"The Tale of Melibee" (also called "The Tale of Melibeus") is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. This is the second tale in the collection told by Chaucer himself. After being interrupted by the host Harry Bailly, Chaucer launches into one of the longest and some would say most boring of all the tales. While some scholars have treated the tale as a joke, it is a faithful rendering of the ''Liber consolationis et consilii'' by Albertanus of Brescia and is no less serious than the articles of faith laid out later in "

The Parson's Tale "The Parson's Tale" seems, from the evidence of its prologue, to have been intended as the final tale of Geoffrey Chaucer's poetic cycle '' The Canterbury Tales''. The "tale", which is the longest of all the surviving contributions by Chaucer's ...

". Chaucer seemingly tells this story in revenge, as his first story,

Sir Thopas Sir Thopas is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer, published in 1387. The tale is one of two—together with The Tale of Melibee—told by the fictive Geoffrey Chaucer as he travels with the pilgrims on the journey to Canterbury ...

, was interrupted and compared to a

turd Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

. Complaining of Sir Thopas's ', Bailly requests a

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the f ...

tale with '. In response, Chaucer tells The Tale of Melibee, which is exactly that. Bailly, seemingly pleased with this tale, says he wishes his wife had heard it as she might learn something from Dame Prudence. The tale is a translation of the ''Livre de Melibée et de Dame Prudence'' by Renaud de Louens. Renaud's work itself is a very loose translation of ''Liber consolationis et consilii'' by Albertanus of Brescia, suggesting the tale's popularity. The tale's length has resulted in its omission in some modern English editions, such as

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 ...

's translation.

Plot

The story concerns Melibee who is away one day when three enemies break into his house, beat his wife Dame Prudence, and attack his daughter, leaving her for dead. The tale then proceeds as a long debate mainly between Melibee and his wife on what actions to take and how to seek redress from his enemies. His wife, as her name suggests, counsels prudence and chides him for his rash opinions. The discussion uses many

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

s and

quotes Quote is a hypernym of quotation, as the repetition or copy of a prior statement or thought. Quotation marks are punctuation marks that indicate a quotation. Both ''quotation'' and ''quotation marks'' are sometimes abbreviated as "quote(s)". Co ...

from learned authorities and the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts o ...

as each make their points. Dame Prudence's discussion of marriage mirrors those of the

Wife of Bath "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 himsel ...

and the wife in "

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 ...

".The Canterbury Tales Summary and Analysis - Chaucer's Tale of Melibee
/ref>

References

External links

*

* ttp://eleusinianm.co.uk/redShalfleet/rs23melibeus.html "Chaucer's own tale of Prudence and Melibee" – a plain-English retelling for non-scholars. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale Of Melibee Melibee, The Tale of