Geofry Chaucer Canterbury tales

Geoffrey CHAUCER: CANTERBURY TALES.

Prologue: In the prologue the author is describing how he went on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. By the way he rested in a pub in Southwark and there he met a group of twenty nine people. These are pilgrims too, so the author joined this group. There were: knight, his son, nun Eglantine, another nun, chapel, three priests, friar Hubert, student from Oxford, jurist, landowner, shopper, carpenter, cook, shipsman, doctor, woman from Bath, parson, farmer, reeve, miller, and many others. And later the innkeeper joined them. Rytier: bol veľmi vážený človek, čo horlil za rytiersky stav od chvíle, kedy po prvý raz vysadol na koňa. Miloval pravdu a česť, slobodu a vyberané dvorné spôsoby. Kde prišiel, všade si ho vážili pre jeho vyberané spôsoby. Bol však nielen udatný, ale aj múdry a v spôsoboch taký jemný ako panna, po celý život nevypustil z úst jediné hrubé slovo.
Mních: urastený a životaschopný muž, zaľúbený do koňov a poľovačiek. Pretože sa mu regula rádu sv. Benedikta zdala staromódna a veľmi prísna, pustil ju z hlavy a nedodržiaval ju. Ani len mizerné kurča by nedal za názor, že nemôže byť dobrým a bohumilým mníchom, ak je poľovník a že mních, ktorý sa nezdržiava iba v kláštore je ako ryba na suchu.
Fráter: bol veselý a rostopašný žobravý mních. Hriešnikom, čo mu dobre zaplatili, ukladal mierne pokánie, lebo bol toho názoru, že človek, čo nie je skúpy, už svojou štedrosťou prejavuje pravú kajúcnosť. Krčmy poznal v každom meste a viac sa ráčil s výčapníkmi a krčmárskymi paholkami ako s lazármi a žobrákmi. Lebo váženémučloveku ako on sa nepatrí obcovať s takouto háveďou. This company started their pilgrimage to Canterbury. And because they are bored the innkeeper has an idea. Each of them has to tell to others two tales during the journey. One during the way to Canterbury and the other during the way back. The person, who tell the best tale win a free meal, which must pay the others. So they started.

Millers tale: The miller told a tale about a carpenter. That carpenter had an nice young wife called Alison. In his house there lived also a young poor student called Nicholas. Carpenter went away for two days and Nicholas lock himself in his room for that time. When the carpenter returned from his journey he was curious what is Nicholas doing for two days in his room. So he sent a boy to spy what is happening. The boy knocked on the door, but nothing happened.

When he looked through the keyhole he saw Nicholas looking from window at the stars. He ran and told about it to the carpenter. Carpenter was shocked so he kicked out the door and tried to woke up. Nicholas said him that he saw the future in the stars and there will be a great flood and everybody would die. But there is a chance how to survive. Carpenter must built three barrels. They must sit down and wait for the great flood. But there was another man who liked Alison very much too. His name was Absolom and he was a clerk. When the carpenter was sitting in barrel, Absolom thought that he is away and he wanted to visit Alison. He shouted at her in front of the window. But Alison and Nicholas wanted to make fun of him. It was late evening, so it was dark. Nicholas showed himself from the window and Absolom kissed him. But when he guessed who he had kissed he was angry. He wanted to revenge himself. He took an red-hot iron and wanted to repeat the scene. So Nicholas showed himself again and Absolom hit him with the iron. Nicholas run outside, shouting for help. The carpenter heard that shout and thought that the great flood came. He cut the rope and he fell outside the barrel. Everybody was laughing.

Friars tale: The friar told his tale about a man who robbed everyone, even his master. He told the people that if they do not pay to him some money, he arrange them like criminals and they will go to prison. But if they gave him the money everything is OK. One day he went to blackmail an old widow. While he was going through the forest, he met a young man. This young man was the devil. The man was excited, he concluded a treaty with this devil that they will share everything. But by the way the devil told him, that he pinch only those things which people allow him to take. When they arrive to the house of the widow, the man started to blackmail the old woman. He told her that it is not important that she is innocent. Important is what he tell to his master and if she do not want to go to jail she must pay. She did not want to pay so he wanted to take her new pan. She said: “Devil take you with this pan!” And the devil knew that she meant it real so he take the man with him to hell.

Reeves tale: This tale was about a miller, who was a clever thief. He robbed many people, but he was a strong man, so everybody was afraid to defend himself before the robbery. He robbed the people very carefully so nobody knows that he was a thief. But once he has stolen from Kvestor very much.

Kvestor was angry and send students to take care about the flour. But the miller was clever and untie the students´ horse. While they were catching him he steal something from the flour. And his wife cooked a cake from it. The students know that he had robbed them but there was no help. They asked the miller if they can pass the night by him. In the night they transfer the little bed of the millers daughter and the made some noise. Millers wife thought that there are thieves in their house. She take a stick and because she did not recognised miller (there was no little bed of the daughter in front of his) she beaten the miller. The students take back the flour and the cake and ran away. The evil was punished.