The Prioress (Madame Eglentyne) – a nun who supervises a priory tells the 15th tale.The Yeoman – the knight's servant no tale.The Squire - the knight's son, a gentle youth of poetic sensibilities tells the 11th tale.The Knight – a man of honor, truth, and chivalry tells the 1st tale.Chaucer-the-pilgrim who narrates the work tells the 17th and 18th tales.

1399-1413 CE) in positions ranging from page to soldier, courier, valet and esquire, controller of the customs house of the London port, member of parliament, and court clerk and poet, among other duties. 1377-1399 CE), and Henry IV (also known as Henry Bolingbroke, r. He served under three English kings, King Edward III (r. Geoffrey Chaucer was the son of a wealthy wine merchant of London, given a good education at local schools, and entered into service of the royal court around the age of 13 in 1356 CE. This seems unlikely, however, as Chaucer held a full-time position from the king at that time and any travels would have been noted in court records. The work is so detailed and the characters so vividly rendered that many scholars contend it was based on an actual pilgrimage Chaucer took c. The Canterbury Tales is considered Chaucer's masterpiece and is among the most important works of medieval literature for many reasons besides its poetic power and entertainment value, notably its depiction of the different social classes of the 14th century CE as well as clothing worn, pastimes enjoyed, and language/expressions used. There are more copies of this manuscript than any other full-length medieval work except the penitential poem The Prick of Conscience, also from the 14th century CE, which was only so frequently copied due to its use by the Church. And if they do that, then the Host has served his most important purpose.The Canterbury Tales was popular centuries before it was actually published in c. But those very wrong interpretations make us, the readers, think more about what the tales really do mean. It's doubtful that the Host is an ideal responder, since his interpretations of the tales are often so off-base.

What do we mean by that? Well, the Host is the pilgrim we most often see responding to the tales, which makes him kind of a mirror image of us, the reader, who are responding to them, too. With the Host, The Canterbury Tales have a built-in audience. At these times it's like the Host's strong emotions and desires get the better of him – he simply can't contain his hilarity at the Cook's drunken state, or his righteous anger at the Pardoner – and prevent him from fulfilling his goal of promoting merriment. Take that incident with the drunken Cook, for example: the Host is the one who calls him out for drunkenness in the first place! Or look at the moment when the Pardoner tries to foist off his fake relics on the pilgrims: there, the Host responds with outrage and anger, necessitating the Knight's mediation to avoid conflict.

But sometimes, he creates as many problems as he solves. Since his goal is to keep all the pilgrims having a good time, it makes sense the Host tries to be the dispeller of conflict among them. He's the one who tells the Friar to stop ribbing the Summoner, for 'in company we wol have no debaat' (Friar's Prologue 24), or warns the Manciple to stop insulting the Cook lest his insults rebound upon him. The Host often tries to play the role of peace-keeper among the pilgrims. The validity of the Host's conclusions is questionable, though, which makes us question his intellect, though not his enthusiasm.

He's also quick to draw lessons from the tales he hears, declaring that the Physician's tale proves that Nature's and Fortune's gifts are death to every creature, or that the Merchant's confirms lots of negative stereotypes about women. So convinced is he of their power that, after hearing the Physician's mournful tale, he declares the only thing that will save his heart from pain is 'a draughte of moyste and corny ale / or but I heere anon a myrie tale' (Pardoner's Introduction 29 – 30). The Host takes all his tales extremely seriously, becoming very emotionally involved in them. The Host just wants to have a good time, which is why he gets so upset with pilgrims like the Monk or the Physician, who tell stories about tragedy and death, and so delighted with those like the Nun's Priest's, whose stories are comedies. We get the impression that the Host is a jolly fellow – large, with piercing eyes, fit 'to been a marchal in a halle' (General Prologue 754), which is in fact what he becomes as the self-styled director of the pilgrims' merriment. The Host is the major mover and shaker of the frame story of The Canterbury Tales, since it's he who proposes the tale-telling game and directs it on the way to Canterbury.

Tavern keeper pardoners tale pilgrim