The Canterbury Tales ~ The Man of Law's Prologue, Tale and Epilogue

The Host becomes aware of the passage of time through various observations of nature and it causes him to reflect on what some great sages have had to say about lost time.  He compels the Man of Law to relate his tale to discharge his duty.  The Man assents, but then starts a long monologue referring to the manner in which Chaucer tells his stories, and giving him some acclaim, and then begins to tell of stories that are so foul, about which Chaucer would never write.  However, there is some reference to a real character of the time, a Mr. John Gower, who would write about such offensive topics, such as incest, and one wonders if the author is chastizing this man or attempting to antagonize him into a response.  In any case, the Man of Law claims his tale will not follow such abomination, and that he will relate it in prose.

The Man of Law

Well, even though the Man of Law claimed his plan was to chronicle his tale in prose, he recounts it in complex seven-line rhyme-royal stanzas.  The prologue of the tale appears to begin almost as a lament against poverty, its detriments and adversities, but then the narrative merges into a commentary on the prosperity of wealthy men.  The Man of Law tells of a merchant who told him the story which he will now recount.

The Man of Law's Tale

The First Part:

Syrian merchants who were known for trading in excellent wares, took a journey to Rome and, while staying in that bustling city, learned of the renown of the beautiful, virtuous Lady Cunstance, the Emperor's daughter.

Now, when the merchants returned from Rome, they brought news to the Sultan of Syria about the lovely Lady Cunstance, and the Sultan determined to have her for his own. Then there comes a kind of prophecy:

"Perhaps in that large book
Which men call the heaven was written

In stars, when he was born,

That he because of love should have his death, alas!

For in the stars, clearer than is glass,
Is written, God knows, whoever could read it,

The death of every man, without doubt.

In stars, many a winter before then,

Was written the death of Hector, Achilles,

Of Pompey, Julius, before they were born;

The strife of Thebes; and of Hercules,

Of Sampson, Turnus, and of Socrates

The death; but men's wits are so dull

That no person can well interpret it fully."

 And in Middle English:

"Paraventure in thilke large book

Which that men clepe the hevene ywriten was

With sterres, whan that he his birthe took,

That he for love sholde han his deeth, allas!

For in the sterres, clerer than is glas,

Is writen, God woot, whoso koude it rede,

The deeth of every man, withouten drede.

In sterres, many a wynter therbiforn,

Was writen the deeth of Ector, Achilles,

Of Pompei, Julius, er they were born;

The strif of Thebes; and of Ercules,

Of Sampson, Turnus, and of Socrates

The deeth; but mennes wittes ben so dulle

That no wight kan wel rede it atte fulle."

There is a problem, however.  The Sultan is a Muslim, and Custance is a Christian, and what good Roman Christian would give his daughter to a Muslim?  So the Sultan and all his vassalage, agree to convert, so he can take Cunstance in marriage.

The Silk Merchants
Edwin Lord Weeks
source Wikiart

When it comes time for Lady Custance to depart for her new home and husband, she is filled with sadness and regret:

Alas, what wonder is it though she wept,

She who shall be sent to a foreign nation

From friends who so tenderly cared for her,

And to be bound under subjection

By one, (of whom) she knows not his character?

Husbands are all good, and have been for years;

Wives know that; I dare say you no more.

Allas, what wonder is it thogh she wepte,

That shal be sent to strange nacioun

Fro freendes that so tendrely hire kepte,

And to be bounden under subjeccioun

Of oon, she knoweth nat his condicioun?

Housbondes been alle goode, and han ben yoore;
That knowen wyves; I dar sey yow na moore.

Yet even though she dreads her fate, she will gladly go because of obedience to her parents and for her love of God.  She claims though, that Mars has slain her marriage, which is interesting as Mars is the god of war.  I wonder if this allusion will play into the story later on?

So while the Sultain awaits his bride, the Sultan's mother is irate that her son is going to forsake his beliefs.  She acquires the support of the council to pretend to accept Christianity before slaying all the Christians at the wedding banquet. The narrator compares the Sultaness with Satan, in her quest to destroy what is pure and virtuous.

The Sultan of Morocco (1845)
Eugene Delacroix
source Wikiart

The Second Part:

The Muslims massacre all the Christians, including both the ones from Rome, the Sultan, and those of his party who were planning to convert.  However Lady Custance is left alive, to be set afloat on a ship, to survive with minimal provisions, if she is able.  She is afloat for many years and we are told that God kept her alive to show his works in her, and so follows a list of historical people whom God has kept from harm.  Finally, she is tossed onto the coast of Northumberland near a castle and, disoriented and pitiful, is found by the constable of the castle, who takes her to his wife, Hermengild.

Through Lady Custance's prayers and sweet character, the good lady is converted in this land full of pagans, from where Christians had already fled, and hence, her husband also.  But Satan, ever up to his mischief, makes a knight fall in love with Custance and want his way with her, but Cunstance guards her virtue and will not be swayed by his amorous advances.  The knight, enraged at her resistance, kills Hermengild by slitting her throat and places the knife by the sleeping Cunstance.  The constable and King Alla return and see the murdered woman.  Everyone is shocked that the virtuous lady Cunstance could commit such a horrible deed yet the knight testifies against her, so what can be done?  But lo, as he swears the truth on the Bible, a hand smites him on the neck and his eyes burst out of his head, while a voice is heard condemning the slander and praising Cunstance.  Because of this miracle, many were saved, including the king, who married Cunstance and made her a queen.

This king's mother too, is against the marriage to a "foreigner".   When the king is away and Custance is delivered of a son, through some macchinations, a letter is delivered to the king telling him his wife has delivered a monstrous infant and that no one wanted to go near the castle.  The king, with his new Christian charity, claims that he will accept the child whether fair or foul. Again, the king's mother, with her evil servant, Donegild, intercepts the king's letter and instead, it is said that he banishes Cunstance from the kingdom. Custance accepts her fate, secure in her faith, but prays for protection for her innocent babe.

Young Mother With Child
Lucas Cranach the Elder
source Wikiart

The Third Part:

When king Alla returns, he learns of the wretched deed done to his wife and son, and he has his mother slain for her troubles.  But he is left to mourn for Cunstance, who sails for five years, reaches another heathen land, has her virtue once again targeted by a lecherous male, and is protected by God as the man falls into the sea and drowns.  Finally, she is picked up by a Roman ship returning from a battle with the Syrians over the slaying of the Christians, and when she reaches Rome, she abides with a senator and his wife.

Now King Alla is remorseful for the slaying of his mother and decides to make a pilgrimage to Rome to receive his penance.  He is befriended by the senator, first sees his child then his wife there, and is moved to tears of joy.  Lady Cunstance is at first wary, as she remembers his treachery, but when the truth is known to her, she rejoices at their reunion.  She makes peace with her father and returns to England, where she lives in bliss with her husband until he dies a year later.  To Rome she then goes to live with her father happily, and her son, Maurice, eventually becomes a respected Emperor.

Bamburgh Castle, Northmberland (1874)
James Webb
source Wikiart

I absolutely loved this story.  Lady Cunstance is painted in saintly form, and I suppose that people could criticize that she's too perfect.  But I always believe that the purpose of these types of stories were to teach, and while Cunstance is "perfect," there is often nothing but turmoil happening around her, so in these cases, the storytellers are instructing us in the right responses in times of trouble and strife, while also illustrating the benefits that can come from our right actions during these times.  Conversely, they also can illustrate the outcomes of wrong actions and their consequences.

Yet, even amid Cunstance's perfection, the life lessons are realistically presented:

"….. But little while it lasts, I you promise
Joy of this world, because time will not stand still;

From day to night it changes like the tide.

Who lived ever in such delight one day
That he was not moved by either conscience, 
Or anger, or desire, or some kind of fear,

Envy, or pride, or passion, or offence? ……"

Middle English:

…..But litel while it lasteth, I yow heete,
Joye of this world, for tyme wol nat abyde;

Fro day to nyght it changeth as the tyde.

Who lyved euere in swich delit o day

That hym ne moeved outher conscience,
Or ire, or talent, or som kynnes affray,
Envye, or pride, or passion, or offence? …..

A few commentaries on this tale surmise that the Lady Cunstance symbolizes "crusading fever" (or perhaps it was fervour ;-)  )  but I didn't read that supposition into the tale at all.  For me, the focus was on Cunstance, her virtue and her faithfulness to God no matter what her circumstances, and what comes out of that perseverance and faith.  It is basically the story of a saint, and I believe Chaucer meant it to be so.  But as for the narrator, that is a different story.  In the General Prologue, the Man of Law was obviously an astute and respected character, yet there was some cunning and wiliness behind his demeanour.  The story itself stands, but did he have another purpose for telling it?

The Forum, as seen from the Farnese Gardens, Rome (1826)
Camille Corot
source Wikiart

Chaucer finishes the tale in a flourishing style:

And fare now well! my tale is at an end.
Now Jesus Christ, that of his might may send
Joy after woe, govern us in his grace,
keep us all that are in this place! Amen

  

Middle English:

" ... And fareth now weel! my tale is at an ende.

Now Jhesu Crist, that of his myght may sende
Joye after wo, governe us in his grace,
And kepe us alle that been in this place! Amen

In the Epilogue, the Priest is called upon to tell the next tale, but the Shipman strongly protests saying that they all believe in God and that the sermonizing will only "sprinkle weeds in their clean grain".  He states that he will tell the next tale.  This is puzzling, because in the order that we're following, the next tale is The Wife of Bath's Tale.  I'm sorry, but I have no idea why.

The Canterbury Tales/The Brubury Tales Project

The General Prologue

The Knight's Tale
The Miller's Tale

The Reeve's Tale

The Cook's Tale
The Man of Law's Tale
The Wife of Bath's Tale
The Friar's Tale
The Summoner's Tale
The Clerk's Tale
The Merchant's Tale
The Squire's Tale
The Franklin's Tale
The Physician's Tale
The Pardoner's Tale
The Shipman's Tale 
The Prioress's Tale
The Tale of Sir Thopas
The Tale of Melibee
The Monk's Tale
The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Second Nun's Tale
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale

The Manciple's Tale
The Parson's Tale
Chaucer's Retraction

Ecce Homo by Friedrich Nietzsche

"In view of the fact that I will shortly have to confront humanity with the heaviest demand ever made of it, it seems to me essential to say who I am."

I feel somewhat exhausted.  Approaching this book with something akin to trepidation, it's been proven that my expectations are often very accurate. Nietzsche was certainly a trial, but I'm glad that I read Ecce Homo, my first exposure to this singular German philosopher.  Wow, Nietzsche would hate that description.  He despised Germans and felt philosophy was a fraud.  In any case, he didn't like most things, so any way I described him, I'd be in danger of his patronizing, scathing invective.

Ecce Homo, or How One Becomes What One Is (Wie Man Wird, Was Man Ist) was the last book that Nietzsche wrote before his death and gives insight into the man, his ideas and his works.  The words "Ecce Homo" are taken from the words Pontius Pilate used when he delivered Jesus, scourged and bleeding, to a riotous crowd right before he was taken to be crucified.  Nietzsche hated Christianity because he felt that it was the mechanism for the function of society and, therefore, was responsible for everything that was wrong with it.

Yet while the book gives enlightenment, it does so from Nietzsche's perspective, words coming from a man who already seemed in the throes of the mental illness that would bring about his death.  It's certainly helpful to see it in this light.

Ecce Homo (1558-60)
Titian
source Wikipedia

Why I Am So Wise

Nietzsche is better than everyone else in the world.  He is so incredibly wise and we are such small, insignificant beings compared to him, with nothing in particular to add to the benefit of humanity, that he can hardly stand to be in our presence.  Lest you think I'm being too hard on him, let Nietzsche speak for himself:

" ..... I have an instinct for cleanliness that is utterly uncanny in its senstivity, which means that I can physiologically detect ---- smell ---- the proximity or (what am I saying?) the innermost aspect, the 'innards' of every soul ...... I am already conscious of the large amount of concealed dirt at the bottom of many a nature, perhaps occasioned by bad blood but whitewashed over by upbringing. ....... natures like this which are unconducive to my cleanliness feel the circumspection of my digust on their part, too; it does not make them smell any more pleasant ....... impure conditions are the death of me .......... This makes dealing with people quite a trial to my patience; my humaneness consists not in sympathizing with someone, but in putting up with the fact that I sympathize with them ...... My humaneness is a constant self-overcoming ......."

Ecce Homo (1964-67)
Salvador Dali
source Wikiart

There is more blather stating that compassion, rather than being a virtue, is a weakness, and he references his work, Zarathustra, for proof (in this I believe Nietzsche misses making the distinction between false compassion and true compassion); and labelling rudeness as one of the foremost virtues (again, he muddles benevolent frankness with lack of resolution and fortitude to deal with issues).

He announces his penchant for war, or attack, and lists his rules of war:

1. He attacks only causes which are victorious
2. He attacks causes only when there are no allies to be found
3. He never attacks people
4. He attacks things only when all personal disagreement is ruled out

He claims that he can attack causes with impunity, and that there are no hard feelings from the victim, yet in his next chapter he states, "May I make bold as to intimate one last trait of my nature which causes me no little trouble in my dealings with people?," indicating that his relationships are not so harmonious as he'd like to believe.


Why I Am So Clever

I seriously asked myself if I really wanted to know why Nietzsche thought himself so clever, but, foolish me, I decided to keep on reading.

Nietzsche lists the reasons for his cleverness at the beginning of this section:

• he has not squandered himself
• he has no personal experience with true religious difficulties
• he is entirely at a loss to know how sinful he is supposed to be

Higher educations causes one to lose sight of realities and Nietzsche then begins to take pot-shots at the German education system, which regresses to insulting German culinary tradition.  How we got there, I'm uncertain.  He then conducts a detailed investigation into:

• nutrition
• place
• climate
• relaxation

Within these four topics, Nietzsche likens reading to letting an alien climb over your wall; claims he reads the same books because he is opposed to new books by instinct; states everywhere that Germany extends, it ruins culture; that we are all afraid of truth; and that Wagner to him, is like hashish.  It sounds bizarre and, quite frankly, is, but there are certainly some interesting ideas in Nietzsche's convoluted onslaught of aberrant thought.

He claims that he now cannot avoid the question how to become what you are, but then digresses, and I can't find anywhere where he answers it.

And asked why he concentrates so much on the small issues of above, Nietzsche alleges that to-date everything that man had deemed important is, in fact, lies because we have searched for divinity in human nature.  We must start relearning and therefore, we must begin with the basics.


Why I Write Such Good Books

"I am one thing, my writings are another."

Nietzsche is resigned to the fact that no one will be able to understand his writing, feeling no ill-will towards anyone for their lack of intellect.

" .... in other words experiencing ---- six sentences of it [Zarathustra] raises you up to a higher level of mortals than 'modern' men could ever reach ...."

Some day, there will be universities dedicated to understanding his works.  No one has experienced what Nietzsche has, and therefore is it not understandable that no one can comprehend his genius? Oh here, let me allow Nietzsche to speak for himself:

"I know my prerogatives as a writer to some extent; in certain cases I even have evidence of how much it 'ruins' people's taste if they get used to my writings.  They simply can no longer stand other books, least of all philosophy books.  It is an unparalleled distrinction to step into this noble and delicate world --- for which you must not on any account be a German; ultimately it is a distinction you need to have earned ...... I come from the heights to which no bird has yet flown, I know abysses into which no foot has yet strayed.  I have been told it is not possible to let a book of mine out of one's hands ---- that I even disturb sleep ...... There is definitely no prouder and at the same time more refined kind of book: here and there they achieve the highest thing that can be achieved on earth, cynicism; you must tackle them with the most delicate fingers as well as with the bravest fists."

Nietzsche then outlines each of his books, spending most of his time lauding their brilliance, mentioning the few geniuses who have enjoyed them, and condemning everyone who disliked them.

The Birth of Tragedy:  "It is politically indifferent  ----- 'un-German' in today's parlance ---- it smells offensively Hegelian, and in just a few phrases it is tainted with the doleful scent of Schopenhauer.  An 'idea' --- the Dionysian/Apollonian opposition ---- translated into metaphysics, history itself as the development of this 'idea'; in tragedy the opposition sublated to become a unity form this point of view things that had never looked each other in the face before suddenly juxtaposed, illuminated, and understood in the light of each other ....."

The Untimelies: The Untimelies can also be translated as "Thoughts out of Season", "Unmodern Observations" or "Unfashionable Observations".  In this writing, Nietzsche draws his rapier and launches four attacks:

First, an attack on the German education system.  I found that this was the first time I actually agreed with Nietzsche.  He purported that there was no evidence at all that Germany's military success was a result of their education.  The school system in America is apparently an offshoot of this Prussia model.  I found an interesting article about it here.  One of my favourite authors, John Taylor Gatto, talks about this model in his book, The Underground History of American Education.  I highly recommend it.

The second attack is titled, On the Uses and Disadvantages of History for Life.  Nietzsche warns of the dangers of "our kind of scientific endeavour, what there is in it that gnaws away at life and poisons it ---- life made ill by this dehumanized machinery and mechanism, by the 'impersonality' of the worker, by the false economy of the 'division of labour'.  The end, culture, is lost --- the means, modern scientific endeavour, barbarizes ...."  Hmmm ..... is it possible that I might again agree with Nietzsche?  That would be just too weird.

The third and fourth Untemelies, titled Schopenhauer as Educator and Richard Wagner in Bayreuth, give an impression of "a higher conception of culture, towards the restoration of the concept 'culture'" in which two images are set, having the highest contempt for everything around them that is synonymous with the present culture.  I doubt that I'd side with him here.

Nietzsche appears to take great joy in upsetting everyone around him.

Human, All Too Human: With Two Continuations:

Subtitled A Book For Free Spirits, Nietzsche claims in this writing that he liberated himself from idealism and is "a spirit that has become free, that has seized possession of itself again."

I wasn't quite clear as to what exactly this work was about, due to Nietzsche's ambiguity and his habit of digression, but it appears that he mentions things favourable to Voltaire, and addresses his break with Richard Wagner.  Why am I not surprised that he extols the thoughts of Voltaire?

The work apparently evolved out of some mental crisis that Nietzsche experienced during the Bayreuth Festival when he felt a "profound sense of alienation" and went off into the forest before being coaxed back by his sister.

Daybreak: Thoughts on Morality as Prejudice

Nietzsche states that this book commenced his war against morality.  Again, Nietzsche commends his work and genius, rather than getting to the meat of his ideas.

"Even now, if I encounter the book by chance, practically every sentence becomes a tip with which I can pull up something incomparable from the depths once again: its whole hide quivers with the tender shudders of recollection ...."

But finally Nietzsche gets to a description of what he believes is its value:

"In a revaluation of all values, in freeing himself from all moral values, in saying 'yes' to and placing trust in everything that has hitherto been forbidden, despised, condemned.  This yes-saying book pours out its light, its love, its delicacy over nothing but bad things, it gives them back their 'soul', their good conscience, the lofty right and prerogative of existence."

Good grief!  You want to counter this statement but where do you start?  Does he think that there have been no societies that have tried to live without morality?  Is this morality-proper or Nietzsche's type of morality?  Can one truly escape some sort of morality?

The Gay Science:  This title is developed out of the Provençal expression which is used to describe the technical skill of writing poetry, as Nietzsche describes it, "almost every sentence here profundity and mischief go tenderly hand in hand."  The quality of the Provençal style shows "unity of singer, knight, and free thinker which distinguishes the marvellous early culture of the Provençal people from all ambiguous cultures ...."

Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book For Everybody and Nobody:  Again, it's best for Nietzsche to describe this, in his often lovely prose ~ what it means, however, one is often left wondering ....

"Aphorisms quivering with passion; eloquence become music; lightning-bolts hurled on ahead towards hitherto unguessed-at futures.  The mightiest power of analogy that has yet existed is feeble fooling compared to this return of language to its natural state of figurativeness ---- And how Zarathustra descends and says the kindest things to everyone!  How he tackles even his adversaries, the priests, with delicate hands and suffers from them with them!  ---- Here man is overcome at every moment; the concept of 'overman' has become the highest reality here --- everything that has hitherto been called great about man lies at an infinite distance below him.  The halcyon tone, the light feet, the omnipresence of malice and high spirits and everything else that is typical of the type Zarathustra has never been dreamed of as essential to greatness.  Precisely in this extent of space, in this ability to access what is opposed, Zarathustra feels himself to be the highest of all species of being; and when we hear how he defines it, we will dispense with searching for his like."

I won't sport with your intelligence in continuing to relate just how much more knowledgable and astute Zarathustra (and therefore, Nietzsche) is than you will ever be.

Beyond Good and Evil:  If Nietzsche doesn't catch any "fish" with his works, what could that mean? The cause?  Is it perhaps because his arguments don't make sense or people can't relate to his delivery?  No!  According to Nietzsche, it means that there simply weren't any fish to be caught.

This book is "a critique of modernity, not excluding the modern sciences, the modern arts, even modern politics, together with pointers towards an opposing type, as unmodern as possible, a noble, yes-saying type ..... refinement in form, in intention, in the art of silence is in the foreground; psychology is handled with avowed harshness and cruelty ---- the books is devoid of any good-natured word ....."

Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic:  

A book of three essays:

1. the psychology of Christianity
2. the psychology of conscience
3. where the immense power of the ascetic ideal springs from

This actually sounds somewhat interesting to me.

Twilight of the Idols: How to Philosophize with a Hammer:

Nietzsche recommends starting with this work.  It's a short book but "there is nothing richer in substance, more independent, more subversive ---- more wicked ..."

Nietzsche is the first to have "the yard-stick of truths in his hand."  He is the evangelist to truth, and everyone was lost before him.

The Wagner Case: A Musician's Problem:  To read this properly, you need to feel as though music is the history of your own suffering.  I think that this writing deals with his split from his friend, Richard Wagner, a well-known German composer, but Nietzsche launches a scathing invective against, I'm assuming, the ideals that Wagner supported.  He castigates Germans for many things, wrapping up his ire in their great cultural crimes.  He attacks Martin Luther along with Leibniz and Kant.  In fact, Germans have "robbed Europe of its meaning, its reason..."  


Why I Am A Destiny

Nietzsche is terrified that one day he will be called holy.  But, he admits, his "truth is terrifying, for lies were called truth so far.  ---- Revaluation of all values: that is my formula for the highest act of self-reflection on the part of humanity, which has become flesh and genius in me.  My lot wills it that I must be the first decent human being, that I know I stand in opposition to the hypocrisy of millennia ..... I was the first to discover the truth, by being the first to sense --- smell --- the lie as a lie .....   My genius is in my nostrils."

What follows is more exaltation of evil and lying, and conversely Nietzsche advocates war against the good, benevolent, the beneficent, and Christian morality.  More invectives against Christianity follow, the content of which makes me wonder if Nietzsche really had an issue with Christ, or simply with the way Christianity had been presented to him.  In any case, it really doesn't matter.  At this point Nietzsche had drained me, and I predict that I'd have an issue reading any work longer than this book of his, which is only 138 pages. He signed this work  ~ Dionysus against the crucified one ~  Nietzsche aligned himself with the early Greek philosophers and thought of himself as a modern-day Dionysus.

Bacchus (or Dionysus - 1596)
Caravaggio
source Wikiart

Never mind Dionysus ----- Nietzsche is the consummate Narcissus.  He placed himself in the position of God; everything was measured by his own thoughts and emotions, and judged accordingly.  Since he was so much above everything and everyone, is it any surprise that all fall short of his ideal? Perhaps that is nothing, and for a great philosopher is understandable.  Yet the contempt and the disparagement that he exhibits towards nearly everyone, not only severely undermines much of his philosophy, but also twists his ideas into a mass of writhing snakes where one is at a loss to find the proper head and tail to each.

I found some of Nietzsche's ideas fascinating, but as soon as I started to read his arguments that developed those ideas, he often lost my interest.  Not only were his disputations littered with self-praise, ambiguity and circumlocution, he often didn't make sense, or perhaps I should say that, in this book, his explanations didn't go far enough.  He also spoke from a very ethnocentric point-of-view.  Although he believed that he borrowed ideas from the ancient Greeks, almost everything he criticized was German, and everything he wanted to fix related to German society.  I'm not sure how well some of his arguments would hold up in other countries, but my brain is too done to wonder about this ------- no, my brain is not tired because it explored wonderfully deep amazing thoughts; it's tired as if it's had to put up with a recalcitrant child for the last couple of weeks.  And so ends my first experience with Nietzsche.

I am quite enjoying my WEM Project.  It's forced me to read some books that I probably wouldn't have touched otherwise.  I didn't particularly enjoy Nietzsche but look at the length of my review!  He at least inspired something, even though it wasn't admiration.

The Canterbury Tales ~ The Cook's Prologue and Tale

The Cook makes some amusing comments about The Reeve's Tale and then claims that he will relate a tale that happened in their city.  The Host encourages him to start, but tells him that he must tell a good story to make up for all the bad food that he's sold them.  The Cook responds in kind, revealing that his tale will be about an innkeeper.

The Cook

The Cook's Tale

A gay, jovial, black-haired apprentice named Perkin Reveler, loves flirting and drink and dancing.  And although Perkin is generous in his expenditures, his master often finds his cash-box empty and concludes:

"For certainly with an apprentice reveler

Who haunts dice, wild times, or making out

His master shall pay for it in his shop

Though he had no part in the partying

For theft and wild times are interchangeable

However much he knows how to play the cittern or fiddle

Revel and social integrity, especially in low ranks,

Are always at odds with one another, as men may see ..."

or in Middle English:

"For sikerly a prentys revelour

That haunteth dys, riot, or paramour,

His maister shal it in his shoppe abye,

Al have he no part of the mynstraleye

For thefte and riot, they been convertible

Al konne he pleye on gyterne or ribible,

Reve and trouthe, as in a lowe degree,

They have ful wrothe al day, as men may see ...."

Mindful of Perkin's tricks, his master releases him from his apprenticeship, and the young man decides to move in with his friend, who has similar vices, and his wife, who makes her living on her back, shall we say.

Apprentice
Orest Kiprensky
source Wikiart

Although Chaucer only wrote 58 lines of The Cook's Tale, and then left it incomplete, we can already see the form of the tale developing like the previous ones.  After the noble Knight's Tale, the stories have become gradually more and more humorously coarse and indecorous.  Who else will the apprentice deceive, and what effect will his disreputable friends have on his already well-developed vices? 

Here ends the first fragment of tales.  From now on, the order of tales can vary, depending on which manuscript your particular translator chose to rely.  Because we're going by Thomas Tyrwitt's ordering of the fragments (more information on the different manuscripts here), the next tale will be the The Man of Law's Tale or The Lawyer's Tale ......

The Canterbury Tales/The Brubury Tales Project

The General Prologue

The Knight's Tale
The Miller's Tale

The Reeve's Tale
The Cook's Tale
The Man of Law's Tale
The Wife of Bath's Tale
The Friar's Tale
The Summoner's Tale
The Clerk's Tale
The Merchant's Tale
The Squire's Tale
The Franklin's Tale
The Physician's Tale
The Pardoner's Tale
The Shipman's Tale
The Prioress's Tale
The Tale of Sir Thopas
The Tale of Melibee
The Monk's Tale
The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Second Nun's Tale
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale

The Manciple's Tale
The Parson's Tale
Chaucer's Retraction

The Canterbury Tales ~ The Reeve's Prologue and Tale

The Reeve is still simmering over The Miller's Tale about the Carpenter, and boasts that he would repay the Miller in kind, yet he is too old for the obscene jokes the Miller likes to employ.  The old Reeve gets carried away with his descriptions of old age and its sufferings, and the Host must interrupt to get him back on track.  The Reeve then proclaims that, as the Miller told his tale out of personal enmity for him, he will repay like for like:

"I'll speak his low talk, just as he has spoken.
I pray to God he gets his neck broken.
In my eye he can see what mote there is,
But what he can't see is the beam in his."

Or in the Middle English:

"Right in his cherles termes wol I speke.
I pray to god his nekke mote breke;
He can wel in myn yë seen a stalke,
But in his owne he can nat seen a balke."

The Reeve
source Wikimedia Commons

The Reeve's Tale

Simon, a miller, and given the nickname of Simkin, resides in Trumpington near Cambridge, his mill standing by a rippling brook.  His wife, the daughter of a clergyman, is imperious and disdainful, while Simkin is known for thievery and deception.  When he cheats the university, overcharging them for the grinding of their corn, two students Alan and John, decide he needs to learn a lesson.  They take wheat to be ground by the miller, but the miller outmaneuvers them:

"Instead of flour, I'll give them only bran.
'The greatest scholar is not the wisest man,'
As one time to the wolf remarked the mare.
For all their cunning a fig is what I care."

He then looses their horse, and when the students chase after him, the miller steals their grain, giving it to his wife to bake a loaf of bread.

Finally, the students return with their horse, but it is night, and they are forced to offer the miller payment to permit them to stay overnight.  They are allowed one bed, the miller in his wife are in a second, their 20 year-old daughter in a third, and the baby boy in his cradle at the foot of the miller's bed.

The miller and his wife have drunk so much wine that they fall asleep directly, but the students still plot revenge.  Alan decides to have his way with the miller's daughter and, not to be outdone, John moves the cradle to the foot of his bed and, after going out to relieve herself, the miller's wife crawls into bed with John.  In the morning, after his romp, Alan tries to crawl back into bed with John, but of course, due to the switched cradle, he ends up in bed with the miller.  He inadvertently whispers his night secrets to the miller, who is incensed at his duplicity.  They struggle, the miller is beaten up by both Alan and his own wife, who mistakes his bald head for the student's white nightcap and gives him a good thump on the head with a staff.  And so the miller is beaten and cheated, in another romping tale by Chaucer.

The Old Mill at Sunset (1844)
Thomas Cole
source Wikiart

This tale exemplifies the common "cradle-trick" tale, and is a near copy of Bocaccio's tale of the Sixth Story of the Ninth Day of his The Decameron. Chaucer gives the Reeve a type of northern dialect, which cannot be translated well, so if you don't read the Middle English version, you will likely miss it.  It's apparently the first example in English literature of a regional accent used in humorous imitation.

Next The Cook's Tale, which was unfinished by Chaucer ........

The Canterbury Tales/The Brubury Tales Project

The General Prologue

The Knight's Tale
The Miller's Tale
The Reeve's Tale
The Cook's Tale
The Man of Law's Tale
The Wife of Bath's Tale
The Friar's Tale
The Summoner's Tale
The Clerk's Tale
The Merchant's Tale
The Squire's Tale
The Franklin's Tale
The Physician's Tale
The Pardoner's Tale
The Shipman's Tale
The Prioress's Tale
The Tale of Sir Thopas
The Tale of Melibee
The Monk's Tale
The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Second Nun's Tale
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale

The Manciple's Tale
The Parson's Tale
Chaucer's Retraction

The Canterbury Tales ~ The Miller's Prologue and Tale

After the tale of courtly love by the Knight, the Host requests the Monk to recite his tale, however the churlish and boorish Robin the Miller interrupts, insisting on having his tale told first.  While he claims his tale is noble, he absolves himself of all responsibility for it, claiming drunkenness as his excuse.  Given his character and situation, one wonders what will proceed from his mouth.  In fact, Oswald, the Reeve, protests that the Miller's tale about a carpenter, will insult carpenters, of which he is one, but the Miller begins to tell his tale, in spite of the Reeve's objections.

Illustration of Robin the Miller
playing the bagpipes
source Wikipedia

The Miller's Tale

A Carpenter named John lived in Oxford, and he had a student named Nicolas, as a boarder, who was poor, learned in Astrology, well-versed in the art of love, and knew how to conduct himself.  The Carpenter, though old, was newly wedded to a handsome eighteen-year-old girl, Alisoun, and while he appears a kind, simple man, he guards her jealously, afraid that another man will steal her affections.  Nicolas decides that he will have his way with her, and Alisoun is a willing accomplice.  Now to get the Carpenter out of the way. Yet not only does the Carpenter have this wily student plotting to steal his wife, but also Absolon, the parish clerk, has seen her, fallen in love and decides to woo her with music outside her window, but the miller's wife is not interested.

Meanwhile Nicolas cooks up a plan to rid them of the Carpenter, so they can spend the night together.  He convinces him that a flood, second only to Noah's, is coming and that he needs to acquire three large tubs to hang from the ceiling where the three of them can sleep, and when the waters arrive, they can cut the ropes and float away.  The Carpenter, convinced of the tale, spends a great deal of time collecting the tubs and doing the work.  He is so exhausted that he falls asleep immediately in his tub, and then Alisoun and Nicolas climb down to enjoy themselves in his bed.  Little do they know that Absolon is once again going to try to win Alisoun's favours by wooing her from outside the window.  She agrees to a kiss but, to Absolon's stupified surprise, what she stick out the window is her bare backside and not her head.  Ai-ya! Absolon is repulsed and leaves, but when he returns, he has a branding iron with him. This time Nicolas, to give the clerk further shock, decides to stick his rear end out the window for the next promised kiss, and does he get the surprise of his life!  His cry of "Water!" wakes up the Carpenter who thinks the flood is upon him and cuts his rope.  For his troubles, the poor Carpenter gets a broken arm and the ridicule of the whole town.

Alison and John (1913)
Russell Flint
source 

This tale seems a response and a parody to The Knight's Tale, in that The Knight's Tale was filled with chivalry, courtly love, honour and destiny, whereas in this tale, there is adultery, lust, and deception, depicted with obscenity and humour.  As in The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale also presents another love triangle, but in this case, it is one that is base and immoral, instead of the Knight's illustration of courtly love.

In addition to turning the virtues of The Knight's Tale on its head, the Miller seems to be offering a commentary on the church, and not a very pleasant commentary at that.  The Carpenter has the same trade as Jesus and Joseph, and is presented as a rather ingenuous, bumbling fool.  Absolon's position of parish clerk appears to offer more negative criticism.  His dialogue seems to sometimes grow from Songs of Songs, as he uses some of the most beautiful biblical love poetry to seduce another man's wife.  I'm unsure as to whether his name is a lampoon of the biblical character Absalom, King David's son who was known for his ingratiating manners and pretentious love of pomp and show.  Everything meaningful about the biblical Absalom is portrayed on the outside, but there is no depth to his strength of character.  The Miller's Absolon obviously has a faith that holds little meaning for him and has no effect on his actions.

These bawdy tales were favourites of Chaucer's times and are categorized as a fabliau, originating in France and characterized as short merry tales, "generally about people in absurd and amusing circumstances, often naughty sexual predicaments. The stories frequently involve a betrayed husband (the cuckold), his unfaithful wife, and a cleric who is the wife's lover. " (1)

The next tale will be told by The Reeve, the pilgrim who protested the telling of The Miller's Tale.  What shall we find in his tale, and how will it link to the two we have already heard?

The Canterbury Tales/The Brubury Tales Project

The General Prologue

The Knight's Tale
The Miller's Tale
The Reeve's Tale
The Cook's Tale
The Man of Law's Tale
The Wife of Bath's Tale
The Friar's Tale
The Summoner's Tale
The Clerk's Tale
The Merchant's Tale
The Squire's Tale
The Franklin's Tale
The Physician's Tale
The Pardoner's Tale
The Shipman's Tale
The Prioress's Tale
The Tale of Sir Thopas
The Tale of Melibee
The Monk's Tale
The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Second Nun's Tale
The Canon's Yeoman's Tale

The Manciple's Tale
The Parson's Tale
Chaucer's Retraction