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Order Of The Canterbury Tales
'' The Canterbury Tales'' is a collection of stories, mostly in verse, written by Geoffrey Chaucer chiefly from 1387 to 1400. They are held together in a frame story of a pilgrimage on which each member of the group is to tell two tales on the way to Canterbury, and two on the way back. Fewer than a quarter of the projected tales were completed before Chaucer's death. It is uncertain in what order Chaucer intended the tales to appear; moreover it is very possible that, as a work-in-progress, no final authorial order of tales ever existed. Several different orders are evident in the manuscripts of the work; in addition certain orders and structures of the Tales have been proposed by scholars. Key The table below enumerates all the pilgrims mentioned in the General Prologue, plus two that materialise later in the tales, and the stories they tell. It also compares the orders in which stories appear in various sources. * Pilgrim — The designation of each pilgrim in the General ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The tales (mostly written in verse (poetry), verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the The Tabard, Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return. It has been suggested that the greatest contribution of ''The Canterbury Tales'' to English literature was the popularisation of the English vernacular in mainstream literature, as opposed to French, Italian or Latin. English had, however, been used as a literary language centuries before Chaucer's time, and several of Chaucer's contemporaries—John Gower, W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Squire's Tale
"The Squire's Tale" is a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. It is unfinished, because it is interrupted by the next story-teller, the Franklin, who then continues with his own prologue and tale. The Squire is the Knight's son, a novice warrior and lover with more enthusiasm than experience. His tale is an epic romance, which, if completed, would probably have been longer than rest of the ''Tales'' combined. It contains many literary allusions and vivid descriptions. The original source of the tale remains unknown. According to some critics the source of the tale is ''The Arabian Nights''. Plot Genghis Khan ("Cambyuskan" in Chaucer's version) leads the Mongol Empire with two sons, Algarsyf and Cambalo, and a daughter, Canace. At the twentieth anniversary of his reign, he holds a feast, and a strange knight sent from "the kyng of Arabe and of Inde" approaches him bearing gifts, a motif common in Arthurian legends. These are a brass horse with the power of telepor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wife Of Bath's Tale
"The Wife of Bath's Tale" ( enm, The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe) is among the best-known of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. It provides insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages and was probably of interest to Chaucer himself, for the character is one of his most developed ones, with her Prologue twice as long as her Tale. He also goes so far as to describe two sets of clothing for her in his General Prologue. She holds her own among the bickering pilgrims, and evidence in the manuscripts suggests that although she was first assigned a different, plainer tale—perhaps the one told by the Shipman—she received her present tale as her significance increased. She calls herself both Alyson and Alys in the prologue, but to confuse matters these are also the names of her 'gossib' (a close friend or gossip), whom she mentions several times, as well as many female characters throughout ''The Canterbury Tales''. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote the "Prologue of the Wife of B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Physician's Tale
"The Physician's Tale" is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'', written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century. It is a domestic drama about the relationship between a daughter and her father, based on a tale from the Histories of Titus Livius and retold in ''The Romance of the Rose,'' as well as John Gower's ''Confessio Amantis,'' which Chaucer drew on for inspiration, and the biblical story of Jephtha. Although difficult to date like most of Chaucer's tales, the Physician's tale is usually regarded as an early work of Chaucer probably written before much of the rest of the ''Canterbury Tales'' was begun. The long digression on governesses possibly alludes to a historical event and may serve to date it: in 1386 Elizabeth, the daughter of John of Gaunt, eloped to France with John Hastings, 3rd Earl of Pembroke. Elizabeth's governess was Katherine Swynford, who was also Gaunt's mistress and later wife. Chaucer's words on the virtues of governesses were potentially influenced by this. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shipman's Tale
"The Shipman's Tale" (also called ''The Sailor's Tale'') is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It is in the form of a fabliau and tells the story of a merchant, his wife and her lover, a monk. Although similar stories can be found in Boccaccio's ''Decameron'', a frequent source for Chaucer's tales, the story is a retelling of a common type of folktale called "the lover's gift regained". Plot The tale tells of a merchant whose wife enjoys revelry and socializing, on which she spends money. A young monk, who is close friends with the merchant, comes to stay with them. After confessing that she does not love her husband, the wife asks the monk for one hundred franks to pay her debts. The monk, without her knowledge, borrows the money from the merchant to give to the wife, at which point she agrees with the monk: :"That for thise hundred frankes he sholde al nyght :Have hire in his armes bolt upright;" (lines 315–316) The monk volunteers the information tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Cook's Tale
Geoffrey Chaucer presumably never finished "The Cook's Tale" and it breaks off after 58 lines, although some scholars argue that Chaucer deliberately left the tale unfinished. The story starts telling of an apprentice named Perkyn (a.k.a. Perkin) who is fond of drinking and dancing. Perkyn is released by his master and moves in with a friend who also loves to drink, and whose wife is a '' shopkeeper'' whose real occupation is that of a prostitute. The tale continues the general downward trend of the preceding tales—the Knight's, the Miller's and the Reeve's tale—into ever-more-seedy stories. Its length makes finding a source impossible, but it is thought by some scholars to be a retelling of contemporary events, with a Roger Knight de Ware being mentioned in several manuscripts of the time. In 25 of '' The Canterbury Tales'' MSS (notably Harley MS 7334 and Corpus Christi 198) the Cook's unfinished tale is followed by the anonymous Tale of Gamelyn, and it has been suggeste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Franklin's Tale
"The Franklin's Tale" ( enm, The Frankeleyns Tale) is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It focuses on issues of providence, truth, generosity and ''gentillesse'' in human relationships. Synopsis A medieval franklin was free, non-serf yet did not have noble status, and this pilgrim's words when interrupting the Squire are often seen as displaying his sense of an inferior social status. The story opens and closes by recounting how two lovers, Arveragus and Dorigen, decide that their marriage should be one of equal partnership, although they agree that, in public, Arveragus should appear to have overall authority to preserve his high status. Arveragus then travels to Britain to seek honour and fame. He leaves Dorigen alone in France near the coastal town of Pedmark (today Penmarc'h) in Armorik (or Brittany as it is now known). She misses her husband terribly while he is gone, and is particularly concerned that his ship will be wrecked on the black rocks of Bri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man Of Law's Tale
"The Man of Law's Tale" is the fifth of the ''Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer, written around 1387. John Gower's "Tale of Constance" in ''Confessio Amantis'' tells the same story and may have been a source for Chaucer. Nicholas Trivet's ''Les chronicles'' was a source for both authors. Wurtele provides a detailed compilation of the differences between Trivet's Chronicle and the poems of Gower and Chaucer. Gower strove for vividness and shortened the tale in places. Chaucer expanded the tale and emphasizes the holiness of Constance and how she was favoured by heaven. Hagiographic motifs are most abundant in Chaucer's version, e.g. “the miracles God works though Custance and the way she is miraculously fed while at sea”. 2Wurtele observes that Chaucer makes frequent use of the adjective "hooly" but Gower never uses this word. Synopsis (References here are to line numbers in both Man of Law's Tale (MLT) and Confessio Amantis (CA).) Constance (Custance in Chaucer) is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Clerk's Tale
"The Clerk's Tale" is the first tale of Group E (Fragment IV) in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. It is preceded by The Summoner's Tale and followed by The Merchant's Tale. The Clerk of Oxenford (modern Oxford) is a student of what would nowadays be considered philosophy or theology. He tells the tale of Griselda, a young woman whose husband tests her loyalty in a series of cruel torments that recall the biblical Book of Job. Plot The Clerk's tale is about a marquis of Saluzzo in Piedmont in Italy named Walter, a bachelor who is asked by his subjects to marry to provide an heir. He assents and decides he will marry a peasant, named Griselda. Griselda is a poor girl, used to a life of pain and labour, who promises to honour Walter's wishes in all things. After Griselda has borne him a daughter, Walter decides to test her loyalty. He sends an officer to take the baby, pretending it will be killed, but actually conveying it in secret to Bologna. Griselda, because of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Merchant's Tale
"The Merchant's Tale" ( enm, The Marchantes Tale) is one of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. In it Chaucer subtly mocks antifeminist literature like that of Theophrastus ("Theofraste"). The tale also shows the influence of Boccaccio (''Decameron'': 7th day, 9th taleThe ninth tale of Book VII of the Decameron. See Summary of Decameron tales), Deschamps' , by Guillaume de Lorris (translated into English by Chaucer), Andreas Capellanus, Statius, and Cato. The tale is found in Persia in the Bahar Danush, in which the husband climbs a date tree instead of a pear tree. It could have arrived in Europe through the '' One Thousand and One Nights'', or perhaps the version in book VI of the '' Masnavi'' by Rumi. Though several of the tales are sexually explicit by modern standards, this one is especially so. Larry Benson remarks: The naming of the characters in this Tale is riddled with satirical nomenclature: Januarie, the main character, is named in conjunction with his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Friar's Tale
"The Friar's Tale" ( enm, The Freres Tale) is a story in ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer, told by Huberd the Friar. The story centers on a corrupt summoner and his interactions with the Devil. It is preceded by The Wife of Bath's Tale and followed by The Summoner's Tale. Plot summary On the way to extort money from a widow, the Summoner encounters a yeoman who is dressed in Lincoln green, a costume worn by outlaws and poachers. The two men swear brotherhood to each other and exchange the secrets of their respective trades, the Summoner recounting his various sins in a boastful manner. The yeoman reveals that he is actually a demon, to which the Summoner expresses minimal surprise—he enquires as to various aspects of hell and the forms that demons take. Each makes a vow with the other to take whatever is offered to them and share it between them. During their travels, they come upon a carter whose horses have become temporarily stuck. Frustrated, he says that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Monk's Tale
"The Monk's Tale" is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Monk's tale to the other pilgrims is a collection of 17 short stories, exempla, on the theme of tragedy. The tragic endings of these historical figures are recounted: Lucifer, Adam, Samson, Hercules, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Zenobia, Pedro of Castile, Peter I of Cyprus, Bernabò Visconti, Ugolino of Pisa, Nero, Holofernes, Antiochus, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Croesus. Some literary critics believe that a large portion of the tale may have been written before the rest of the ''Canterbury Tales'' and that the four most contemporary figures were added at a later point. A likely dating for this hypothetical first draft of the text would be the 1370s, shortly after Chaucer returned from a trip to Italy, where he was exposed to Giovanni Boccaccio's '' Concerning the Falls of Illustrious Men'', as well as other works such as the ''Decameron''. The tragedy of Bernabò Visconti must ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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