable narrator
⦿ Simple-minded,
superficial: he does NOT
pass judgment on the
other pilgrims
The Narrator
⦿ Chaucer,the pilgrim vs
Chaucer, the author
⦿ disclaimsresponsibility
for what he relates
⦿ claimshe will repeat
verbatim what others say
Nature of the Tales
● variety of genres
● tale suits its teller
● commonly told stories
● stories were interactive
with other tales
● Friar told a tale to insult
the Monk and vice versa
● Reeve told a tale to insult
the Miller, etc.
