The Pilgrim Travelers
Chaucer’s “General Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales narrates the story of 29 pilgrims grotesquely and pleasantly. The 29 pilgrims are headed to Canterbury. The pilgrims are together because they are all heading to Canterbury to get the blessings of the holy heavenly martyr. They are also together and call themselves travelers because of their final destination. The Host (Chaucer) decides to accompany them and gives a perfect description of the 29 people, listing them by status and rank. The Host also instructs them that each pilgrim has to narrate two tales on their way to and from Canterbury, and nobody should go against his instructions and rules, which everyone agrees. Based on Chaucer’s description, the pilgrims and their reason for traveling align with their societal positions because he divides the people into four distinct groups: the highest social class, middle class, lower class, and immoral class. Therefore, to some extent, these people are divided based on their societal positions. Among the 29 pilgrims, Miller, Monk, and the Knight will be discussed. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.
In some way, the 29 pilgrims are grouped based on their societal position. The Monk is included under the highest social rank after aristocrats like Knights. Ideally, the highest social rank would only contain Knight and his household son, Squire. However, the Monk, Friar, and prioress, who should be in the lower class, are included in the highest social class. This is because a virtuous beggar has pleaded so well that his opulence poignantly slides him into the group of aristocrats. Genuinely, the Knight and his son, the Squire, were the only persons who qualified to be in the highest social rank both inwardly and outwardly. However, the ‘gentilesse’ fine-tuning resulting from the decent upbringing of the Monk and prioress is greatly affected, leading to their inclusion into the group.
According to Chaucer, Miller belongs to the last class of society, known as the immoral class. Chaucer primarily describes Miller using his physical size and strength mirrored in how he forces his way into discussions and coerces other travelers while drunk. The Host further confirms that Miller’s physical strength is so intense that he can destroy a door from its hinges. Unfortunately, Chaucer fails to explain why he creates such damage, inferring that Miller is susceptible to meaningless aggression (Puchner 1117). Miller is also described as a cheater, taking more money from the grains he grinds. He is also described as “more brawn than brain,” meaning Miller cannot control his temper nor interact politely with others (D’haen 68). His traits are also reflected in the way he narrates his tale. Drunk so early in the morning, he insists on narrating his story before his turn. He narrates a story of individuals as violent and deceptive as himself. Even if the story is elegant and funny, the story stresses his deceitful nature and aggressiveness. Finally, this exposes Chaucer’s view about the bawdy, rowdy nature of the individual in Miller’s social class.
The second person is the Knight, who is placed in the highest social class, the class of aristocrats. He is the person holding the highest social status in the group of 29 people. Besides, his story is the first in the prologue. Chaucer specifically admires the Knight by remembering the four primary qualities of the Knight. First, the Knight’s love of ideals such as ‘trouthe’ (fidelity), prowess (chivalries), generosity, “freedom”, “Curteisie” refinement, and “honour” (reputation) (Puchner 1114). Secondly, Knight’s remarkable military career makes him fit the class of aristocrats, which is representative of the aristocracy or the people with pretensions towards the upper class. Knight, having fought in the Crusades, fights wherein Europeans traveled via sea to non-Christian lands trying to convert entire cultures with the might of their swords, makes him fit the highest social class as he is positioned by the society. Knight has also battled the Muslims in Spain, Turkey, and Egypt. Most importantly, he battled in the formal dwells (Puchner 1115). Therefore, the traits he exhibits while on the journey and the kind of story, he tells truly reflect his purpose for the journey and why society places him in the highest social class.
Works Cited
D’haen, Theo, César Domínguez, and Mads Thomsen. World literature: a reader. Routledge, 2012.
Puchner, Martin, et al., eds. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. London and New York: WW Norton, 2018.
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Question 
Discussion Board Post 9
Based on what you’ve read in Chaucer’s “General Prologue” to The Canterbury Tales, please answer the following:
The Pilgrim Travelers
Why is the group together, and where are they heading? Do the group of people and their purpose for traveling together align with their positions in society based on the descriptions Chaucer provides in the Prologue? Choose 2-3 people and Explain.
Book: The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 4th Edition Package 1 OR Volumes A, B, C
General Editor: Martin Puchner
ISBN: 978-0-393-26590-3
Published by: W.W. Norton & Company