Character Extensions: The Virtuous Knight and the Churlish Miller
Chaucer is a master of creating tales that perfectly match the tale bearers. All of the seemingly extraneous details of each pilgrim in the General Prologue are not merely for creating some vague mental portrait for our mind to grab onto and tag as "KNIGHT" or "SUMMONER." Indeed, our edition includes woodcuts of the characters for that purpose. Therefore, these short glimpses into each character's appearance and personality serve a broader thematic intent. In short, the tales become an extension of the tale tellers. And through Chaucer's skill, often a tale is told in juxtaposition with another tale for a deliberate, sometimes comic, effect. Two such tales are the Knight's chivalric romance and the Miller's fabliau.
The socially superior Knight is the first pilgrim to be described in the prologue, and is the first person to tell a tale. The Knight is not so much depicted physically as he is described in terms of his values. In the General Prologue he is described as a "worthy man," who "loved chivalrie, / Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie" (ll. 43, 45-46, GP ). These are his personal convictions, which are backed up through allusions to his faith and honor having been tested in the Crusades and against all enemies of Christendom (ll. 51-67, GP ). Yet as chivalrous as he is, the Knight has a most humble disposition: "And of his port as meeke as is a mayde" (l. 69, GP ). Humility is a characteristic to be admired by all of the Knight's peers, in both the courtly sphere of aristocracy and in the benevolent ideals of religion. His armour, too, reflects his humility: it is plainly adorned and soiled through service, "For he was late ycome from his viage," presumably in "his lordes werre" (ll. 77, 47, GP ). Thus, the Knight of the Canterbury Tales is an exemplum of the bravery, strength, and service, like an idealized knight, and also a paragon of courtly manners. His character can be summed up in the line, "He was a verray, parfit, gentil knyght" (l. 72, GP ). These values are important in his description, and they are reflected in the Knight's Tale .
The Knight's Tale is a medieval romance set in the semi-mythical past, much like Troylus and Creside . The story, like the Knight himself, employs worthy men who exhibit the values of "Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie," and humility (ibid.). Arcite and Palamon are immediately recognized as worthy men, though they are the known enemies of Theseus:
But by hir cote-armures and by hir gere
The heraudes knewe hem best in special
As they that weren of the blood roial
Of Thebes, and of sustren two yborn.
(ll. 1016-1019, KT)
Through these distinguished signs alone it is obvious that the two knights are of respectable families, thus worthy men (in a socio-economic context).
Next, the value of "trouthe" or integrity is also displayed throughout the tale: truth and integrity occur in Palamon's revealing his true name to Theseus in the private battle scene; it appears in Palamon and Arcite's keeping their tryst to tourney for Emilye's hand; and it is upheld in Theseus' initial decision to award his sister-in-law's hand to the victor. Next, the value of honor is represented in the character of Palamon. It is Palamon, not Arcite, who thinks of Thebes' honor when he wishes to escape from his prison, to raise an army, and avenge his city by attacking Athens (hopefully while making off with Emilye in the process). A strong sense of honor also pervades Palamon when he and Arcite are discovered in mortal combat by Theseus. He anticipates and braces for Theseus' doom, yet he faces it honorably:
. . . "Sire, what nedeth wordes mo?
We have the deeth disserved bothe two.
. . . And as thou art a rightful lord and juge,
Ne yeve us neither mercy ne refuge.
But sle me first, for seinte charitee!
(ll. 1715-1716, 1719-1721, KT)
Next, the virtue of "fredom" or generosity is embodied in the character of Theseus. It is Theseus' generosity that funds the tourney, pays for the housing and banqueting of the tourney members, and offers Athens' chief prize, Emilye. Next, the theme of "curteisie" is represented throughout the Knight's tale. Courtesy is such a dominant theme in this fiction, primarily in the language between the characters, that it permeates the entire yarn of the story, effectively qualifying it as a romance. And finally, the Knight's sense of humility is also represented in his tale. Humility and all of the other important values are expressed by Arcite at the end of his life:
"I have heer with by cosyn Palamon
Had strif and rancour many a day agon
For love of yow [Emilye], and for my jalousye.
And Juppiter so wys my soule gye
To speken of a servaunt proprely,
With alle circumstances trewely-
That is to seyn, trouthe, honour, knyghthede,
Wysdom, humblesse, estaat, and heigh kynrede,
Fredom, and al that longeth to that art-
So Juppiter have of my soule part,
As in this world right now ne knowe I non
So worthy to be loved as Palamon,
That serveth yow, and wol doon al his lyf.
(ll. 2782-2795, KT , my bold)
The values revealed in Arcite's final speech are almost identical to Chaucer's description of the Knight in the General Prologue . For these reasons, the Knight's Tale is certainly an extension of the Knight's depiction.
On the other hand, the Miller has a much less flattering and more burlesque description of himself in the General Prologue . From the get-go Chaucer paints the Miller as a churlish fellow: "The Millere was a stout carl for the nones" (l. 545, GP ). This, of course, is the exact opposite of the Knight's virtue. And unlike his treatment of the Knight, Chaucer seems to relish in describing the Miller's physical imperfections (complete with barnyard similes) to the reader:
His berd as any sowe or fox was reed,
And therto brood, as though it were a spade.
Upon the cop right of his nose he hade
A werte, and theron stood a toft of herys
Reed as the brustles of a sowes erys.
His nosethirles blake were and wyde.
(ll. 552-558, GP)
Sheer physicality- warts and all- dominate the Miller. However, the Miller's lowly description does not end there. His private life and personal ventures are also proclaimed as most base and sinful:
He was a janglere and a goliardeys,
And that was moost of synne and harlotries.
Wel koude he stelen corn and tollen thries.
And yet he hadde a thombe of gold, pardee.
. . . A baggepipe wel koude he blowe and sowne. . . .
(ll. 560-563, 565, GP)
These are the Miller's "noble" pastimes and values; lewd and corrupt behavior, and an unfavorable corporal depiction dominate his introduction to the reader. It should come as no surprise to see that the Miller's Tale will reflect his ignoble character.
The Miller's Tale is a bawdy fabliau set in contemporary "Oxenford" (l. 3187, MT ). The same bad manners and exaggerated physical description of the Miller are replete throughout his tale. There are virtually countless examples of physical description and sensation: from Absolon's "courting" of Alison; to Alison's physical and sensual description; to Absolon' squeamish dispositions; to the immortal kissing of the nether eye scene; and to the scorching of Nicolas' bum. The Miller's unwavering eye for details, both pleasant and unpleasant, are in line with Chaucer's own unflattering description of the man. The tale is also brimming over with vices and gulling: from the cuckolding of John by Nicolas and Alison; to the attempted cuckolding of John by Absolon; to the putting down of John-the-unlearned by Nicolas-the-student; to the japing of Absolon by Alison; and to the heated revenge of Absolon on Nicolas. These crossweaved, bawdy sub-plots are also up to par with the Miller's description as a "janglere and a goliardeys" (ibid.). In terms of the content of the story, the Miller's Tale is most certainly an extension of this extravagantly churlish (yet hilarious) pilgrim.
Finally, the question remains, "Why did Chaucer intentionally arrange the Miller's Tale to follow the Knight's Tale ?" Apart from the obvious humor of juxtaposing two wholly bi-polar stories, it seems that Chaucer is magnifying the differences between two social classes and their respective values. There is a reason for Chaucer describing the Knight in vague, idealistic terms, and for describing the Miller in definitive, sometimes gross language. The Knight is an idealization of a courtly concept. His tale is idealized: love is service of the beloved, manners are courteous, beauty is fair beyond comprehension, and language is poetic and dignified. In short, the Knight and his tale are everything that the aristocracy thinks it should be, but is not. On the other hand, the Miller is a parody. His tale is wholly base, bordering on fetishism: love is sex, manners are lacking, beauty is animalistic and licentious, and language is wrought with lies and puns. In short, the Miller and his tale are a realistic portrait of a darker side of humanity. It's as if the Knight's portrait is taken from a sublimely airbrushed photo, whereas the Miller's was photographed under harsh florescent lights, without the benefit of a touch-up artist. For this reason, the Miller is (on one level) more realistic than the Knight. Unlike the unreachable paragon of knighthood, he is a character with real-life vices and imperfections. However, speculation should be avoided as to whether Chaucer personally sided with the Knight or the Miller. The mere fact that he can write tales in both styles is evidence that he could comfortably orbit many classes of society.
Source:
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. The Complete Poetry and Prose of Geoffrey Chaucer, Second Edition. Ed. John H. Fisher. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc, 1989. pp 9-68.
© sklender, 1996 - Until My Death, and then three weeks beyond that.