The Canterbury Tales Pilgrims

1. The Canterbury Tales Pilgrims

2. The Knight • 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. Monk • 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

7. 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

8. Merchant • 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)

9. Oxford Cleric • 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

10. Sergeant at LawLawyer • 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

11. Franklin • 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

12. 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

13. 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?

14. Skipper • 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

15. Doctor • 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

16. Wife of Bath • 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

17. Parson • 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

18. Plowman • 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

19. Miller • 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

20. 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

21. Reeve • 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

22. 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

23. Pardoner • 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