religious figures
scoundrels
virtuous figures
the middle class
miscellaneous
100

This religious pilgrim is a bit too interested in aristocratic manners.

Prioress

100

This pilgrim has a deal with his suppliers to make "money from the other's guile." He keeps "the gold he won in pestilences." "Gold stimulates the heart, or so we're told. He therefore had a special love of gold."

Doctor

100

This pilgrim is "an honest worker, good and true,/Living in peace and perfect charity." He isn't associated with the church, but he loves God and helps his neighbors with no expectation of reward.

Plowman

100

This group of pilgrims are up-and-coming townspeople who, with their wives, like to show off their prosperity.

Tradesmen or Guildsmen (Haberdasher, Dyer, Carpenter, Weaver, Carpet-maker)

100

No one knows this pilgrim is in debt, and the narrator doesn't know his name, either.

Merchant

200

This religious figure rides a fine horse and doesn't follow the strict rules of his order, which demand that he live apart from the world, studying and praying.

Monk

200

This pilgrim is physically powerful, he's dishonest, he loves to tell dirty stories, and he plays the bagpipes.

Miller

200

This pilgrim is "of sovereign value in all eyes./ And though so much distinguished, he was wise/ And in his bearing modest as a maid."

Knight

200

This pilgrim has become prosperous after five marriages and knows all about love.

Wife of Bath

200

These two pilgrims wear jewelry: one a gold pin shaped in a lover's knot and the other a gold brooch engraved with "Amor vincit omnia."

the Monk and Prioress

300

This corrupt representative of the church has terrible skin, eats garlic and onions, drinks too much, accepts bribes, and carries a round cake like a shield.

Summoner

300

"Many a draught of vintage, red and yellow,/He'd drawn at Bordeaux, while the trader snored./The nicer rules of conscience he ignored./If, when he fought, the enemy vessel sank,/He sent his prisoners home; they walked the plank."

Skipper

300

Of this religious figure it is said, "This noble example to his sheep he gave/ That first he wrought and afterwards he taught." He believes "That if gold rust, what then will iron do?"

Parson

300

This pilgrim proposes the story-telling game.

Host

300

This pilgrim has "an ulcer on his knee."

Cook

400

This religious figure is supposed to live as a beggar but wants nothing to do with the poor and sick. Instead, he associates with barkeepers and the rich.

Friar

400

Supposed to uphold justice, this pilgrim knows every loophole in the law and uses them for personal gain, rather than fairness.

The Sergeant of the Law

400

This pilgrim lives to read, learn, and teach. His friends give him money, which he spends on books, and in return, he prays for them.

Oxford Cleric

400

This pilgrim is wealthy but not a member of the nobility. He is known for his lavish hospitality.

Franklin

400

The inn where the pilgrims first meet

Tabard

500

This representative of the church has "hair as yellow as wax," which hangs down his shoulders "like rat-tails." His voice is like a goat's, he can't grow a beard, and the narrator guesses "he was a gelding, or a mare." He sells fake relics.

Pardoner

500

This pilgrim is "old and choleric and thin." He's extremely sharp and "feared like the plague . . . by those beneath." He's so clever with money that he's become rich. And "he had a rusty blade/Slung at his side."

Reeve

500

This young pilgrim has fought in some battles, but he spends more time singing, writing poetry, dancing, drawing, and pursuing love.

Squire

500

This pilgrim's job is to provide food for the community of lawyers in the Inner Temple. He is illiterate but can "wipe [the scholarly lawyers'] eye."

Manciple

500

What is the penalty for disobeying the rules of the game?

Paying the expenses of the trip