The Cook's Tale
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"The Cook's Tale" 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 (poetry), verse, as part of a fictional storytellin ...
'' by
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 ...
. It breaks off after 58 lines and was presumably never finished, although some scholars argue that Chaucer deliberately left the tale unfinished.


Prologue

The Cook (Roger) starts by commenting on the Reeve's tale and then, after a reference to
Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
, asks for his listeners to attend while he tells of a trick that was played in his city (Lines 1 – 19). The host then invites the cook to tell his tale (Lines 20 – 40).


Plot

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. After the tale, The Host later calls upon the Cook for another, but he is too drunk and, after he falls from his horse and is helped back up, the
Manciple A manciple is a person in charge of the purchase and storage of food at an institution such as a college, monastery, or court of law. Manciples were sometimes also in charge of catering more generally, including food preparation. The title sti ...
tells a tale.


Analysis

The tale continues the general downward trend of the preceding tales—the
Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...
's, the
Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...
'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 ''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 ...
'' MSS (notably Harley MS 7334 and Corpus Christi 198) the Cook's unfinished tale is followed by the anonymous
Tale of Gamelyn ''The Tale of Gamelyn'' is a Chivalric romance, romance written in c. 1350 in a dialect of Middle English, considered part of the Matter of England.Cartlidge, Neil and DS Brewer. ''Boundaries in medieval romance'', 2008, , 9781843841555. pp. 29– ...
, and it has been suggested that Chaucer intended to rewrite the tale for the Cook. There is, however, no other connection of Gamelyn with Chaucer and the great difference in tone between that tale and the one the Cook starts suggests that it was inserted by the scribes who copied the manuscripts. Skeat argued instead that Chaucer intended the tale for the Yeoman, who would presumably be more interested in a tale of country life.


Adaptations

Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...
adapted this story in his film
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 ...
. He greatly expanded on the story which is very short at only 58 lines.
Ninetto Davoli Giovanni "Ninetto" Davoli (born 11 October 1948) is an Italian actor who appeared in several of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films. Biography Davoli was born in San Pietro a Maida, Calabria. He was discovered by poet, novelist and film director Pier ...
stars as Perkin. The story includes a lot of
slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...
humor and homages the films of
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
.


Influences

A renowned chef, Dev Biswal, renamed his Canterbury restaurant from 'The Ambrette' to 'Cook's Tale', in a tribute to the Chaucerian character. The tasting menu features such medieval delights as "Ypocras, fortified Kentish wine served with cake; Wastel breed with flavoured beef drippings; Pyk in Brasey; Pigeon with wortes and marybones; Salat of Sawge with Chybollus, Pesen Pottage; Mushroom bake with fecces; Tamworth pork mortreux, Venysoun with roasted chasteynes and Walsh-notes; and poached peres; and Chese."


References


External links


"The Cook's Prologue and Tale", middle-english hypertext with glossary and side-by-side middle english and modern englishModern Translation of "The Cook's Tale" and other resources at eChaucerWalter William Skeat. The Tale of Gamelyn: From the Harleian Ms. No. 7334 (1884)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooks Tale The Canterbury Tales Unfinished poems