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GEOFFREY CHAUCER:
HIS JOURNEY OF THE CANTERBURY TALES
THESIS: The Knight, Squire, Prioress, The Monk and the Friar are defined by their
settings in Geoffrey Chaucer's Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.
1. Portnoy says in his article in the Chaucer Review that The General Prologue is like a
mirror reflecting the individuals appearance which then defines the character of that
person. (281)
2. Scanlon backs up Portnoy in his article from Speculum by saying ...Characters
descriptions somehow emerge inevitably from the original intentions of Chaucer's text or
reflect its lasting value. (128)
3. Russell remarks in his book Chaucer & the Trivium: The Mindsong of the Canterbury
Tales:
There is something that seems natural and almost unavoidable in the structure of the
individual portraits in the General Prologue: How else could you describe the characters
without passing judgment on them? (62)
KNIGHT
The Knight is defined by his settings.
1. Andrew says in The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue:
The Knight is described as having no name, no family seat, no manor house, and no lands.
Furthermore, his obsession with foreign service indicates a lack of feudal ties and bears
all the marks of a career of a landless knight, without family or possessions in England.
(80)
2. Andrew says The Knight is described as an aged veteran warrior, with whom the stern
realities of life have sobered down much of his early romance. (43)
3. The Knight fought in his sovereign's wars in both Christian and heathen places, which
shows he is a holy and honorable man by he followed his king's commands, and he fought
for religious purposes.
4. Roggiers reiterates that statement in his book The Art of the Canterbury Tales by
saying The Knights Tale is Chaucer's own established pole of thought,
philosophico-chivalric and religious, implying the ideals by which the community lives
and prospers. (10)
5. The Knight never said anything boorish, showing he was a wise man.
6. He possessed fine horses, showing he was looked upon as a great man because me must
have been given the horses for something good he did, because he couldn't afford them
normally.
7. He wore a fustian tunic, stained and dark with smudges where his armor had left a
mark, showing he was a very simple man not worried about his appearance.
8. After he finished serving in wars, he came home to do his pilgrimage and render
thanks, showing he was religious and a hard worker.
SQUIRE 
The Squire is defined by his settings.
1. The Squire had wonderful agility and strength displaying how he was prepared and fit
to be a warrior and has chivalrous qualities.
2. The Squire's shirt was embroidered like a meadow, bright and full of fresh flowers,
red and white, illustrating he was concerned with his appearance and getting a lover.
3. He was singing and fluting all day, always joyful and trying to meet a lady.
4. He knew how to sit on a horse and ride; he could recite songs and poems; he could
joust and dance, draw, and write, showing he was almost flawless.
5. Andrew says in The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue The Squire is like the
Knight with the germ or perhaps greater perfection skill, as he blends literature and the
arts with his warlike studies. (43)
6. Andrew goes even further by saying The Squire is described as a young, loving,
enthusiastic, poetical, romantic, and an accomplished aspirant for military honours.
(43)
7. The Squire wanted to serve his father, illustrating he was a loyal person.
PRIORESS
The Prioress is defined by her settings.
1. Frendell says The opening description of the Prioress reveals a strong connection
between appearance and the Prioress's intentions.(Chaucer Review, 185).
2. Hussey also backs up that statement by saying in his book An Introduction to Chaucer
The Prioress's portrayal of lack of religious dedication reflects her immorality. (126)
3. The Prioress had very good manners, for example, no morsel fell from her lips, and she
never dipped her fingers in the sauce too deep, showing she was brought up in a rich
family.
4. She fed her little dogs with roasted flesh, milk, and fine white bread, showing she
still had the best in life and was not living in poverty like a nun should. 
5. The Prioress wore a coral trinket on her arm, had a rosary that gaudies were colored
in green, and a gold broach which said Amor Vincit Omnia, depicting a nun who still had
many valuable possessions.
6. The Prioress traveled with another nun and three priests, showing she was respected.
MONK 
The Monk is defined by his settings.
1. Blake says The monk was depicted as an outrageous and superficial man illustrating his
inability to follow the guidelines of his profession, in his article Chaucer's Text and
the Web of Words. (226)
2. The Monk had many dainty horses in his stable, saying he wasn't as dedicated to living
as a monk as he should be.
3. The Monk ignored all the traditional rules of being a monk and made his own rules,
which says he was not as religious as he appeared.
4. The Monk was a hunter, showing he didn't mind killing, and hunters were known for not
being religious men.
5. Monks were supposed to engage in manual labor, but he said that St. Augustine could do
his labor himself, saying he wasn't a dedicated monk.
6. The Monk had the best greyhounds there were, showing he never gave up all possessions
to become a monk.
7. The Monk was a fat man, showing that he spoiled himself with food and he was a
glutton.
FRIAR
The Friar is defined by his settings.
1. The Friar charged for marriages, gouging everybody for what they were worth, although
he should have married people for a lot less, thus, making him greedy.
2. The Friar would give people a penance for their sins for a fee, showing his greed.
3. The Friar kept a tippet stuffed with pins, and pocketknives to give to girls, showing
he was lecherous.
4. The Friar sang and played the hurdy-gurdy, and knew the taverns well in every town,
showing he was a jolly and fun man.
5. The Friar wouldn't go around the lepers, beggars, and scum, because it was not fitting
with the dignity of his position; he would only be around the rich and victual-sellers,
showing he was a stuck up man.
6. The Friar arbitrated disputes for a small fee, showing he was not dedicated to his job
and he would not help anyone out without a fee.
CONCLUSION: The Knight, Squire, Prioress, Monk, and the Friar are defined by their
settings in Geoffrey Chaucer's Prologue to The Canterbury Tales.
Work Cited
Andrew, Malcolm. The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue. Norman: University of
Oklahoma, 1993.
Blake, Norman. Chaucer's Text and the Web of Words. New Perspectives in Chaucer
Criticism. Ed. Donald M. Rose. Norman: Pilgrim Books Inc, 1980.
Chaucer, Geoffrey. Prologue to The Canterbury Tales. England in Literature. Eds. John
Pfordrester, et.al. Inglewood Cliffs: Foresman, 1972.
Fredell, Joel. Late Gothic Portraiture: The Prioress and Philippa. Chaucer Review, 23(May
10, 1989):181-191.
Hussey, Maurice. An Introduction to Chaucer. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1972.
Portnoy, Phyllis. Beyond the Gothic Cathederal: Post Modern Reflections in the Canterbury
Tales. Chaucer Review, 28(May 31, 1994):279-292.
Roggiers, Paul G. The Art of the Canterbury Tales. Milwaukee: The University of Wisconsin
Press, 1965.
Russell, J. Stephen. Chaucer & the Trivium: The Mindsong of the Canterbury Tales. Miami:
University Press of Florida, 1998.
Scanlon, Larry. A Variorum Edition of the Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 2: The Canterbury
Tales: The General Prologue Speculum, 72(January 1997):127-129