The Canterbury Tales
MERCHANT, FRIAR, CLERK,
FIVE GUILDSMEN, COOK,
SAILOR, & DOCTOR
The Merchant
 Lines 280-294 The Merchant
 Wears latest fashions
 Hides secret of being in debt
The Friar
 Lines 212-279 The Friar
 Unlike monks, friars went into the world as beggars to preach, help







the poor, cure the sick.
One duty was to hear confessions and absolve/forgive with a
penance. This friar gives light penance b/c people pay him; he’s
more interested in making $ than saving souls
Seems like a lady’s man
“neck whiter than a lily-flower” suggests he is cowardly OR
loose/immoral
Goes to bars, stays away from sick & poor, goes where there’s a
profit.
Lines 259-264 imply he sleeps w/widows
Clothes are rich (ironic)
Note: the poet/narrator seems to disapprove of this corruption in
Church
The Clerk
 Lines 295-318 An Oxford Cleric
 Starving student image
 Both cleric and his horse are poor and gaunt
 Spends his $ on expensive books
The Five Guildsmen
 Lines 371-388 The Haberdasher, Dyer,





Carpenter, Weaver & Carpet-Maker
All belong to a guild-fraternity
Guilds were organizations of trades-people who
taught their trade to apprentices
Powerful economic force, with controlling quality &
price of goods they sold
Upwardly mobile
Narrator seems to make fun of their social climbing
& social pretensions
The Pilgrims
 Lines 389-397 The Cook
 Excellent cook, but has an open sore on his knee
(humor & disgust in this)
The Pilgrims
 Lines 398-420 The Skipper (Shipman/Sailor) =





Pirate
Very tan from all the years of sailing
He has seen every bay and river in England
He is a bit of a rascal
Known for stealing wine from the ship’s captain
Wore a thick, rough cough and a dagger about his
waist.
The Pilgrims
 Lines 421-454 The Doctor
 Dr.s during this time believed the 12 signs of the
zodiac affected different parts of the body & the body
contained 4 kinds of humors which dictated a
person’s temperament and physical make up.
 He profits from people’s illnesses by prescribing
drugs that don’t work & sharing profits w/ the
apothecaries (pharmacists), thus he’s well-dressed &
has plenty of $