The Franklin's Tale

by Geoffrey Chaucer

English

Genres: Classics, Poetry, Fiction, Medieval, Romance, School, British Literature

Paperback

First published January 1, 1400

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

[Ezgi T]

Derste henüz tamamını işlemedik ama hoca okuyun gelin dediği için bugün en sonunda bitirdim. Chaucer'ın (ya da Franklin'in) bütün o "sciences" işlerine girdiği bir-iki yer hariç, (yaşasın çeviri!) pek sıkıntı çekmeden okudum. Alttan alttan sokuşturulan "ama dünyaya yuvarlak diyorlar" gibisinden laflar hem çok komik geldi, hem de hoşuma gitti - hatta bu spesifik örnekte hoca bana bakıp "Fark ettin di mi? Gülüyorsun, yani fark ettin" dedi, karşılıklı bi an yaşadık resmen.

Bu dönemin en sevdiğim derslerinin, metin okuma yaptığımız dersler olması tabii ki de tesadüf değil. Galiba The Canterbury Tales'in tamamını bir ara okutacaklarmış - hadi hayırlısı. Çok güzelsin edebiyat ya.

[Vaishali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful! A clear stand-out from the rest of the Tales. For once, each character has tremendous integrity, a golden heart, and cherishes life-long love. What a breath of fresh air to read human beings doing what they should, rather than back-stabbing one another.

Easter egg :
The saying "Everything's for the best" may be much older than presumed. Chaucer -- who introduced his readers to so many new words and concepts -- mentions the quote... as if it's always been said.

885 I woot wel clerkes wol seyn as hem leste,
I know well clerks will say as they please,

886 By argumentz, that al is for the beste
By logical reasoning, that all is for the best

.

[Kitty Red-Eye · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one. A loving wife gives an empty promise to a man who wants her: if he makes all rocks at the coast disappear, she will have him. Aka. «Yes, when Hell freezes over.»

The guy turns to a magician and actually makes the rocks go away (seemingly?). Ooops.

She’d rather die than go to him, but her husband forgives her and says she has to keep her promise.

Then the lover-to-be forgives her too, and says she doesn’t have to sleep with him.

Then the magician forgives the lover and says he won’t have to pay for the magic.

Then the question: who was the most generous? I liked that question and I can’t quite decide.

[Fiona Altschuler · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite Tale that I've read so far — the Franklin is the best! This story is so sweet.

[sk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dorigen needs to cut herself some slack! If your new husband just up and voluntarily leaves on some random trip for years and then the “handsomest man alive” pulls up and begs for you… I’m just saying at least THINK about it!

In all seriousness, this was an interesting tale in contrast with the others, as it adds some medium ground to Chaucer’s ongoing debate about marriage dynamics. This story is surprisingly full of mutual respect and understanding, without the extremes of the Wife of Bath’s Tale and the Clerk’s Tale.

[Art van Houwelingen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It's a quite light-hearted story of people simply choosing to do the right thing rather than hating one another for the mistakes they've made. Every character forgives one another in some way or form, which leaves us with the question "[w]hich was most free (generous), as it seems to you?" It makes you think about the innate goodness in humanity, which is nice for once.

[keko · Rating 3 out of 5]

ariana grande watch out there's a greater home wrecker in town

[Josefien Linders · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When mastery comes, the God of Love
immediately
Beats his wings, and farewell, he is gone!
Love is a thing free as any spirit."

[Dagpauwoogvlinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rather die than sleep with a guy as well, let's throw ourselves onto the invisible rocks.

[Lizzy Abhold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geoffrey Chaucer is a new favorite of mine. He has an excellent way with words and this story is a great example of that. “The Franklin’s Tale” was a very good story with a great ending. I really like the way Chaucer incorporated the moral into the story and totally switched up the way you thought the story was going to end. The other thing I liked is how the wife stayed faithful to her husband even though he was away for two years. I would recommend this book to anyone with a love for very good authors and also a love for very good stories.

[sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

£1000 to make it look like all the stones in brittany have disappeared isn't a bad price to be fair

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I may be in love with Chaucer...

[Duffy Pratt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Franklin claims to be a plain spoken person, but his tale, I think, shows it as a kind of false modesty.

It's a simple story about a noble couple. They marry. He goes to seek glory. She pines for him. Another man falls hopelessly in love with her. She puts him off. Finally, she tells him that she will let him have her if he rids the coast of Brittany of all its rocks. He goes to a magician and they get it done. Her husband returns. She is faced with a horrendous choice of breaking her marriage vow or her promise to the man.

All of the characters remain thoroughly noble throughout, and the ending is both surprising and perfectly fitting.

[Lillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was rlly hard to read despite how short it was but it started to get easier as I got used to the language. Interesting thoughts on supernatural powers. As well as this whole message on promises and chivalry and nobleness ( rather be noble than wealthy, must always stick to ur promises…) I think it’s quite progressive tho in the sense of women must have freedom in relationships with no domination ( in the 14th century…). How much voice the women has to this story as well. Anyway I would give it 3 stars but I’m happy with myself it kinda just reminded me of Bocaccio or Machiavelli

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is categorized as a “damsel’s rash promise” story, in which a woman makes a promise dependent on something unbelievable happening (which happens). This is a fine story, nicely wrought. This probably appealed to the more refined tastes of Chaucer’s time. I think it is less compelling to 21st century tastes.

You can see my overall review of the Canterbury Tales here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[Cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I tend to think that long-winded passages before the actual work are unnecessary, and this one's almost as long as the work. Most if it would sit more happily AFTER, hence losing a star.

The work itself is beautiful, and well worth reading in Olde Aenglish. I was expecting it to be impenetrable to me, but much of it is similar to Birmingham dialect

[Huw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of Chaucer's most beautiful writing, with an excellent introduction by A.C. Spearing.

[Lia Windsor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one much more than the other Chaucer I've read thank goodness!

[tamz · Rating 1 out of 5]

zero stars for chaucer one star bc it was short

[Sarah Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

my least favourite chaucer that i have read

[Bronte Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

NOW THIS IS A WORK OF ART 10/10 CHAUCER
btw to answer your question geoffrey, the husband arveragus is the most ‘fre’

[Domo · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[Tricia Halili-Felse · Rating 5 out of 5]

His was so good. Never thought I’d rate a Chaucer tale 5 stars and make it a favorite who am I

[zaivry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me when I feel bad for manipulating the girl who doesn’t want me

[Renee Sarah Stevelmans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a lovely story about honour and love. It is simple (except for it being in Old English) but still written well.

[Stxdyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shorter Tale with an interesting chivalric ending however I found the story quite...extended for what it really told

[Lauren Brace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, this story was much more entertaining than I expected! I was proud of everyone in the end.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fragment V of The Canterbury Tales (consisting of just two tales, the Squire's and the Franklin's) is good but not up to Chaucer's previous high standards. The Squire is the helpmate to the "verrey parfit, gentil knyght" who gave us the first Tale proper, reflecting hus highest social standing in the group. The Squire, young and callow, fancies himself as one well-learned in the traditions of chivalry in which he's being brought up and so he prepares to gives us an enormously long tale of chivalric romance, set in the days of Genghis Khan (called Cambuscan in Chaucer's Middle English), which - had it followed the route he says he's going to follow in his preamble, could have been longer than all the other tales combined.

He starts with a knight arriving at court bearing various gifts for Genghis: a brass horse that will take him anywhere in the world if he twiddles its ear, a sword that will cut anything, leaving wounds that can only be healed by pressure from the flat side of the blade, and a ring for Khan's daughter that allows her to talk with the animals, like a medieval Doctor Doolittle. Wearing the ring she meets a falcon who despairs after being left by her male hawk lover, showing that heraldric animals are just as human as humans.

In mid-flow, the Franklin butts in (probably for the best) praising the Squire's diction and phrasing and sense of honour and chivalry and embarks on his tale, an odd little tale again about Courtly honour. A pair of lovers from Brittany wed, the knight travels to england to fight for two years, in which time Dorigen (the wife) is courted by a Squire (perhaps a sly dig at the previous storyteller). She says no no no and he falls despondent, so she says that she will if he makes all the rocks along the French coast disappear (thinking it an impossible task). A magician does this for him for 1000 lbs of gold. DOrigen's husband returns, she tells him what she's done and he tells her that as she promised, then she'd better go. As she's so upset, the Squire repents and lets her return to her husband and as the Squire's so upset, the magician waives his fee.

The two tales, taken together, don't hold the excitement or banter that earlier tales had - there's little sense of danger and no sense of fun outside the Franklin's prologue, these are two nice little courtly tales designed to entertain and not offend. Hope that Fragment VI is better.

[Loren Harway · Rating 3 out of 5]

wow.
this book really opened my eyes. i mean, i had no idea people wrote like this. wow.
the thing about Chaucer is that his stories are interesting but if you aren't fluid in translating olde english you'll constantly be referring to the back for the meanings of words.
As with most of the canterbury tales it can be summed up in a paragraph despite its length; perhaps if the franklin hadn't given about 20 examples of women who've suffered throughout the ages it would've been shorter.
As a result of that he might have actually finished the Canterbury Tales altogther. Oh well.

[Matt Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is common with Chaucer, especially when he moves higher up the ranks with the subjects of his stories, it's hard to tell how he is playing this situation. As is also common in most of the stories, the woman gets the raw deal, and doesn't even seem in the running for the "noblest of character" award. A tale about marriage devolves into a tale of honor among men. But to what end? It's worthy of discussion.