Canterbury Tales Flashcards
(37 cards)
Court ; the knights son, young, talented, dressed fashionably, loved the ladies, wrote poetry & played music, fought honorably in battle
Squire
Commoner ; traveled w the knight, talented forester, tended to the knights land & kept it spotless
Yeoman
Church ; priest & nuns traveled w her, not a good example of nun, more concerned w her appearance and reputation than practicing religion, cared about animals more than humans
Prioress (nun)
Church ; bad example, didn’t out the bows he took, modernized, thought reading was out of date, liked to hunt, had expensive items
Monk
1st estate ; professional beggar, liked wealthy people, spent time drinking at bars, could get money from the poorest of the poor, needed to pay off young women & their families for inappropriate behavior w them
Friar
Mid. class commoner ; business man, deep in debt, beard symbolized lifestyles, well-dressed, hated his wife
Merchant
2nd estate ; book smart but no common sense, not sociable, borrowed money from friends, used money to buy books instead of things he needed, horse was very thin
Clerk
Knew everything there is to know about law so he won all of his cases, didn’t put much effort into job because he was naturally talented
Sergeant at Law
Court ; wealthy land owner, generous, liked by all, tries to smooth over arguments, loved food, resembled Santa
Franklin
Commoner ; haberdasher (hat maker), dyer, carpenter, wanted to show off wealth especially their wives, thought of themselves as royalty
Tradesman
Kitchen is a health hazard, heavy drinker, festering sore that resembles one of the deserts he makes, issues with manciple
Cook
Dangerous man, used dagger if he was angry, would make you walk the plank if angry, great navigator, thief
Shipman
Wealth, very greedy, would only see the wealthy, had a deal w the pharmacists that financially helped him, concerned w gold
Physician
Successful business woman, not successful in marriages, very manipulative, believes marriage would be better off w the woman in charge
Wife of Bath
1st estate ; holy man, had a parish, nothing kept him from tending his needs, very poor, not corrupted by $ or power, Christ-like, doesn’t like telling tales, his tale is a sermon
Parson
Commoner ; the parsons brother, good Christian mindset, gave what little he had to the less fortunate, did all the dirty work & took pride in it, never complained
Plowman
Rude & obnoxious, dishonest, big & burly, could open a door w his head, liked causing trouble, drank often, not well-liked, played bagpipes, hated the Reeve
Miller
Not well-liked, bad tempered, stole $ from employer, employer asked for loans, no one would rat him out bc they were scared of him, he knew info about people & used it as blackmail against them
Reeve
2nd estate ; ugly man, children afraid of his appearance, stinky because he ate onions & garlic often, job was to summon those to the church, took bribes from people, traveled with the pardoner
Summoner
Church ; well groomed, unsure of sexuality, Chaucer said he was a great singer but sounded just like a goat, made profit by being dishonest, married around “holy” objects
Pardoner
Worked for company of lawyers, in charge of supplies, uneducated but was able to steal $ from the lawyers who gave people advice on how to keep money
Manciple
Where were Chaucer’s pilgrims headed?
Canterbury to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket
What was the purpose of traveling in groups?
For safety & companionship
What 3 segments were represented in Chaucer’s pilgrims?
Court, church, estates
