“Hir coverchiefs ful fine weren of ground
Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed
Ful streite yteyd, and shoes ful moyste and newe”
This shows that in contrast to the Knight the Wife of Bath is materialistic and wants everyone to see her riches. The fact that she has new shoes for a pilgrimage just adds to the fact that she is vain and materialistic.
The Monk is bald, plump, has bright eyes, wears cuffs made out of squirrel fur, and has a luxurious gold brooch. The Monk should spend his time praying and “This is to seyn, a monk out of his own cloystre”. The Monk should be humble, not materialistic and help people. However the Monk enjoys hunting and eating roasted swan; which implies that he is indulgent which a monk should not be.When the Monk goes hunting his bridle bells are “eeke as loude as dooth the chapel belle”, it is ironic that he is compared to a chapel bell because that is where he should be in a chapel praying in a cloistered environment; however this simile is used to describe how loud he is as he riding out to hunt. The Monk thinks that the rules a monk should live by are old fashioned whereas he is modern; he doesn’t give a “pulled hen” for want of a better phrase. The Monk is the total opposite to what a real monk should be he is gregarious whereas a monk should be humble and retired, he is outgoing whereas a monk should live a cloistered, conserved life away from the public. The Monk is totally different to the Knight; the Knight is humble and wears tattered clothes covered in rust whereas the Monk wears expensive clothes, is materialistic and is flamboyant.
All of the characters have very different clothes and appearances these appearances have implications on their personality and characteristics. The Knight for example wears “a gypon al bismotered with his habergeon”, this shows his devotion to God because he has just come back from battle and the first thing he does is go to Canterbury and give thanks to God. It also shows his devotion to his king and country because it shows he is always fighting in battles. The rusted armour that he wears and the old clothes that he wears also show that he is not materialistic or vain and doesn’t care about what people think about him. Finally the fact that Chaucer does not mention a lot about his physical appearance adds to the fact that he is humble and not vain because for the Wife of Bath Chaucer mentions everything about her appearance because she is vain and cares about what people think about her. The fact that the Knight’s horse is plain and functional also proves that the Knight is not materialistic.
The Wife of Bath however does not wear old tattered clothes in fact, “Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed....and shoes ful moyste and newe.” The fact that the Wife of Bath has to buy new shoes for a pilgrimage shows just how vain she is because she wants everyone to see his wealth. The fact that her stockings are red shows just how rich she is because in the Middle Ages dying clothes different colours was very expensive. The red stockings also suggest that she is gregarious and likes to be noticed or perhaps they are a sign of passion. The Wife of Bath is a bit like the Prioress because both are vain and like expensive clothes and jewellery. Chaucer writes a lot about the Wife of Bath’s appearance which suggests that she likes to be noticed and is concerned with appearance. “Gat-tothed was she”, which suggests that she is promiscuous. “Boold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe” which suggest that she is vain and likes people to see her beauty unlike the Knight who doesn’t like to be noticed or put in the spotlight.
The Monk is “a lord ful fat and in good poynt” which suggests that he is indulgent which is exactly the opposite of what a monk should be. The “sleves purfiled at the hond /with grys, and that the fyneste of a lond”. This also suggests that he is extravagant and doesn’t really care about religious vows. The Monk’s head that “shoon as any glas” which could be a mirror which could suggest that he is vain. The fact that The Monk likes to eat swan also suggests that he is indulgent which a monk shouldn’t be. The Monk is the complete opposite to The Knight; he is indulgent and vain whereas The Knight is humble and not materialistic. Like The Pardoner The Monk is not a valid or true clergyman; The Pardoner sells fake relics such as white sheets and says they are the Virgin Mary’s veil and The Monk just goes on pilgrimages to get out of the monastery.
The Knight has many pastimes but most are associated with war such as training the Squire who is his son, taking part in jousts, defending the faith, travelling abroad to battles. This suggests that Chaucer’s society is always at war and that in the feudal system knights are expected to fight to defend their faith and country.
The Wife of Bath; however, enjoys; weaving which would be expected because Bath was famous for fine cloths, “Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce”, and “Housbondes at chirche dore she hadde fyve”. Also she went on a lot of pilgrimages like The Knight but she “koude muchel of wandrynge by the weye”, but apart from all this she has a lot of leisure time to enjoy her other past times. But unlike the Knight the Wife of Bath enjoys things that will fulfil her needs and wants whereas all of the Knight’s interests and pastimes directly benefit other sets of people such as the Squire or his country.
The Monk enjoys hunting which could imply that he doesn’t care about God’s creatures which a Monk should do. He also enjoys eating swan and other fine foods; he is indulgent also not what a monk should be. The Monk and The Pardoner are both corrupt which falls into the popular view that the Church at the time was rich and corrupt; The Parson is the only good clergyman on the pilgrimage. Also The Monk knew a lot of the taverns in the country which suggests he has a lot of time for social time which a monk should not have. Unlike The Knight,The Monk is indulgent and enjoys the finer things in life whereas The Knight is humble and doesn’t care for riches.
Christians go to Canterbury to worship the shrine of St Thomas Beckett who was murdered at Canterbury. In the General Prologue all of the characters met up at the Tabard Inn and decided to tell their stories. The supposed reason these pilgrims are going to Canterbury is to “seek St. Thomas, holy martyr blessed” but some have other ulterior motives for going there. The Knight, I think, is on the pilgrimage to give thanks to God and St. Thomas Beckett for bringing him back alive and well from battle.
The Wife of Bath likes to show off about being holy because she was first in line in the offertory and gave the most. She could be going to Canterbury for a holiday, to travel more, to find another husband, to show off how rich she is; compared with The Knight she is only on the pilgrimage for materialistic reasons whereas the Knight like the Parson is on the pilgrimage for authentic religious reasons.The Monk could be on the pilgrimage to socialise or it could be a reason to get out of the cloistered of the monastery; both of which are not holy reasons.
In conclusion I believe that The Knight is the only authentic person on the pilgrimage and is the overall ‘real’ pilgrim; he is on the pilgrimage for the right reasons and he dedicates his time to those that are in need. On the other hand the Wife of Bath and the Monk are both on the pilgrimage for vain and materialistic reasons these are what I would class as the ‘fake’ pilgrims the ones on the pilgrimage for the wrong reasons; they only do things that will benefit themselves. These three people tell us that Chaucer’s society has two typical stereotypes; the poor are humble and religious and the rich are vain and materialistic.
