The Canterbury Tales
Pilgrims
The Knight
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Estate #2
A soldier, knight just back from the Crusades
Wore a stained tunic with blood, dirt
Honest, generous, wise, modest, a true and gentle
knight
• Fought in 15 mortal battles, distinguished in battle
The Squire
• Estate #2
• A knight in training (armor and shield bearer for the knight)
• Wears embroidered clothes with red/white flowers; has a short gown
with long, wide sleeves
• Average height, curly hair
• Likes to flirt with girls/women, is respectful and courteous
• The knight’s son, 20 years old, can dance, sing, write poetry, joust,
play the flute
Yeoman
• Estate #3
• The knight’s servant, a forester (outdoorsman)
• Wears a green coat with hood, has bow and arrows made of
peacock feathers, has a hunting horn
• Head shaped like a nut, very tan (brown face)
• Neat, orderly, smart, loyal, strong
• Wore a St. Christopher’s medal, an excellent shot with bow and
arrow, knows woodcraft well
Prioress/Nun
• Estate #1
• 2nd in command of a convent for nuns; took vows of poverty, chastity,
and obedience
• Wore a charming cloak, a coral bracelet, rosary beads, and a gold
brooch with the motto, “Love Conquers All”
• Has an elegant nose, gray eyes, small red mouth, wide forehead,
speaks in a nasly voice and she is “plump” (not skinny)
• Pleasant, friendly, neat when she eats, compassionate to animals
rather than the poor, tender hearted
• Her name is Madame Eglantyne, speaks French, kept and feed
dogs, 1 other nun and 3 priests ride with her
Monk
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Estate #1
Monks are members of religious orders who live entirely in a
monastary
Has sleeves lined with fur, wears a gold pin tied in a lover’s knot,
wears supple, expensive boots, horse bridles had bells
Bald, greasy face, fat, bulging eyeballs
Likes modern ways, doesn’t like hard labor, fun, friendly
Owns expensive horses, loves to hunt and has greyhounds, rides a
brown palfrey horse, loves good food
Friar
• Estate #1
• Friars are members of the Franciscan order and they can live and
move between the monastery and the community. Friars can hear
confessions
• Wears expensive clothes
• Has a nice voice, but spoke with a lisp, has a white neck
• Happy, popular, visits the taverns (bars), money hungry=greedy
• Named Hubert, plays the harp and the hurdy-gurdy
Merchant
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Middle class
Merchants buy and sell goods/merchandise
Wears a multi-colored dress, a beaver hat, and boots with buckles
Has a forked beard and solemn voice
Very knowledgeable businessman, knows a good bargain,
respected
• Very much in debt (irony)
Oxford Cleric
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Middle class
A student and tutor
Wears a threadbare coat and old, torn clothes
Is skinny, pale and has a sober stare
Is studious, thankful, quiet, respectful, and spends all his
money on books
• Rides a skinny horse
Sergeant at Law
Lawyer
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Middle class
A lawyer who hears cases and can draft deeds, documents
Wears a multi-colored coat and pin-striped silk belt
Is discreet, wise, seems busier than he really was, well spoken,
good memory
• Memorized all laws and court cases since “King William’s time,” but
doesn’t think for himself
Franklin
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Middle class
A well to do land owner, but not of noble birth
Has a white, silk purse and a dagger
Has white beard with a ruddy (red) complexion
Happy, generous, enjoys the “good life,” popular
Had the “party house” which was always full of food and
wine
Guildsman
• Trade class
• There were 5 men in a guild or trade: a haberdasher, carpenter,
dyer, weaver, and carpet maker
• Well dressed “trim and fresh”, knives lined with silver not brass
• Concerned about their appearances, proud of their professions and
their money
• Brought their wives who liked to be “seen”; middle class trades were
growing which brought these men more money
Cook
• Trade class
• A very good cook, can bake, fry, boil, roast,
simmer and stew sauces, popular with the
people
• Has an oozing ulcer on his knee, ? Doesn’t have
good hygiene?
Skipper
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Trade class
Captain of a ship
Wears a woolen knee length gown with a dagger on a lanyard
Very tan, bearded
A good fighter, a thief, dishonest, likes to drink, excellent sailor
Made prisoners “walk the plank,” knew the stars and constellations
and sea currents, stole wine from the stock he transported on his
ship, a pirate, didn’t ride horses very well
Doctor
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Middle class
Doctor
Wore bright red clothes lined with bluish gray
Very healthy
Very skilled doctor, knowledgeable about medicine and diseases (for
that time period); loves gold but does not spend a lot of money; is
not religious
• Knows astrology (zodiac) and astronomy (the stars); works with the
pharmacists to get more money from people
Wife of Bath
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Middle Class
Wife, was a skilled seamstress prior to marriage
Wore expensive clothes, red stockings, large hat, new shoes
Gap teeth, large hips, pretty, somewhat deaf
Liked to laugh and talk, got mad if she was not first at the alter
Had 5 husbands, travelled a lot, been to Jerusalem 3 times among
other places/pilgrimages
Parson
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Estate #1
Priest of an independence church (Protestant, not Catholic)
Wears simple clothes
Well educated, devout, generous, hardworking, patient, holy
“Practiced what he preached”, took care of his parishioners (church
congregation) in all types of weather, the ideal priest/pastor
Plowman
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Estate #3
A farm laborer
Wears a tabard smock (short jacket made of coarse material)
Honest, hard working, loves God with all his heart, helps the poor,
pays his tithes on time, lives in peace and harmony with God and his
neighbors
• His brother is the Parson
Miller
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Estate #3 (peasant)
Grinds grain into flour
Wore a white coat with a blue hood, sword and buckler at his side
Weighted 16 stone (224 pounds), stout and strong, red beard, had a
wart at end of his nose with hairs growing from it; dark and wide
nostrils
• Greedy and dishonest, tells dirty jokes, brags about his strength
• Pulled doors from their hinges, overcharged for grain that he ground
for customers, plays the bagpipes
Manciple
• Trade class
• In charge of ordering, buying, and storing food at colleges,
monasteries, and/or law offices
• Illiterate, but very smart at his job; watched the market for good
deals, shrewd
• Stashed money away for himself, in charge of 30 lawyers
Reeve
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Middle class
The manager of an estate
Wears a long, blue overcoat, has a rusty bladed knife at his side
Old, thin, has a short beard and short haircut, skinny legs
Bad tempered, feared like the “plague,” intimidating, a great
bargainer, efficient and capable at his job
• Could predict next year’s crops by studying nature, rode a dapple
gray horse named Scot; a master carpenter
Summoner
• Estate #1
• Summoned people to appear before the church court=someone
today delivering a subpoena for court
• Has boils and pimples on his face, narrow eyes, thin beard, scabby
eyebrows, wears a garland on his head (taverns/bars would put a
garland outside their door so people would know it was a bar)
• Loves garlic, onions, and leeks; likes to drink (get drunk); will bribe
people to “lose their summons”;
• Children are afraid of his face, knows everyone’s secrets/business,
only knows a few Latin phrases=not very smart
Pardoner
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Estate #1
Sells pardons for the church to sinners
Wears a little cap, no hood
Long, yellow, shoulder-length hair (blonde), bulging eyeballs, no
beard
• Most corrupt of the pilgrims, sells fake religious relics, takes
advantage of poor people
• Sings the loudest at offerings