The Knight

The Knight is the first character described by the narrator in the

general prologue. He is described as an audacious, prudent man with a

successful military career who has participated in less than fifteen great

crusades of his time. He has battled the Muslims in Egypt, Spain, Turkey and

the Russian orthodox in Lithuania and Russia. He presents some traits of

chivalry such as fidelity, generosity, honor, modesty, and gallantry. He wears

a tunic made of coarse cloth, and his coat of mail is rust-stained, because he

lately came from mission.

Theseus, Lord and Governor of Athens, acquires a wife named

Hyppolita, accompanied with her sister, Emily. They are both from Scythia, a

land that has just been conquered by Theseus. The king of Athens, in his

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quest, undertakes Thebes’ invasion in which he made two cousins and sworn

brothers knights, Acirta and Palamon, prisoners in Athens. When in jail, both

of them realize that they were in love with Emily. The duke Perotheus,

friend of both Acirta and Theseus, ask for his’ Acirta freedom. Acirta was

released and sent to exile while Palamon has later escaped from seven years

of imprisonment. Acirta came back disguised under the name of Philostrate

to retrieve her love. Palamon and Acirta find themselves together and ask

for a duel after revealing their identities. Theseus, instead of killing them,

accords them a tournament with the hand of Emilia as trophy and builds

three temples representing Mars (war), Venus (love) and Diana (chastity).

Palamon implores the help of Venus, Acirta, the one of Mars while Emily asks

to remain virgin. Acirta wins the battle but got seriously wounded following

an earth shaking that causes his horse to throw him and crush his chest.

Acirta dies asking Emily to have Panamon as husband for he is a worthy

knight. Emily and Panamon enjoy a long, loving and happy marriage.

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 The wife of Bath

The wife of Bath is described as a woman who has lot of experiences.

She has done lot of pilgrimages all over the world. She had traveled to

Jerusalem three times and somewhere else in Europe. Her rich clothes show

how much she is a wealthy woman and she has many lands. She had shared

her life with five husbands. She introduces herself as a person who loves

marriages and sex. She always gets what she wanted from men through her

sexual power. She even admits arrogantly to using her verbal and sexual

influence to bring her husbands to total obedience. She is deaf in one ear

and has a gap between her front teeth.

The wife of Bath’s tale deals of course with marriage. During the

golden age of King Arthur, a knight comes across a beautiful young maiden

and sexually abused of her. He was first sentenced for decapitation but

later was given the chance to save his own life. He was given the mission to

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go find out what women want more in their life. His life depends on the

success of the mission. After going across the whole country looking for

concrete answer in vain, he meets an old woman who assures him to help him.

As the woman said, the knight goes and tells to the queen that women strong

desire in the world is to have control over their husband. His life spared, the

knight marries the old woman in return for her help. The old woman noticing

how bad the knight feels to be with her, asks him if he prefers her beauty

or the fact that she is faithful. He tells her to do whatever she thinks is

right. The aged woman feeling that she has being given the power to decide

by herself, took the appearance of a beautiful young lady. The couple lives a

happy marriage and she stays faithful for him.

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 The Pardoner

The Pardoner in Canterbury Tales is described as extremely dishonest

character in the General Prologue. He introduces himself as somebody

extreme gender and sexual orientation beyond social limits. His occupation

resumes to a combination of traveling preaching and selling promises of

salvation. He likes to sing and preach. He offers indulgences for sins to

people who repented of the sin they had committed. The penitent has to

make a donation to the Church by giving money to the Pardoner. Eventually,

the donation goes in his pocket even though he is already paid by the Church

to give these indulgences. He carries with him, in his case, recently signed

papal indulgences and a bag of false relics. The Pardoner has long, greasy,

yellow hair and is beardless.

The Pardoner’s tale is about a group of three young people who spend

their time drinking and reveling. The rioters go in a forest looking for Death

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in order to kill it after they heard about their friend’s death. They meet an

old man who directs them to an oak tree as Death’s refuge. There, they find

eight bushels of gold coins. After discussion about what to do, they finally

stay there and send the youngest one to go buy some bread and wine in town.

The two rioters planned to kill him at his return to keep the entire amount

of gold for themselves. The youngest in town, thinking about how wealthy he

could be if his two friends died, buys some poison that he puts in the wine

bottles. The two insurgents kill the youngest as soon as he comes back. Then

they drink the supposed wine to celebrate and die beside him.

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 The Miller

The Miller is said to have a red hair and loves simple jokes and

drinking. He is qualified for his strength and is said to be able to lift doors

off their hinges or knock them down with his head. He has a wart on his nose

and a big mouth. He possesses a sword and buckler. He is told to steal from

his customers and play bagpipes. His main amusement is to joke around and

tell foul stories.

The Miller’s tale is about Nicholas, a student in Astrology, who was in

love with Alisoun, eighteen years old, married to an old carpenter named

John. John was jealous and extremely possessive on his young wife. Nicholas,

in order to spend the night with Alisoun, planned to trick the carpenter. He

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then told him about a coming deluge that he has seen in his vision. As a plan,

they all have to be in three different tubs placed on the roof in order to

float until the water goes away. John, who believed him, agrees and when to

sleep in one of the tubs on that Monday night. The youths took advantage of

that and went to spend the night together. Absolon, a merry vain parish

clerk who also loves Alisoun, came across and saw the young children

together. Determined to avenge, he went in town to obtain a red-hot iron

poker which he uses to brand Nicholas’s buttocks. John falls from the roof

and bread his arm after hearing Nicholas crying out “Help, water, water!” It

was a huge mock for the whole neighborhood.

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 The squire

He is the knight’s son and is about twenty years old. He is given the

name of squire because he acts like his father’s squire or learner. He is a

strong, handsome, twisted-haired young man embellished with refined

flowers. He likes to catch women’s attention. He is really good in singing,

playing flute, drawing, writing and riding. He respects his father and takes

his responsibilities toward his father.

The squire talks about the princess Canacee, the daughter of King

Cambyuskan and Queen Elpheta of the land of Tartary. She has two

brothers, Cambalo and Algarsyf. During the King’s reign twentieth

anniversary celebration, a knight sent by the king of Arabia and India

entered the hall with four mysterious gifts: A horse that can only be moved

by twirling a peg in its ear and can transport a person safely anywhere in the

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globe in twenty-four hours, a mirror that can reveal an impending mischance

and determine the character of friends and foes, a ring that enables the

wearer to understand the language of any bird and healing properties of all

herbs. He gave that ring to Canacee. The last gift is well sharpened sword

which flat can heal the wounds caused by the edge. The Princess, when

walking in the morning with her maids, found a bleeding peregrine falcon that

told her a tale about a handsome tercelet. The falcon said to her that the

tercelet fall in love with her and a kite and could not choose between them.

Canacee healed the bird with herbs. The tale returns to the king, but

suddenly ends.

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 The Prioress

Known as Madame Eglentyne, she is the second woman among the

pilgrims beside the Wife of Bath. She seems to have some manners of

royalty even though she is not part of a royal court. She speaks French, but

a simple English accent. She like animals and is even compassionated toward

them. She has a dog that she nourishes well. She is said to have an enormous

forehead that makes her be pretty. She wears on her arm a set of prayer

beads from which a gold badge with the Latin words of “Love Conquers All.”

is suspended.

The setting of this tale is an Asian town dominated by Jews.

There was a minority of Christian who opened a school for their children.

There a seven years old student, son of a widow, who was devoted to his

faith. He learned a song in Latin “The Alma Redemptoris” that means to

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praise the Virgin Mary. When coming home, he provoked the anger the Jews

possessed by Satan by singing the song. The hired a murderer who slits the

child’s throat and threw him into a cesspool. Her mother looked for him in

vain, asking the Jews who did not say anything. She finally found him,

injured, singing the song despite of his wounded throat. He was taken to the

Abbey by the other Christians who cursed the Jews who knew of this crime.

Before he was buried, the child began to speak. The story finishes with a

lament on the boy who would surely go to heaven, and a curse on the Jews

who committed this crime.

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