The Canterbury Tales Characters

Chaucer does not describe the Yeoman in much detail in the Prologue, primarily observing that since he is dressed in green clothing and keeps his arrows in good condition, he is an excellent forester who takes care of the Knight’s land.

Even though the second nun and the nun’s priests are only mentioned in passing and are not described in the General Prologue, this second nun and one of the priests do get to tell tales.

The Clerk is a poor scholar who can only afford threadbare clothes because he spends all his spare money on books. There are many scholars through The Canterbury Tales, and though nearly all of them are poor, this does not dampen their spirits.

Chaucer mentions five specific guildsmen by trade in the Prologue, but none of them gets to tell a Tale. In medieval society, tradesmen organized into guilds to obtain more power and money, and these workers were rapidly gaining recognition and influence.

The Cook, Roger de Ware, is one of the pilgrims explicitly based on a real-life figure. The Cook makes tasty food, but his disgusting appearance and severe lack of hygiene might not make that food the most appetizing of options.

The Shipman is a scoundrel who skims off the top of the wares he transports. However, even though he is a crook, the Shipman has a great deal of experience and is good at his job: he may be a thief, but he’s not a hypocrite.

The Physician, like the Clerk, is well-educated, but he practices his trade for love of gold rather than love of knowledge. He may not know his Bible, but he certainly knows all that there is to know about science and medicine.

Unlike most of the other religious characters in the Tales, the Parson is a sincere and devout priest, devoted to his parishioners. He genuinely practices what he preaches, traveling through rain and shine to the farthest corners of his parish.

The Plowman, the Parson’s brother, is also a devout Christian, dedicated to his labors. He wears a modest tunic, demonstrating his humble ways, and always pays his tithes in full, showing his devotion to Christ.

The Miller is a pug-nosed, brawny worker with a red beard and a warty nose. He’s a champion wrestler, a thief––Chaucer says that he steals corn from his bosses––and something of a drunkard.

The Manciple supplies a school of law with provisions, but he is cleverer than the lawyers he works for. He, like the Shipman and the Miller, likely steals from his masters, since his accounts always come out ahead and in his favor.

The Pardoner, with his mincing, feminine ways and long hair, has been interpreted as potentially homosexual. He carries a full bag of pardons and fake relics from Rome, which he uses to dupe gullible parishioners into giving him money.

Theseus is the noble king of Athens. A powerful conqueror and a fair ruler, Theseus often must make the final judgment throughout “The Knight’s Tale”, but he accepts the counsel of others throughout.

Hippolyta is Queen of the Amazons, a tribe of powerful women. Nevertheless, before the story begins, she has fallen in love with Theseus, and he brings her back to Athens as his bride.

One of the two main knights of the Tale. Bound in chivalric brotherhood to Palamon, Arcite nevertheless falls in love with the same woman, Emelye, while the two are imprisoned in the tower.

Brave, strong Palamon, sworn to eternal brotherhood with Arcite, his cousin, falls in love with the maiden Emelye while he and Arcite are imprisoned for life in the tower.

The object of both Palamon’s and Arcite’s desire, Emelye, Hippolyta’s maiden sister, is the lady whom the knights love from afar. She is pious, virginal, and the epitome of an object of courtly love.

A duke who is a friend of both Theseus and Arcite, he petitions for Arcite’s release from prison.

Palamon prays to Venus, goddess of love, before battle, asking to win the hand of Emelye. The temple of Venus is decorated not only with heroic love but also with stories showing the sinful and disastrous effects that love can have.

Arcite prays to Mars, the god of war, asking for victory in battle. Mars’s temple is decorated with images of the destruction and havoc that war creates.

Emelye prays to Diana before the climactic battle. Diana is the goddess of chastity as well as of change. Her temple is decorated with symbols of virginity and maidenhead, but Diana’s emblem is the moon, and the temple also depicts various mythological characters whom she has changed.

The father of the gods and the ultimate judge, pale, cold Saturn makes sure that everything turns out as Fortune and the gods have decreed.

Theseus’s father and the voice of reason in the Tale who instructs Theseus to move forward despite his grief.

Symkyn the miller, a fat, pug-nosed man, resembles the portrait of the Miller in the General Prologue. Symkyn is a scoundrel who steals grain from his masters.

Aleyn, who comes from the north of England, is one of the two scholars studying at Cambridge. When the miller sets the clerks’ horse loose into the field of wild mares, Aleyn takes his revenge by setting himself loose upon the miller’s daughter and having sex with her.

John, who comes from the north of England, is one of the two scholars studying at Cambridge. By swapping the cradle from the foot of one bed to the foot of the other, John tricks the miller’s wife into sleeping with him.

The twenty-year-old daughter resembles her father, Symkyn, since she also has a pug nose. She is a lusty young creature who steals grain from her thieving father to give back to the scholars. She sleeps with Aleyn.

The three rioters spend their days carousing, drinking, and making mischief. Although they swear brotherhood during their quest to slay Death, as soon as they find the bushels of gold all bets are off and they start plotting against each other, to their eventual demise.

The old man who cannot die is a typical character from a moral fable: he gives the rioters the information that they seek, but it turns out that he leads them directly into danger.

Sir Olifaunt, that is, “Sir Elephant,” is a huge giant who guards the elf-queen whom Sir Thopas falls in love with in a dream.

The widow and her two daughters are the only humans who appear in this Tale: all of the other characters in this beast fable are animals. The widow and her daughters act like animals in the climactic scene of the Tale, when the entire barnyard chases the fox.

Chaunticleer’s favorite hen-wife, Pertelote, is also well-educated, quoting Latin authors and physician’s remedies. She is quite bossy and is an example of the kind of authoritative wife that the Wife of Bath champions in her Prologue.

The fox is the wily villain of the story, the murderous threat that Chaunticleer sees in a dream. The fox also is an allusion to the threat of royal power disrupting peasants’ lives, as Chaucer hints when he describes the barnyard chase as being like the Jack Straw rebellion.