The Canterbury Tales: The Physician's Tale, The Pardoner's Introduction, The Pardoner's Prologue, The Pardoner's Tale, The Shipman's Tale, The Words of the Host to the Shipman and the Prioress, The Prioress's Tale, The Prologue to Sir Thopas, The Tale of Sir Thopas, The Prologue to the Tale of Melibee, The Tale of Melibee, The Prologue to the Monk's Tale, The Monk's Tale

Sorry for no post yesterday, guys.  The Internet at good, old Jewell was down. 

The Physician's Tale:  The Physician begins his tale with a knight named Virginius.  He was very popular, rich, and had a doting wife and daughter.  The daughter was extremely beautiful.  She was also virtuous.  One day, the daughter went to town with her mother.  In the town, a judge spotted the knight's daughter and wanted her.  He came up with an evil plot to make the girl his.  The judge, who went by the name Appius, got a partner in crime, Claudius.  Claudius made a complaint against Virginius, and the judge called him to court.  Claudius claimed that Virginius was holding one of his servants, a beautiful young lady, against his will, saying that this lady was his daughter.  So, Claudius is saying that this he owns Virginius's daughter.  The judge didn't listen to anything Virginius had to say, but ordered that the girl be taken as a ward of the court.  Virginius goes home despondent.  He tells his daughter that there are two choices:  shame or death.  Virginius chooses to kill his daughter.  He chopped off her head and took it to the judge.  When the judge saw this, he tried to flee and hang himself, but the townspeople knew of his evilness and threw him into prison.  Claudius was sentenced to hang, except Virginius pleaded on his behalf and the sentence was reduced to exile.  The end.  Happy tale, huh?

The Pardoner's Introduction:  The Host, disturbed by the injustice in the Physician's tale, says that his tale is sad and asks God to bless him and his instruments.  The Host asks the Pardoner to tell a tale full off happiness.  The Pardoner agrees but wants beer first.  The nobles in the group don't want the Pardoner to get drunk and tell another raunchy tale.  They ask the Pardoner to tell a tale of virtue not sex.  The Pardoner agrees but needs a drink while he's thinking of a good tale.

The Pardoner's Prologue:  After getting his drink, the Pardoner begins his prologue.  He tells the group about his job--a combination of preaching and selling promises of salvation.  His sermon topics are always about greed being the root of all evil (irony, folks).  He gives similar sermons to every congregation and then has a back of relics, which he admits are fake.  He claims that his relics have magical healing powers.  The people always believe him, giving him money, which he pockets.  The Pardoner confesses that he does his job solely for money, not to correct sin.  He thinks that many sermons are actually the product of evil intentions.  By preaching, the Pardoner can have small revenge on people that have offended him or his family.  In his sermon, he preaches about vices that he upholds, such as envy.  He has finished his drink and he's ready for his tale.
The Pardoner's Tale:  The Pardoner begins by describing a trio of youthful Flemish people who spend their time drinking and being gluttonous.  The Pardoner then goes on to preach for about 200 lines about gluttony and gambling.  He finally comes back to the lecherous Flemish group.  As they're drinking, they hear a funeral going on.  A person says that an old friend of theirs was killed by a mysterious creature named Death.  The group is furious, and head out to find and kill Death.  They find an old man who appears upset.  He says he's old and has been waiting for Death to come and take him for some time.  The group demands where they can find Death, and the old man directs them to under an oak tree where he last saw Death.  At the tree, instead of Death, they find eight bushels of gold coins with no one in sight to claim them.   The slyest of the three says that if they carry the gold into town during the day, they will be perceived as thieves.  They must take the gold in the night, so someone should run into town to get bread and wine in the meantime.  They draw for it, and the youngest of the three has to run to town (seems fitting; that's the youngest person's lot in life).  As soon as he leaves, the sly one turns to the other and tells him his plan:  when the youngest gets back from town, they will kill him so they can get more money.  The second agrees, and they prepare their plan.  In town, the youngest one is having the same idea.  He goes to an apothecary and buys the strongest poison available, puts it into two bottles of wine, leaving himself a third, poison-free bottle.  He returns to the tree, but the others jump out and kill him.  They sit down to celebrate, grabbing the poisoned bottles of wine.  They soon die as well.  The Pardoner ends his story saying that all must beware of the sine of avarice, which only brings evil and death.  The Pardoner realizes he has forgotten his relics and brings out his pardon bag to collect money.  He offers the Host the first chance to see the relics (which are fake, remember?), because the Host, says the Pardoner, has the most sin.  Well, the Host doesn't like that very much.  The Knight settles everyone down.  The Host and the Pardoner laugh and make up.  The Host then asks the Shipman to tell a tale

The Shipman's Tale:  The Shipman's tale is about a merchant who took a beautiful woman for his wife.  She took all his money by demanding clothes and luxurious items to make her more beautiful.  There was also a young monk who was always at the merchant's house.  The monk was generous with his money, and always brought presents for the merchant and his servants.  One day, while traveling, the merchant invited the monk to visit his household before he left.  The monk and merchant had a glorious time, boozing it up and eating for two days.  On the third day, when the merchant was to leave, he went to balance his books.  The monk went to the garden to pray, with the wife following behind him.  The wife was worried about the monk, who was worried about the wife, because she had not slept well; the merchant had sex with her all night.  The wife said she no longer desired her husband.  The monk, thinking there was more to the story, pressed for details.  She complained that the merchant was the worst husband in the world.  She also said that she owes a lot of debt.  She asked the monk for money.  The monk promised to give the wife the money.  He then proceeded to kiss her.  The wife then went to the merchant and told him to stop balancing the books.  That night, the three had dinner together.  After the meal, the monk took the merchant aside and asked for the money.  The merchant gave the monk the money.  After, the merchant left for his travels.  The next Sunday, the monk returned to the merchant's house.  He and the wife made an agreement that for the money, the monk could have sex with her all night.  The merchant came home, discussed his travels with his wife, then went to see his friend, the monk.  The monk told the merchant that he repaid the loan and left the money with his wife.  The merchant and his wife had sex that night.  The merchant then told the wife he was a little angry with her because she didn't tell him that she received the money from the monk.  The wife replied that she had received the money from the monk, and that she should be allowed to keep the money because she was a hospitable hostess.  She said that in return for giving her his money, she would have sex with him.  The merchant had to agree.

The Words of the Host to the Shipman and The Prioress:  The Host calls down a curse upon the monk and warns the group to beware of men like him.  He then proceeds to ask the Prioress to tell her story, and she happily replies that she will.

The Prioress's Tale:  In an Asian town, there was a Jewish ghetto at the end of the street, where usury and other crimes against crime against Christ happened (remember our talk about usury with Dante?).  The small number of Christians in the town opened a school for their children at the other end of the same street.  Among the children in the school, there was a widow's son, who was seven years old.  He was deeply rooted in his faith.  At school, he learned Latin worship songs and prayers.  One day, as he was walking home and singing a song, he crossed a group of Jews.  They hired someone to slit the boy's throat and threw him into a pit.  The widow searched the city all night to find her son, even begging the Jews tell her where her son might be.  They kept their mouths shut.  Jesus gave her the idea to sing in a place where her son had been thrown into the pit:  she called out to him and even though his throat had been cut, he sang.  The other Christians ran to the pit in amazement.  The Jews were then tied up.  The child was then taken to be in a procession, his corpse still singing (yes, he's dead).  The Jews were sentenced to hang.  Before the boy was buried, holy water was put on him, and he spoke.  He said that the Virgin Mary placed a grain on his tongue, allowing him to speak.  An abbot took the grain from his tongue so he could die and go into heaven.  The boy was buried as a martyr.

Prologue to Sir Thopas:  The Host says every man in the group is somber after hearing the Prioress's tale, except Chaucer.  The Host makes fun of Chaucer (the narrator) for staring at the ground all the time, and for being fat.  He says Chaucer rarely talks to anyone.  He asks him to tell a happy tale.  Chaucer says he knows no other stories, but a rhyme he learned long ago.  The Host says that will be fine.

The Tale of Sir Thopas:  Chaucer begins by asking the lords to listen.  Thopas is a knight with a white face, rosy lips, and blond hair.  Thopas dressed very well and was a skilled archer.  Many women were brought to sleep with him, but he didn't have sex with any of them.  One day, he was out riding a gray horse and passed through a forest with many wild animals.  He heard a birdsong and fell into a love-sickness.  Thopas had to rest, and decided he would be in love with an elf-queen.  He set out to find her, but came across a giant.  The giant threatened to kill his horse.  Thopas told the giant that he would meet him tomorrow to fight, and he sped away.  Thopas got to town and told his men he had to fight a giant.  The Host then stops the tale.

The Prologue to the Tale of Melibee:  The Host says Chaucer's rhyme really sucks.  Chaucer asks why the Host won't let him tell his story with the others.  The Host says that his rhyme is a waste of time (not like mine right there, though).  He says that Chaucer should tell a story in prose instead of verse.  Chaucer says alrighty, then.  Chaucer proceeds to tell another tale, asking for no more interruptions. 

The Tale of Melibee:  WARNING:  This story is a little dull.  Probably as payment for being interrupted in his story about Thopas.  There was once a young man named Melibee.  Melibee was rich and had a wife named Prudence.  They had a daughter named Sophie.  One day he walked into the fields, leaving the rest of his family in the house.  Three of his old enemies say he had got and went to his house.  They beat his wife and daughter.  When Melibee returned, he went a little crazy.  Prudence calmed him down, saying that they should call a group of people to listen to their story.  Melibee agreed.  The council said they should attack the men.  Prudence doesn't think this is a great idea.  Prudence thinks the three men attacked them due to man's vulnerability to the world, the flesh, and the devil.  She advises Melibee for peace and forgiveness.  The three men are brought before them.  Prudence suggests forgiving them, Melibee wants to fine them, but Prudence wins.  Melibee forgives them and praises himself for being so generous.  Yep.  That's the story.  Good one, Chaucer. 

The Prologue to the Monk's Tale:  The Host approves of this tale, and wishes that his wife was like Melibee.  When the Host beats his servants, the wife is ready to join in.  The Host is worried that one day, his wife will have him kill a neighbor.  He then asks the Monk to tell a story.  He praises the Monk's appearance, saying he looks more like a lay man as opposed to a poor Monk.  The Host jokes that clergymen are better at sex than regular men.  The Host reminds the Monk he's joking.  The Monk says he'll tell some tragedies.

The Monk's Tale:  The Monk talks about numerous tragedies with one common theme:  remember that Fortune is ever-changing.  He first tells of Lucifer's fall from Heaven.  Adam and Eve's expulsion from Eden is next.  Sampson is next.  The Monk discusses how he fell from grace when he admitted his secret to his wife.  Hercules' story is next.  He was defeated when he was given a poisoned shirt.  The Monk then talks about Nebuchadnezzar (I love saying that name, by the way).  He was too proud.  Balthasar's story is next.  He worshiped false idols.  Zenobia is talked about next.  King Pedro of Spain is the next tragedy.  He was exiled then killed by his brother.  Peter, king of Cyprus, was murdered.  There are other tragedies, including Nero and Holofernes.  All of these stories have the same ring to them:  people of high degree falling into death or destruction.  Finally, the Monk's tale is interrupted.

Since I'm a day off due to faulty Internet connections, I'll make two posts on Sunday:  one finishing up the summaries and the other being my customary finishing-up of the text. 

Have a good weekend!

Cassy