sparwe [sparrow]” (l. 626), and claims to have numer-
ous concubines. He, too, is a cheat, and will release
offenders from their ecclesiastical summons for a bribe.
Riding with him is a Pardoner, who is equally repug-
nant in appearance. He has a smooth face, a high voice,
and long yellow hair hanging in greasy ringlets. All of
these are feminine attributes. According to physiog-
nomy, the Pardoner’s eyes, “glarynge [.. .] as an hare”
(l. 684) reveal homosexual tendencies. His sexuality is
defi nitely ambiguous, and even the Narrator is forced
to concede: “I trowe he were a geldyng or a mare” (l.
691). The relationship between the Summoner and the
Pardoner is equally ambiguous. The Pardoner is sing-
ing a love song, and the Summoner “bar to hym a stif
burdoun” (l. 673)—musically a strong bass accompa-
niment, but certainly a phrase with strong sexual
implications. The Pardoner, like his fellows, is a cheat.
He carries with him a bag full of fake relics and a series
of false indulgences for which he charges inordinate
sums of money.
The Pardoner is the fi nal pilgrim the Narrator
describes fully. Of himself he says only “my wit is
short” (l. 746). After the list of portraits, the Host, “a
large man he was with eyen stepe” (l. 753), serves food
and becomes enthralled with the company of pilgrims.
He impulsively decides to travel with them, and he
also proposes a contest: Each Pilgrim will tell two tales
on the way to Canterbury and two on the return jour-
ney, with the winner earning a meal. The Host, who
will serve as judge, sets forth the rules: “and which of
yow that bereth hym best of alle—/ that is to seyn, that
telleth in this caas/ tales of best sentence and moost
solaas—/ shal have a soper at oure aller cost” (ll. 796–
799). Sentence and solaas—meaning and pleasure—
the basis of teaching through entertainment, were
prominent in medieval pedagogy.
Comic irony and satire are the two most prevalent
literary devices of the General Prologue. Quite often
these effects are achieved through the Narrator’s hearty
agreement with the pilgrims’ obviously incorrect per-
ceptions, such as the Monk’s casual dismissal of the
Rule of St. Augustine. As well, the Narrator often under-
cuts himself without (apparently) meaning to. For
instance, in the Prioress’s portrait, he notes: “Frenssh
she spak ful faire and fetisly,/after the scole of Stratford
at Bowe,/for Frenssh of Parys was to hire unknowe” (ll.
124–126). Although the Narrator’s admiring tone does
not change, the additional information he provides
reveals that she speaks provincial, not aristocratic,
French. Nevertheless, this constant irony is itself under-
cut somewhat because the Narrator never actually says
that the pilgrims are inaccurate in their estimations of
themselves. The Prioress, for example, thinks of herself
as a fi ne lady, not a model nun, while the Monk clearly
believes himself to be a country gentleman, not a cleric.
Thus, the audience can trust the details that the Narra-
tor reports, if not their presentation.
Scholars, particularly Jill Mann, have noted that the
General Prologue is related to a neglected medieval
genre, the estates satire. This literary genre is a satiric
examination of all classes of society—the so-called
THREE ESTATES. As well, such texts tend to concentrate
on people’s functions within a society as a whole,
rather than on individual contributions. As a whole,
there is an inordinate amount of time in the General
Prologue devoted to “work,” that is, dealing with what
the pilgrims actually do as opposed to who they are.
They tend to be sharply critical of characters that cheat
others out of rightfully earned money or goods, such as
the Miller and the Pardoner, both of whom are depicted
in scathing terms. Estates satires are also typically anti-
clerical, often presenting religious characters as drains
on an otherwise economically functioning society. The
Friar’s expensive habit of marrying off young women
that he has dallied with and the Monk’s stable of fi ne
horses both typify this attitude.
Thus, the General Prologue provides a serious moral
analysis of an entire society, which is, in turn, an essen-
tial setup for the whole tableau of the Canterbury Tales.
The major themes, such as the nature of love and friend-
ship, and the role of FORTUNE, are all introduced here.
The idea of chance is particularly interesting in this
regard. Beginning with line 19, “Bifi l that in that seson
on a day,” the idea of chance permeates the Prologue, as
it will the later Tales. Bifi l, meaning “it happened,” or “it
chanced,” seems to indicate that the Narrator simply
stumbles into this grand opportunity to travel with a
motley assortment of pilgrims and record their tales.
Other references to chance abound, with the pilgrims
randomly meeting, the Host impulsively joining theGENERAL PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES 207