Introduction
“The Canterbury Tales” is an unfinished collection of stories mostly in verse, fitted into a literary framework. Geoffrey Chaucer, its author imagines a group brought together by the fact that all of them intend to make a pious pilgrimage to the shrine of the famous saint, Thomas a Becket at Canterbury.
Just outside of London, they meet by chance at an inn kept by a jolly fellow, Harry Bailey. Bailey discovering that they are all bound for the saint’s shrine suggests that they all travel as a group and that to avoid boredom, each traveler tells two tales – one going and the other, returning. He proposes that each tell his best stories and prepares a meal in honor of the winner.
Main body
The “Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales tells the reader how the pilgrims met at Tabard Inn and describes some members of the company. The descriptions are interesting for a number of reasons. Firstly, they form a series of perfect character sketches of various classes of society in 14th century England. They range from the highborn and dignified knight to the humble Plowman. Each is typical of his profession or social status. From Chaucer’s “Prologue”, we can learn more about what a group of medieval English people was like.
Secondly, each picture is such that the reader can almost see the person being described. Chaucer even enumerates the battles in which the knight had participated. Thirdly, the various characters are depicted with sympathy and gentle humor. Lastly, the language and versification are adapted to the poet’s purpose.
As the highest in rank among the Canterbury pilgrims, the knight stands first. Although he has traveled widely and served the slate in many wars, he has never lost the high ideals of truth, honor, liberality, and courtesy that marked the gentleman of the 14th century.
“….there was a knight, a gallant man, who from the time he first rode forth to fight had been a lover of chivalry, of truth and honor, courtesy and humility. He had fought worthily for his king and was renowned also for his prowess in distant lands both Christian and heathen. He had made expeditions in Lithuania and in Russia, no knight of his degree so often; and many a time in Prussia he had sat at the head of the table alone all the knights of other nations there… Everywhere he had known renown, and though he was so worthy, yet was he modest, and as gentle in his manners as a maiden. Never in all his life had he spoken to anyone a discourteous or unseemly word.
He was indeed a very perfect, gentle knight. For his equipment, his horses were good, but he himself was not so gaily dressed. His doublet was of plain fustian.. for he had lately come from the wars, and was making his pilgrimage in thanksgiving for his safe return.” (Cross, Smith and Stauffer, 1931).
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th president of the United States is our counterpart of Chaucer’s knight. “He is the son of Joseph P. Kennedy, former U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, he attended schools in Brookline and New York, Choate Preparatory School in Connecticut, the London School of Economics, and graduated from Harvard University, cum laud.
He enlisted in the Navy in 1941 and served with rank as lieutenant, as a PT boat commander in the Southwest Pacific. A combat hero, he was credited with rescuing crew members after his boat was rammed near the Solomon Islands. Awarded the Navy and Marine Corps medal for “extremely heroic conduct” he received a Purple Heart for injuries sustained in his back.
Kennedy was elected Democratic Representative for Congress in 1946, and again in 1948 and 1950. He entered the Senate in 1952 Kennedy was elected by the smallest percent of the popular vote in history and in 1961 became the youngest man to serve as president.” (Groiler Encyclopedia, 1961).
The Prioress, a nun, is the head of a convent near London. She is the highest woman in social rank among the pilgrims. The author does justice to her amiability and tenderness of heart.
“There was a nun, too, a Prioress, with a quiet smile on her face, Madame Eglantine. Well able she was to chant the divine service and she spoke French fairly and fluently, after the school of Stratford at Bow, for the French of Paris was known to her. If ever she swore, it was by St. Loy. Her manners were courteous; and on the table she took her food in a seemly fashion, letting no morsel fall from her lips, and dipping only the tips of her fingers in the sauce. She carried her food to her mouth so that not a drop fell upon her breast, and she wiped her lips so clean that no grease was to be seen in her cup after she had drunk.
Mirthful she was, too, and pleasant, though she cultivated a courtly bearing and desired to be held worthy of reverence. Her heart was so kind and pitiful that she would weep if she saw a mouse caught in a trap. Some little dogs, too, she had, which she fed with roast meat, or milk and waste bread; and surely she would weep if one of them died or struck with a stick, so tenderhearted was she, and full of feeling.
The Prioress was tall and had a fair, wide, forehead; her eyes were gray, her nose well-formed, and her mouth was small soft, and red. She wore a close-pleated wimple and a cloak neatly fashioned, and on her arm, she carried a rosary of coral beads, with green goodies.” (Cross, Smith and Stauffer, 1931).
The modern equivalent of Chaucer’s Prioress is Mother Teresa of India. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun with Indian citizenship. In 1950, she founded the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata (Calcutta), India. Over forty years, she dedicated her life ministering to the poor, sick, orphaned, abandoned, and dying while guiding the congregation’s expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.
Her fame became internationally renowned in the ’70s as a humanitarian and advocate for the poor and helpless. This was due in part to a documentary, written by Malcolm Muggeridge entitled Something Beautiful for God. In 1979 she won the Nobel Peace Prize and Indian’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna, in 1980 for her humanitarian work. Her congregation, Missionaries, and Charity continued to expand that at the time of her death, it operated 610 missions in 123 countries, including hospices and homes for people with HIV/ AIDS, counseling programs, orphanages, and schools. Following her death, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
The knight in Canterbury Tales can be likened to modern times’ John F. Kennedy in terms of being a witness to battles and exhibiting courage in times of turmoil. The prioress, to Mother Teresa who both have pure hearts and have no dearth for pity and kindness for their fellow beings.
Conclusion
Had Chaucer carried out his plan and finished, the Canterbury Tales, we should have had more than a hundred tales, but he wrote only about two dozen. He did, however, write enough to show how great was his genius as a narrator and how rich a supply of plots existed in England. Chaucer, like Shakespeare, borrowed most of his plots from older sources, allowing his imagination to work upon the old material until it glowed with life and beauty. The tales told by the Canterbury pilgrims form a collection almost unparalleled for variety and charm. When will another Chaucer come along?
Works Cited
Cross, Smith and Stauffer, English and American Writers, 1931.
Groiler Encyclopedia, Groiler Incorporated New York, 1961.