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451 Study Questions for
Chaucer's Friar's Tale
Vocabulary: fabliaux,
anti-fraternal satire, mendicant orders, summoner
Useful Middle English terms: whilom (once
upon a time), espiaille
(spy network), degree (rank)
Lecture Questions:
Why were friars and summoners and pardoners economic
rivals
in the Middle Ages?
Character Identifications:
the Friar, the Summoner, the archdeacon, the widow, the
Yeoman Devil
(From "The
Prologue of the Friar's Tale," lines 1265-1300)
- What advice does the Friar give to the Wife? (i.e.,
to what should she limit herself when it comes to storytelling?)
- What advice does Harry give to the Friar before he
launches his tale?
- Why does the Summoner say its okay for the Friar to
slander him in his story?
The Friar's Tale
- What crimes does the archdeacon punish harshly?
- To whom does the archdeacon do "the grettest wo"?
- We read that the summoner has his "espiaille"
across England. What is t his "espiaille"?
- The summoner, we read, will release "oon
or "two" lechors in order to catch what?
- Who or what interrupts the Friar's Tale in lines
1332 and onward?
Identifications:
A. Me