"The Nun's Priest's Tale" (

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

: ''The Nonnes Preestes Tale of the Cok and Hen, Chauntecleer and Pertelote'') is one of ''

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, ...

'' by the

poet

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

. Composed in the 1390s, it is a

beast fable An animal tale or beast fable generally consists of a short story or poem in which animals talk. They may exhibit other anthropomorphic qualities as well, such as living in a human-like society. It is a traditional form of allegorical writing. An ...

and

mock epic Mock-heroic, mock-epic or heroi-comic works are typically satires or parodies that mock common Classical stereotypes of heroes and heroic literature. Typically, mock-heroic works either put a fool in the role of the hero or exaggerate the heroic ...

based on an incident in the

Reynard cycle Reynard the Fox is a list of literary cycles, literary cycle of medieval allegorical Folklore of the Low Countries, Dutch, English folklore, English, French folklore, French and German folklore, German fables. The first extant versions of the cyc ...

. The story of

Chanticleer and the Fox Chanticleer and the Fox is a fable that dates from the Middle Ages. Though it can be compared to Aesop's fable of The Fox and the Crow, it is of more recent origin. The story became well known in Europe because of its connection with several po ...

became further popularised in Britain through this means.

The tale and framing narrative

The narrative of 695-lines includes a prologue and an epilogue. The prologue links the story with the previous

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: ...

, a series of short accounts of toppled despots, criminals and fallen heroes, which prompts an interruption from the knight. The host upholds the knight's complaint and orders the monk to change his story. The monk refuses, saying he has ''no lust to pleye,'' and so the Host calls on the Nun's Priest to give the next tale. There is no substantial depiction of this character in Chaucer's "

General Prologue The General Prologue is the first part of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It introduces the frame story, in which a group of pilgrims travelling to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury agree to take part in a storytelling com ...

", but in the tale's epilogue the Host is moved to give a highly approving portrait which highlights his great physical strength and presence. The fable concerns a world of talking animals who reflect both human perception and fallacy. Its protagonist is Chauntecleer, a proud cock (

rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

) who dreams of his approaching doom in the form of a fox. Frightened, he awakens Pertelote, the chief favourite among his seven wives. She assures him that he only suffers from indigestion and chides him for paying heed to a simple dream. Chauntecleer recounts stories of prophets who foresaw their deaths, dreams that came true, and dreams that were more profound (for instance, Cicero's account of the ''

Dream of Scipio A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

''). Chauntecleer is comforted and proceeds to greet a new day. Unfortunately for Chauntecleer, his own dream was also correct. ''A col-fox, ful of sly iniquitee'' (line 3215), who had previously tricked Chauntecleer's father and mother to their downfall, lies in wait for him in a bed of '' wortes.'' Reynard hunting (heaton mid 19th cent)

When Chauntecleer spots this ''

daun Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun. Geography Location The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geogra ...

Russell (line 3334)'', the fox plays to his prey's inflated ego and overcomes the cock's instinct to escape by insisting he would love to hear Chauntecleer crow just as his amazing father did, standing on tiptoe with neck outstretched and eyes closed. When the cock does so, he is promptly snatched from the yard in the fox's jaws and slung over his back. As the fox flees through the forest, with the entire barnyard giving chase, the captured Chauntecleer suggests that he should pause to tell his pursuers to give up. The predator's own pride is now his undoing: as the fox opens his mouth to taunt his pursuers, Chauntecleer escapes from his jaws and flies into the nearest tree. The fox tries in vain to convince the wary rooster of his repentance; it now prefers the safety of the tree and refuses to fall for the same trick a second time. The Nun's Priest is characterised by the way that he elaborates his slender tale with epic parallels drawn from ancient history and chivalry, giving a display of learning which, in the context of the story and its cast, can only be comic and ironic. But in contrast, the description of the poor widow and the chicken yard of her country cottage with which the tale opens is true to life and has been quoted as authentic in discussions of the living conditions of the mediaeval peasant. By way of conclusion, the Nun's Priest goes on to reconcile the sophistication of his courtly performance with the simplicity of the tale within the framing narrative by admonishing the audience to be careful of reckless decisions and of ''truste on flaterye.''

Adaptations

Robert Henryson Robert Henryson (Middle Scots: Robert Henrysoun) was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among the Scots ''makars'', he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the Northern Renai ...

used Chaucer's tale as a source for his '' Taill of Schir Chanticleir and the Foxe'', the third poem in his ''

Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian ''The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian'' is a work of Northern Renaissance literature composed in Middle Scots by the fifteenth century Scottish makar, Robert Henryson. It is a cycle of thirteen connected narrative poems based on fables f ...

'', composed in or around the 1480s. Later, the poet

John Dryden '' John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...

adapted the tale into more comprehensible modern language under the title of ''The Cock and the Fox'' (1700). In 2007, the playwright

Dougie Blaxland James Martin Hilary Graham-Brown (born 11 July 1951) is a former English professional cricketer and schoolteacher. He is now a playwright who writes under the pen name Dougie Blaxland. Early life and education Graham-Brown was born at Thetfo ...

wrote a comic verse play ''Chauntecleer and Pertelotte'', roughly based on the ''Nun's Priest's Tale''.

Barbara Cooney Barbara Cooney (August 6, 1917 – March 10, 2000) was an American writer and illustrator of 110 children's books, published over sixty years. She received two Caldecott Medals for her work on ''Chanticleer and the Fox'' (1958) and '' Ox-Cart Ma ...

's adaptation for children with her own illustrations, ''

'', won the

Caldecott Medal The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

in 1959. Another illustrated edition of the tale won the 1992

Kerlan Award The Kerlan Award is a literary award given by the University of Minnesota's Kerlan Collection, a special library focusing on children's literature. Many awards focus on the finished product, but the Kerlan Award is given based on the creative proc ...

. This was ''Chanticleer and the Fox – A Chaucerian Tale'' (1991), written by Fulton Roberts with Marc Davis' drawings for a

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

cartoon that was never completed. Among musical settings have been

Gordon Jacob Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE (5 July 18958 June 1984) was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about m ...

's ''The Nun's Priest's Tale'' (1951) and the similarly titled choral setting by

Ross Lee Finney Ross Lee Finney Junior (December 23, 1906–February 4, 1997) was an American composer who taught for many years at the University of Michigan. Life and career Born in Wells, Minnesota, Finney received his early training at Carleton College a ...

. Another American adaptation was

Seymour Barab Seymour Barab (January 9, 1921 – June 28, 2014) was an American composer of opera, songs and instrumental and chamber music, as well as a cellist, organist and pianist. He was best known for his fairy tale operas for young audiences, such as ' ...

's comic opera ''Chanticleer''. In the UK Michael Hurd set the tale as ''Rooster Rag'', a pop cantata for children (1976).Details online
/ref> A full-length musical stage adaptation of ''

'', composed of the Prologue, Epilogue, ''The Nun's Priest's Tale'', and four other tales, was presented at the Phoenix Theatre, London on 21 March 1968, with music by Richard Hill & John Hawkins, lyrics by

Nevill Coghill Nevill Henry Kendal Aylmer Coghill (19 April 1899 – 6 November 1980) was an English literary scholar, known especially for his modern English version of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. Life His father was Sir Egerton Coghill, 5th ...

, and original concept, book, and direction by Martin Starkie. The ''Nun's Priest's Tale'' section was excluded from the original 1969 Broadway production, though reinstated in the 1970 US tour.

Notes

;General * . ;Specific

External links

Read "The Nun's Priest's Tale" with interlinear translationModern Translation of the ''Nun's Priest's Tale'' and Other Resources at eChaucer

* ttp://www.luminarium.org/medlit/nunspriest.htm Online resources {{DEFAULTSORT:Nun's Priest's Tale The The Canterbury Tales Middle English literature Mock-heroic English poems Reynard cycle

The tale and framing narrative

Adaptations

See also

Notes

External links