"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 pe ...

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

The Canterbury Tales ''The Canterbury Tales'' () is a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. The book presents the tales, which are mostly written in verse, as part of a fictional storytelling contest held ...

'' 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 w ...

. 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. ...

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 literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, ...

. 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 (Aesop), The Fox and the Crow, it is of more recent origin. The story became well known in Europe because of i ...

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 ...

", 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 subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

) 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 Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

's account of the ''

Dream of Scipio The ''Dream of Scipio'' (Latin: ''Somnium Scipionis''), written by Cicero, is the sixth book of ''De re publica'', and describes a (postulated fictional or real) dream vision of the Roman general Scipio Aemilianus, set two years before he overs ...

''). 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 3,215), who had previously tricked Chauntecleer's father and mother to their downfall, lies in wait for him in a bed of '' wortes.'' 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, geog ...

Russell (line 3,334)'', 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 language, Scots ''makars'', he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in th ...

used Chaucer's tale as a source for his ''

Taill of Schir Chanticleir and the Foxe "The Taill of Schir Chanticleir and the Foxe" is Fabill 3 of Robert Henryson's cycle of thirteen '' Morall Fabillis'' composed in Scotland in the later fifteenth century. It is the first of the fable in the poem to be based on Reynardian and beas ...

'', the third poem in his '' Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian'', 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 of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate. He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...

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 Thetford ...

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 for over sixty years. She received two Caldecott Medals for her work on ''Chanticleer and the Fox'' (1958) and ''Ox-Cart ...

'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. 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 referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

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 ...

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

Ross Lee Finney Ross Lee Finney (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 and the Un ...

. 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 A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

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 and John Hawkins, lyrics by

Nevill Coghill Nevill Henry Kendal Aylmer Coghill (19 April 1899 – 6 November 1980) was an Anglo-Irish literary scholar, known especially for his modern-English version of Geoffrey Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales''. He was an associate of the literary discuss ...

, and original concept, book, and direction by

Martin Starkie Martin Starkie (25 November 1922 – 5 November 2010) was an English actor, writer and director for theatre, radio and television. The Oxford University Poetry Society administers the annual Martin Starkie Prize in his honour. Early life Marti ...

. The ''Nun's Priest's Tale'' section was excluded from the original 1969 Broadway production, though reinstated in the 1970 U.S. tour.

Notes

;General * . ;Specific

External links

Read "The Nun's Priest's Tale" with interlinear translation
Harvard Univ. *https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/English/CanterburyTalesXVI.php Modern Translation of the ''Nun's Priest's Tale'' at Poetry in Translation
"The Nun's Priest's Tale" – a prose retelling for non-scholars

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nun's Priest's Tale The The Canterbury Tales Middle English literature Mock-heroic English poems Reynard cycle Short stories about talking animals

The tale and framing narrative

Adaptations

See also

Notes

External links