Summary of The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

The system of collecting stories and linking them by a central idea is one of the
classic procedures of universal literature. The thousand and one nights and the
Decameron is one of the most famous examples. The most comprehensive collection of
unit known by the title of The Seven Sages, was already
popular among the English long before the time of Chaucer. It is unnecessary,
consequently seek a special or general precedent of The Tales of
Canterbury.

The theme was in the air of the time when stories had to be told and
there were numerous pilgrimages. Chaucer's work is incomplete, both in
its entirety as in the various parts of it. It is outlined, but not
concluded. The only clear connecting element that goes from the beginning to the
the omnipresent personality of the host that brings unity of character to everything
the work inciting, criticizing, admiring and denouncing, but remaining
always in the foreground.

It has been assumed that the compositions in couplets were written, or written in
new, directly for the work and those written in other meters and those in
prose were the adoptive part of the family. What is true is that the distichs,
especially those from the Prologue are the most perfect, varied, and of the greatest

mastery in versification that we find in Chaucer himself or in any

English writer until his time. They are also usually not surpassed by any model.
foreigner, except Dante.

The framework of the novel is constituted by a pilgrimage to the sanctuary of Saint Thomas.
from Canterbury. The poet feigns that he is with thirty other pilgrims
at the Tabard Inn, in a suburb of London. These pilgrims, whose
portraits are depicted with sober accuracy in the Prologue: a knight, with his son,
shield-bearer and his assistant, a prioress, a chapel nun with three priests, a
Benedictine monk, a mendicant friar, a merchant, a cleric, or a student of
Oxford, a law enforcement agent, a rural landowner, a haberdasher, a carpenter, a
tejedor, un tapicero, un tintorero, un cocinero, un marinero, un doctor, una comadre
from Bath, a parish priest, a laborer, a miller, a school treasurer, a
property manager, an agent of the ecclesiastical court, and a seller of
indulgences.

During the journey, a canon with his page joins the entourage. Everyone accepts the
proposal made by the innkeeper that to have a better time during the
journey, each of the pilgrims tells two stories on the way there and two on the way back,
that the host be the referee and judge, and that upon return a dinner be held at the
inn of the Tabard to the narrator of the best tales.

From this work, which remained unfinished, nine have reached us.
fragments with twenty-one complete stories and three (Sir Topaz, narrated by the
own poet, parody of chivalric books and the tales of the cook and the
Escudero) incomplete. The order in which these various
fragments are a topic of discussion among scholars.

The tale of the knight belongs to the genre of the great legend, recounted in
heroic couplets. This tale had already been written by Chaucer for some time,
What is a shortened version of Boccaccio's Teseida, the author whom it leaves out?
to imitate English around 1387. It is its most perfect composition in its way
Italian; it reveals a noble detachment from the common delights and pains of the
humanity, which makes it very fitting to be narrated by a perfect
gentleman, which is the one described to us in the Prologue: a gentleman in whom
highlight the qualities of honor, courtesy, and nobility of spirit; that has
took part in numerous battles -fifteen exactly-, and has traveled all over
Europe and North Africa; which defends the faith, observes feudal customs and
he participates in numerous tournaments, in which he always comes out victorious. Moreover, he is

simple and humble and never does an impertinence spring from his mouth. The story narrates the

love of Palemon and Arcites, prisoners of Theseus, king of Athens, for Emilia,
sister of Hipólito, queen of the Amazons and wife of Theseus. The two rivals
they compete in a tournament. Palemon is defeated, but Arcitas, at the height of his
triumph, is knocked off the chair by the intervention of Venus and Saturn and dies.
Palemon and Emilia come together after having cried about it. The story is taken from the
Tebaida of Statius, but Chaucer makes it a story full of charm and
poetic perfection. It is worth noting that in this one, more than in any other story, not
the author succeeds in escaping his time: antiquity is viewed through the
prism of the Middle Ages, which incurs in numerous anachronisms, such as
to make Venus a saint and her temple a church, into which enters
"Oh Christ, who art in Paradise!"

A great change of tone is observed in the following tale, that of the miller. This
character, very characteristic of the lower class of the Middle Ages, is a rascal who
hurts grain and charges three times the price of its milling. Plays the bagpipes and its
the conversation is almost always obscene. The story is inspired by the 'fabliaux' of
grotesque theme. There is a husband (the carpenter Nicolás) deceived by the
prediction of a second universal flood and a lover (Absalom) who, thinking
to kiss his beloved, he kisses the carpenter's ass in her place and takes revenge

burning it with a hot iron.

It also bears resemblance to 'the fabliaux' the tale of the steward. Two
Cambridge students, Alano and Juan, are relieved of part of the wheat that
they take by Simkin, miller of Trumpington and take revenge on the woman and the daughter of the

same and they beat the miller himself. It is inspired by that of Gombert and the two
clergymen and the story is told in Boccaccio IX, 6. The steward
The narrator has been described as an old, irritable man who masters the art of his work.
and is able to keep the accounts without the slightest mistake, Feared by all the
the world pays on time, but no one can get more out of it than the law allows
allows. More skilled than his master in transactions, he knows how to make it so that he
live grateful and repay his favors.

The jurist, an intelligent and judicious man who enjoys a good reputation, us
narrates the story of Constanza, daughter of a Christian emperor, granted by
wife to the sultan on the condition that she converts to Christianity and is abandoned
alone afterwards in a drifting ship in the high seas due to the perfidy of the mother of
sultan. The adventures of Constanza continue, a model of purity and femininity, her
union with King Allah, of whom she has a son, Mauricio, her second sea odyssey
due to the wickedness of Donegilda, mother of Alá, her brief happiness with her husband, and her

returning with his father in Rome, The original source of this story is found in
the Anglo-Norman chronicle of Nicholas Trivet, written around 1335.

The comadre of Bath is a popular figure in which all the wit is deposited.
vigorous, and to such a brutal extent, that characterizes the satire of the time against the

women. It is a realistic force that does not exclude the most artistic humor; it is
bold, insolent, vain, talkative, and silences everyone; digresses
before getting into the subject and incessantly argues the same ideas.
He proves that he did well marrying five times and boasts of having harassed
their husbands with reprimands, with their jealousy and suspicions. Their story is preceded by

from a prologue, a masterful satire against women and marriage, placed in its
own mouth. It seems partially taken from Eustache's The Mirror of Marriage.
Deschamps. The tale dates back to a lost Irish source and refers to how
a knight, to avoid the death penalty, is required within a period of twelve months
to give the right answer to the question of what pleases women the most,
and receives the response of an old witch, with the condition that he marry her.
He agrees with disgust, but he has the unexpected luck of seeing that the witch ...
become a graceful young woman.

The tale of the friar repeats a theme common to many other fables: that a
Curses often come true. An emissary of the ecclesiastical court meets the devil.
judicial officer dress, which entrusts him with what methods he should use with the
men. The emissary tries to extort a gift from a widow, who sends him away.
the devil and the devil takes it away, according to popular belief.

Chaucer has drawn us a magnificent portrait of the narrating mendicant friar

previous story. Dapper and good at preservation, he is one of the pillars of his order.
Always ask for donations, gift to the ladies, and get to know the taverns and inns.
Like no one else. He thinks that only something good can come from the rich and shows it.

helpful when it can take advantage. In response to your story follows that of
sheriff, rude legend refers to the dealings of a greedy friar along with
the sick man's bed, the friar finally mocked.
The story of the Oxford student seems to be a counterpart to the story of the midwife.
Narrate the story of the patient Griselda and invite women in an ironic farewell.
to dominate husbands and make them unhappy, as the friend has done
with his own. The student's last words torment the merchant, recently
married, who sings a lyrical praise of married life and goes on to recount the
next story.

Story of the merchant. It is about the marriage of an old man, January, with a young woman.
May. The old man is going blind, and the young woman and her lover, Damián, deceive him.

he climbing up a pear tree and she climbing up on the old man's shoulders.
joining with the young man among the leaves of the tree. Plato restores sight to January,
but May, inspired by Proserpine, knows how to give a prompt answer to the old man
frightened to discover the trick: to restore the light in her eyes, there was nothing more.

remedy that joins with a man at the top of a tree. After an intermission
represented by the novelistic 'Unfinished Tale of the Squire' returns, the
landlord on the topic of marriage with his story.

Tale of the landowner. The previous tale is an adaptation of the called

"history of the pear tree", known in multiple versions and found in the
Decameron, VII, 9. Also in that same work, appears the presumed tale, although
more than from the fifth narration of day X, it seems taken from the first.
writing that is found. Of it in the Filocolo by the same Italian writer.
Dorigena, wife of Arvirago, who is away on a journey by sea, to
escaping from the insistences of the lover Aurelio makes her depend on his
consent to an impossible condition: that all obstacles disappear
from the Breton coast. This achieved through the magic of a wizard, Aurelio, carried by
a generous impulse absolves the woman from the promise, which she was preparing to
to comply, with the consent of the husband who had returned. The landowner,
described as a disciple of Epicurus, equally rejects the opinion of the gossip.
that the bet, and ultimately decided, by mutual indulgence and affection of the
spouses.
The doctor is well-versed in his science, especially surgery, and a bit in astrology,
that is skilled at interpreting the stars. Famous in his trade, his knowledge
They are founded on Averroes, Avicenna, Esculapius, Hippocrates, Rufus. They eat frugally and

money seduces him. For this pilgrim narrates in the doctor's tale the story
of Apio and Virginia, whose original source is in the third book of the Roman historian
Titus Livius; but Chaucer must have been more inspired by the version of the Roman de the
Race

.Curious character is the bulero who pilgrimages. He carries his suitcase loaded with
indulgences just arrived from Rome. With an effeminate appearance, no one matches him.
in his trade; he deceives people with his nonchalance and sells them false relics
without any remorse.

The tale of the indulgence merchant is preceded by a sermon in the manner of

prologue, in which he lashes out at the vices of gluttony, drunkenness, gambling, and
blasphemy, but also shows to be animated by that greed that it criticizes
in others. So this prologue turns out to be an authentic satire of the
ecclesiastical abuses. The tale, which offers analogies with one from the Novelino,
tell how during the time of the plague three drunken players go in search of
Death, which has taken a companion from them, to punish it. An old man...
he says they will find her under a certain tree. There they find a treasure and,
while one of the three heads to the city in search of food to celebrate it
everyone, until the night allows to unearth the treasure, the other two
they conspire to kill him and so they do. But then they also die, when
to drink the wine that the third one had poisoned, driven by the same intention
criminal for them.

A highly known folkloric motif, that of the "gift of the recovered lover".
it's the theme of the sailor's tale. The wife of a rich and greedy merchant takes a
loan from a friar: One hundred francs to buy clothes. The friar, in turn,
borrow the same amount from the merchant, who knows nothing about it, and with it
she pays for the favors of her husband, and when the husband returns from a trip, she tells him that she has

returned the amount to his wife, who cannot deny having received it.
The tale of the prioress is one of the most perfect of Chaucer from the point of
artistic view: it repeats the legend of the widow's child murdered by the Jews
because I was singing the "Alma Redemptoris Mater" while passing in front of the
Lincoln's Jewish quarter on the way to school. The corpse is discovered because of the
the cut throat continues to spill that song. The description of the prioress,
the narrator of this story, in the Prologue is extremely delightful. It is about a
pleasant and spontaneous woman who often curses with her characteristic phrase "by
Saint Eloy. Known as Madame Englantine, she speaks French and is very delicate.
in eating, charitable and hardworking. She wears a medal on her chest with the
the inscription 'Love conquers all' is somewhat ambiguous, as it can mean both
to apply oneself to courtly love rather than to divine love.

Next comes the tale of Sir Topaz, narrated by Chaucer himself, and which
listeners do not like it, which leads the host to interrupt it so that he can tell
something more lively. The poet then recounts the tale of Melibeus, one of the most
extensive, in which he cites classical authors such as Ovid, Cato, Seneca, Cicero,
in addition to the Church Fathers Augustine, Jerome, and Gregory the Great. Their
The fundamental theme is the tedious and lengthy discussion between Melibeo and his wife.

Prudence on the best way to deal with enemies who have offended us
seriously, leading to the conclusion that the best thing is to dialogue with them and let
the revenge in the hands of God. The primary source of this story is the Book of
consolation and advice of Albertano of Brescia, but Chaucer made use of a
French paraphrase.

The tale of the monk is, in the opinion of many, the first that the author wrote, the
which in principle was to be part of a Legend of the good men,
that the author did not write when abandoning this idea for that of the stories. Very
similar to the Misadventures of the Illustrious Men by Boccaccio, it is taken from
the Latin authors, from Dante, from the Bible and from Roman history, and presents an
series of biographies ranging from Adam to characters of the 13th century
XIV.
 The tale of the nuns' chaplain is influenced by Chanteclair and by a
lost version of the Roman de Renart. The same story is also found in
Marie de France. It tells how a fox deceived a rooster by praising his voice.
father of this one, and how the rooster managed to escape by deceiving the fox in turn.

The story of the second nun deals with a theme from the Golden Legend of Jacob of the
Vortex: the life and martyrdom of Saint Cecilia and her fiancé Valerian. The text
Chaucer is closer to a version of the life of the Saint, written in
Greek by Simeon Metaphrast.

True denunciation of the stupidity and trickery of alchemists in the tale

of the canon's page. Perhaps it is original from Chaucer and, in this case, it would be the

unique personal creation. It reflects the vast knowledge of alchemy

which the author possessed and, perhaps due to a certain disappointment experienced in this aspect,

attacks hard against the alchemists.

Ovid's fable about the absorbent Apollo and the Caronides seems to be the source.
inspirational story of the manager, which brings up the myth of the raven
black. Febo has a white crow that can mimic human language and because of it
he will find out about his wife's infidelity. Angered, Febo kills her and then, filled with
regrets, it rips the white feathers from the crow, it deprives it of speech and the
send to hell: here is why the crows are now black.

The parish priest, a perfect antithesis of the mendicant friar, is a countryman.

good, simple and great connoisseur of the Gospels. Sincere, patient and
sacrificed. He is content with little and gives his all for his parish. He protects the
beggars and considers that every priest must be clean of heart and dedicate themselves
preferably to the poor. All of which contrasts with those members
hypocrites and useless, such are the mendicant friar and the swindler. Their story is not
properly so but a sermon in prose about the seven deadly sins taken from
from the Sum of the vices and virtues of brother Lorens. With this sermon
the outbound journey to Canterbury was coming to an end.
Chaucer was one of those men who, like Shakespeare, draw from the
reading the maximum personal benefit. I knew the Latin authors
currents, especially Ovid, who has always been one of the most important in the
medieval literature; he was familiar with French and Italian literature as well as the legends
Englishwomen of what he did the parody in Sir Topaz. He was a man of creative genius and
this gift, along with the readings, allowed him to mature the art of writing
that had been developing slowly during the two centuries prior to its
time.

Chaucer is not a singular entity. In the course of human progress, he appears from
as naturally as Shakespeare. Like Shakespeare, his humor
he is kind and never cruel. He is tolerant and is not ashamed; but he never takes the
defense of evil does not mock the good. Humor, always present in its
work, cannot go unnoticed and the exquisite and natural pathos that it
accompanies has been recognized even by those who have not managed to value
this author entirely. Chaucer's benevolence is immense.

Bibliography used: Preface to the edition by Editorial Porrúa, Mexico, 1992, to

position of Raymond Las Vergnas.

The Decameron, by Boccaccio

The Decameron is divided into ten days. These are:

First day Cepparello deceives a holy friar with a false confession and
he dies; and having been a terrible man in life, in death he is regarded as
saint and called Saint Chapeleto.

Jordana II The Jew Abraham, encouraged by Giannotto of Civigní, goes to the

court of Rome; and, seeing the wickedness of the clerics, he returns to Paris and becomes

Cristiano.

Third Journey The Jew Melchizedek avoids, thanks to a tale of three rings,
a dangerous trap that Saladin had set for him.
Fourth Journey A monk, fallen into a sin worthy of severe punishment, frees himself from
the penalty reproaching discreetly to his abbot for that same fault.

Fifth journey The Marchioness of Monferrato restrains, with a banquet of chickens and
ingenious words, the mad love of the king of France.

Sixth journey A good man confuses, with a clever saying, the wicked
hypocrisy of the religious.

Seventh journey Bergamino, with a tale of Primasso and the abbot of Cluny,
he subtly reproaches Can de la Scala for a trait of strange greed.

Eighth Journey Guiglielmo Borsiere chastises with ingenious words the greed of
Micer Erminio de los Grimaldi.

Ninth journey The king of Cyprus, scourged by a lady from Gascony,

pusillanimous becomes courageous.

Tenth Journey The teacher Alberto of Bologna discreetly embarrasses a

lady who wanted to mock the love that I felt for her.