"The Manciple's Tale" is part of

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

''. It tends to appear near the end of most manuscripts of the poem, and the prologue to the final tale, "

The Parson's Tale "The Parson's Tale" is the final tale of Geoffrey Chaucer's fourteenth-century poetic cycle '' The Canterbury Tales''. Its teller, the Parson, is a virtuous priest who takes his role as spiritual caretaker of his parish seriously. Instead of t ...

", makes it clear that it was intended to be the penultimate story in the collection. 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 ...

, a purchasing agent for a law court, tells a

fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

about Phoebus

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

and his pet

crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly, a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term "raven" is not linked scientifically to any certain trait but is rathe ...

, which is both an

origin myth An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place a ...

explaining the crow's black feathers and a moralistic injunction against gossip.

Prologue

In the tale's prologue, the Host tries to rouse the

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

to tell a tale, but he is too drunk. The Manciple insults the Cook, who falls semi-conscious from his horse, but they are reconciled by the Host and the Manciple offers the Cook another drink to make up.

Plot

In the main plot of the tale, Phoebus has a crow which is all white and can speak. Phoebus also has a wife, whom he treasures but keeps shut up in his house. He is very jealous of his wife: The Manciple digresses to say that one cannot tame a creature to remove its essential nature; no matter how well-fed a tame cat may be, it will still attack mice instinctively. Similarly, Phoebus's wife takes a lover of low estate; the crow reveals their secret, and Phoebus in rage kills his wife. In his grief afterwards, he regrets his act and blames the crow, cursing it with black feathers and an unmelodious voice. The Manciple ends by saying it is best to hold one's tongue, and not to say anything malicious even if it is true.

Sources

The ultimate source for the tale is

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

's ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

''. Chaucer probably knew several French versions, such as that in the

Ovide moralisé Ovide may refer to: * Ovide, a brand name for the insecticide malathion * Ovide, a character in the animated television show '' Ovide and the Gang'' * Ovide Plouffe, a character in '' The Crime of Ovide Plouffe'' * Ovide River, Quebec, Canada Peop ...

and Machaut's ''Voir dit''. Adaptations were popular in Chaucer's time, such as one in

John Gower John Gower (; c. 1330 – October 1408) was an English poet, a contemporary of William Langland and the Pearl Poet, and a personal friend of Geoffrey Chaucer. He is remembered primarily for three major works—the ''Mirour de l'Omme'', ''Vox ...

's ''Confessio Amantis''.

References

External links

Read "The Manciple's Prologue and Tale" with interlinear translationModern Translation of the ''Manciple's Tale'' and Other Resources at eChaucer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manciple's Tale The Canterbury Tales Poetry based on Metamorphoses