Chaucer's Pilgrims: An Historical Guide to the Pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales

by Robert Thomas Lambdin, Laura Lambdin

Overview

To have a clear understanding of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the reader needs to know about the vocations of the pilgrims. For some 600 years, this information has been difficult to locate. This reference provides a detailed historical description of the occupations of Chaucer's pilgrims. An entry is devoted to each traveler, and the entries have similar formats to foster comparison. Each entry discusses the historical daily routine of the pilgrim's occupation, the portrayal of the profession in Chaucer's poem, and the relationship between the tale and Chaucer's General Prologue.

Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is one of the oldest and most widely studied works of English literature. The tales provide a glimpse of medieval life, and the professions of the pilgrims figure prominently in the poetry. To have a clear understanding of Chaucer's work, the reader needs to know about the vocations of the pilgrims. For some 600 years, this information has been difficult to locate. This reference work conveniently synthesizes and discusses information about the occupation of each of Chaucer's pilgrims and provides an historical context.

The volume contains individual entries for each of Chaucer's pilgrims, and the entries share a similar format to foster comparison. Each entry includes three parts. First, the pilgrim's profession is discussed in terms of the daily routine of the medieval occupation. Second, the vocation is examined in terms of its reflection in the tale told by the pilgrim. Third, the vocation and the tale are discussed, when possible, in relation to the descriptions of the characters provided in the General Prologue. Each entry includes a bibliography, and the volume concludes with a list of works for further reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313293344
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/16/1996
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Science
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.06(d)

About the Author

LAURA C. LAMBDIN teaches Professional Communications in the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business. Her areas of specialization include Medieval, Romantic, and Victorian Literature. The Arthurian legends popular during those three periods are of particular interest to her, and she has written many articles comparing various treatments of Arthurian material.

ROBERT T. LAMBDIN is Assistant Professor of English in the Provisional Year Program at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. His areas of specialization include Medieval, Old English, Renaissance, British, and Greek Drama. Of particular interest to him are the Middle English debate poems.

Table of Contents

Preface
A Knyght Ther Was by Michael A. Calabrese
A Yong Squier by Peggy Huey
A Yeman Had He by John W. Conlee
Ther Was Also A Nonne, A Prioress by Maureen Hourigan
Another Nonne With Hire Hadde She by Rebecca Stephens
And Preestes Thre by Catherine Cox
A Monk Ther Was, A Fair for the Maistrie by John P. Hermann
A Frere Ther Was, A Wantowne and a Meryee by Karl T. Hagen
A Marchant Was Ther With a Forked Berd by Nancy M. Reale
A Clerk Ther Was of Oxenford Also by Bert Dillon
A Sergeant of the Law, War and Wyse by Joseph Hornsby
A Frankeleyn Was In His Compaignye by Liz Sembler
An Haberdasher… by Laura and Robert Lambdin
…And a Carpenter… by Julian N. Wasserman and Marc Guidry
…A Webbe… by Gwendolyn Morgan
…A Dyere… by Diana R. Uhlman
…And a Tapycer by Rebecca Stephens
A Cook They Had With Hem For the Nones by Constance B. Hieatt
A Shipman Ther Was, Wonynge Fer By Weste by Sigrid King
With Us Ther Was a Doctour of Phisik by Edwin Eleazar
A Good Wive Was Ther of Biside Bath by Judith Slover
And Was a Povre Persoun of a Toun by Esther M. G. Smith
With Hym Ther Was a Plowman, Was His Brother by Daniel F. Pigg
The Millere Was a Stout Carl for the Nones by Laura and Robert Lambdin
A Gentil Maunciple Was Ther of a Temple by John H. Fisher
The Reve Was a Sclendre Colerik Man by Richard B. McDonald
A Sumonour Was Ther With Us In That Place by James Keller
With Hym Ther Rood a Gentil Pardoner by Elton E. Smith
Harry Bailly: Chaucer's Innkeeper by Thomas C. Richardson
I Demed Hym Som Chanoun For To Be by Christine N. Chism
His Yeman Eek Was Ful of Curteisye by Robert and Laura Lambdin
"What Man Artow?": The Narrator as Writer and Pilgrim by Katharine Wilson
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

A reference that examines the various vocations of the pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Each expert chapter describes a particular pilgrim's specific function in 14th-century England. The emphasis is on the historical position of the various vocations foreworded in the "General Prologue." Other considerations are the link between each pilgrim's profession and the content or direction of his or her tale; the link between the profession and tale in terms of the pilgrim's character as defined in the "General Prologue"; and the ways in which the pilgrim's character goes beyond what might normally be expected from a member of such a group. Each chapter concludes with a bibliography of recent critical works relative to that pilgrim. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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