The Prioress' Prologue and Tale

by Geoffrey Chaucer, James Winny (Editor)

Book by Chaucer, Geoffrey

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Medieval, Short Stories, Read For School, Geoffrey Chaucer, School

68 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 1975

About the author

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his 10-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.
Among Chaucer's many other works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, and Troilus and Criseyde. He is seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin. Chaucer's contemporary Thomas Hoccleve hailed him as "the firste fyndere of our fair langage" (i.e., the first one capable of finding poetic matter in English). Almost two thousand English words are first attested to in Chaucerian manuscripts. As scholar Bruce Holsinger has argued, charting Chaucer's life and work comes with many challenges related to the "difficult disjunction between the written record of his public and private life and the literary corpus he left behind". His recorded works and his life show many personas that are "ironic, mysterious, elusive [or] cagey" in nature, ever-changing with new discoveries.

Reviews

[Kitty Red-Eye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ooooh Yes, here we go full medieval antisemitic. Never go full medieval antisemitic! In the other tales which seem to make fun of their own subjects, there is always a hint or two of sarcasm, detectable even to the non-specialist reader like me, just reading the tales without guidance or a discussion group, but here I couldn’t really sniff it out. Maybe when seen together with the prologue, as some say, but man oh man, you got to really want to find it!

[William_Furneaux · Rating 1 out of 5]

yeah it might be better if there was a plot beyond anti-semitism.

[Linds · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a short story told by a nun in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

[George King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaucer clearly indulged himself in irony and satire in this saint's tale. The worldy Prioress, so concerned with her looks and table manners in the "General Prologue," makes the reader immediately suspicious. The motto on her brooch, "Love conquers all," is put to the test in her virulent, anti-Semitic story, Chaucerian irony at its finest.

[Andy Dainty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very dated and anti-Semitic. If it wasn't for the dated hating this could have been a pleasant little tale of a Christian miracle. But unfortunately it is far too tainted to get enjoyment. However as the rest of the tales are bawdy satire possibly this is meant to show how someone who is supposed to be so holy can be so hypocritical and full of hate.

[Vaishali · Rating 3 out of 5]

A forgettable, rather boring and predictable religious story.... and a bit too similar to the Physician's Tale. Also, since England banished Jews in 1290 - a century before the Tales were published - it's surprising how popular this genre remained and why Chaucer incorporated it.

[Mei Hoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably one of the better Canterbury Tales tales. Because it's weird and creepy and reminds me of Gawain and the Green Knight. Look, Gawain and the Green Knight is the best.

[Martha Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my Transgressive Bodies in Medieval Language module in first year. I found this tale intriguing yet very problematic in its anti-Semitic tones.

[Maisy Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very anti-Semitic and not a very pleasant read, however it is interesting to see where some conspiracy theories originated and linking back to present day. Not sure if I would recommend.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit OTT, but still interesting.

[Bronte Madeleine]

we love medieval antisemitism !! but actually an interesting canterbury tale

[sk · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is literally just blatant medieval antisemitism lol

[yvonne · Rating 1 out of 5]

chaucer try not to be antisemitic challenge impossible

[Hasina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Prioress is depicted as a modest and dainty woman. She has great table manners and even dresses well. The tale she decides to tell is one full of anti-Semitism, murder and the overall miracle of the Virgin Mary. It is left up to the reader to decide if it’s supposed to be an outdated tale of anti-Semitism or a juxtaposition of the Prioress’ character and the angelic seven years old child. It’s no wonder that her prologue to the tale is a hymn of praise of the Virgin Mary. She makes it a point to mention that Mary is the “whitest lily flower” and makes it known that the tale will be about the divine power and goodness of the Virgin Mary.
What’s also interesting is the importance of the song and just the overall performance of it. It is the singing that leads the child to the song and then to learn the words. Also it is the song itself that offends the Jews and makes them commit their heinous crime. And then not surprisingly, it is the song that leads the mother to the body of the child. The child is ever so eager to sing and so he is punished by the Jews because of his desire. They find it belligerent and put an end to it. The child is portrayed as an innocent, unsuspecting victim that suffers at the hands of Jews.
In conclusion, the danger of speaking and the repercussions that words / language have is a theme of the Prioress’ tale. The story also serves as a reminder that one should be careful of what they say and who they say it in front of. The fact that the Prioress starts the tale with extoling the Virgin Mary demonstrates that one should always sing praise of religious figures and be willing to admit to their fault. Perhaps if the child had been more aware of the audience his singing was attracting he could have avoided offending the Jews ?

[sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

i wasn't expecting any of these stories to be sad

[Loren Harway · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bloody stands out doesn't it.
Quite the oddity.