Question for September 9: The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, pp. 229-38
The Summoner and the Pardoner are both church officials. Choose one of the two and discuss how Chaucer's description of him hints at his disapproval of how he carries out his job.
In the story the summoner travels with the pardoned. The two together are depicted to be a corrupt pair. Chaucer illustrates the summoner to be the ugliest person anyone has ever seen with words like "lecherous" and "saucefleem" (625 & 626). The summoner carries out his job for his own personal gain and to corrupt others. Chaucer hences disappointment when referring to him as a drunk. For example,"and for drynken strong wyn, reed as blood; thanne wolde he speke and crie as he were wood" (635-636). Chaucer uses many negative words to describe the summoner and his unattractive appearance. This correlates with his ugly and evil soul. Chaucer's disapproval of the summoner is more obvious when he states that the summoner only knew a few legal terms from "some" text. The summoner bribes people and overlooks crimes for wine. He would look the other way of an unmarried woman and man living together for a quart of wine. He also convinced people to not fear excommunication which is something to be feared in this time and culture.
As modernmyth91 mentioned in the very beginning, the summoner and the pardoner travel together in which Chaucer references the summoner as Pardoner’s “freend and his compeer” as he includes Pardoner’s loud singing line, “Come hider,love, to me!” Chaucer then adds that directly after, Summoner sang the same line, with a strong bass. Chaucer goes on to describe the Pardoner with a bit of homosexuality questioning and actually states this in line 691- which may be disapproving to Chaucer, since during this time, homosexuality was not common in society, and not exactly accepted in the church. Chaucer also compares the Pardoner’s voice to a goat and decribes his hair as being long, blond and flowing, but his face with no hair.
But as for his job, The pardoner takes full advantage of his job in more ungodly ways than one. In line 701-706, it tells us that he manipulates a poor person just to gain money from him. The pardoner is also known for stealing from the Church by pocketing its profits. As Chaucer states that the Pardoner is a good singer, storyteller, and can preach, line 713 tells us that he does it “to wynne silver, as he ful wel koude.”
Chaucer speaks of the two Church officials the summoner and the pardoner. Chaucer starts with explaining how the summoner is an unattractive figure. He states that, "Of his visage children were aferd," meaning children were afraid of his face. (628) This sets the tone for the rest of the passage because we already have a negative view of what is to come. He then has hints of alcoholism, "rynken strong wyn, reed as blood" (635) and "He wolde suffre for a quart of wyn" (649). These both state that he enjoyed to drink wine and in large quantities. As modernmyth91 says Chaucer seems to have dissaproval for the summoner when he says that he only knows "some" of the legal terms. He seems to also enjoy worrying people for his own pleasure. He speaks of excommunication and imprisonment and in the last few lines it seems as if he holds their secrets against them. He is the person one would turn to in the Church about their secrets. (655) He is supposed to advise and show forgiveness in the Church but he is using their secrets as his own devise. Overall the summoner seems to be a drunk and a manipulative figure. He is obviously selfish and does what he can to get in the position he wants to be in.
Chaucer writes a lot in his description of The Summoner that suggests his disapproval of him and how he carries out his job. Chaucer describes The Summoner as being very ugly, so ugly that “Of his visage children were aferd” (628). Chaucer also says that The Summoner was lecherous and loved to drink and get drunk. When he was drunk Chaucer says that, “Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn. A fewe termes hadde he, two or three,That he had lerned out of som decree” (639-641). Chaucer is poking fun at him saying that he would only speak latin even though he barely knew any, The Summoner was trying to make himself seem educated by speaking Latin. He was also known as a womanizer. Chaucer calls him a “harlot” and talks about how he would have his concubine, and women on the side, even though a church official should uphold the values of the religion they represent. When it gets to his actual job, he would tell the person who was being charged that all they had to do to get out of being punished by the church was to pay a bribe, hardly a religious and justified way to handle those who have committed a crime. Chaucer said that he knew The Summoner was lying, and that, “Of cursing oghte ech gilty man him drede—For curs wol slee, right as assoilling saveth—“ (661-662). Which is basically saying every man should be afraid of the crime they have committed. That money can’t save you from excommunication.
As Crayola mentions, Chaucer uses many descriptive terms to show us how twisted the Summoner is. Chaucer may be the first to use this template that has been copied many times over to show a classic villain whose soul is as twisted as his outsides. But in contrast with that we are presented with the Pardoner. The very description of his hair reminds me of an angel. Chaucer writes, “…hadde heer as yellow as wex, but smoothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex.” His hair fell in locks down to his shoulders. It is quite a beautiful picture. In appearance he is nothing like the Summoner—dark and scary, but we find in substance he is very like his friend. The Pardoner has adorned himself in the finery of the church, but I found it interesting to note that some of it was a re-creation or fake. He wears a reproduction of St. Veronica’s handkerchief. I find this telling. It is perhaps a symbol of his fake faith. The Pardoner also boasts that his pillowcase is made from a sail of St. Peter, and he’s carrying around pig bones that he boasts are a saint’s. This is not very Christian-like behavior—boasting or lying. But because of his position in the church and because he is friends with the Summoner he has no reason to fear being brought on charges. Like the Summoner, he is every bit the extortionist for the church. He sells pardons from sins. They aren’t earned. They are sold as a way for the church to make money. This “angelic” man uses his voice and looks to pry money from the congregation when he sings the Offertory. His goal is not in salvation but in making money. “To winne silver, as he ful wel coude.”
As modernmyth91 points out, the Summoner and the Pardoner travel together as a seemingly corrupt duo. Chaucer begins with line 623, describing the Summoner as a horribly unattractive human being. He goes into detail about the blemishes on his face saying in lines 631-635, "Ther nas quiksilver, litarge, ne brimstoone, Boras, ceruce, ne oile of tartre noon, Ne ointment that wolde clense and bite, That him mighte helpen of his whelkes white, Nor of the knobbes sitting on his cheeks." Chaucer explains how the children and afraid of this man. The Summoner has been called out by Chaucer for being one to drink red wine heavily. He also points out how he would speak Latin, but only knew two or three terms. Chaucer, as Watts Davidson points out, is poking fun at the Summoner, making him seem arrogant and not knowledgeable. Also, Chaucer claims that the Summoner had, "spent al his philosophie", meaning he had used up all his learning. He would ask the same questions and cry out but none either made sense or applied. On top of everything we have already heard about the Summoner, Chaucer also claims that he is one to have many women on the side especially when alcohol was involved. The Summoner also is said to claim that if you want freedom from sin, or from the crime you have committed, you can be freed by paying a bribe. This is something that went on in the Catholic church years and years ago, but led to many uprisings and controversies. So clearly this was not the right way to go about giving people forgiveness and/or saving them from excommunication. Chaucer clearly disapproves of the Summoner and how he carries out his job.
The Summoner and Pardoner, who travel together, are the most corrupt and debased of all the pilgrims. Neither man believes in what he does for the Church; instead, they both pervert their functions for their own gain and the corruption of others. The Summoner is a lecher and a drunk, always looking for a bribe. His diseased face, “with scaled browes blake and piled beerd/ Of his visage children were aferd”, suggests a diseased soul and an cold heart. The narrator makes the character sound disgusting, unclean, and unsightly by continuing to comment on his skin, “Ther nas quicksilver, litarge, ne brimstoon, boras, ceruce ne oile of tarte noon, ne oinetment that wolde clense and bite, that him mighte helpen of his whelks white.” Lines 625-635. As ModernMyth91 pointed out the summoner is described to be a drunk who could be bribed to condone punishable behavior in return for wine. Watts Davidson also points out another way the narrator mocks and makes fun of the Summoner’s pompousness when he gets drunk and speaks the only few Latin words he knows to sound educated. The footnotes of the book gave me some background on who the Summoner is supposed to be but what most of them were at the time. It explains that the summoner is “an employee of the ecclesiastical court whose duty is to bring people to court who are suspected of offenses against canon law. It then goes on to say that by the time the story was written most summoners had transformed into corrupt detectives who spied out and blackmailed offenders. The narrator knows this good and well and so I wonder why so many people fell for this scamming and manipulation.
In the story the summoner travels with the pardoned. The two together are depicted to be a corrupt pair. Chaucer illustrates the summoner to be the ugliest person anyone has ever seen with words like "lecherous" and "saucefleem" (625 & 626). The summoner carries out his job for his own personal gain and to corrupt others. Chaucer hences disappointment when referring to him as a drunk. For example,"and for drynken strong wyn, reed as blood; thanne wolde he speke and crie as he were wood" (635-636). Chaucer uses many negative words to describe the summoner and his unattractive appearance. This correlates with his ugly and evil soul. Chaucer's disapproval of the summoner is more obvious when he states that the summoner only knew a few legal terms from "some" text. The summoner bribes people and overlooks crimes for wine. He would look the other way of an unmarried woman and man living together for a quart of wine. He also convinced people to not fear excommunication which is something to be feared in this time and culture.
ReplyDeleteAs modernmyth91 mentioned in the very beginning, the summoner and the pardoner travel together in which Chaucer references the summoner as Pardoner’s “freend and his compeer” as he includes Pardoner’s loud singing line, “Come hider,love, to me!” Chaucer then adds that directly after, Summoner sang the same line, with a strong bass. Chaucer goes on to describe the Pardoner with a bit of homosexuality questioning and actually states this in line 691- which may be disapproving to Chaucer, since during this time, homosexuality was not common in society, and not exactly accepted in the church. Chaucer also compares the Pardoner’s voice to a goat and decribes his hair as being long, blond and flowing, but his face with no hair.
ReplyDeleteBut as for his job, The pardoner takes full advantage of his job in more ungodly ways than one. In line 701-706, it tells us that he manipulates a poor person just to gain money from him. The pardoner is also known for stealing from the Church by pocketing its profits. As Chaucer states that the Pardoner is a good singer, storyteller, and can preach, line 713 tells us that he does it “to wynne silver, as he ful wel koude.”
Chaucer speaks of the two Church officials the summoner and the pardoner. Chaucer starts with explaining how the summoner is an unattractive figure. He states that, "Of his visage children were aferd," meaning children were afraid of his face. (628) This sets the tone for the rest of the passage because we already have a negative view of what is to come. He then has hints of alcoholism, "rynken strong wyn, reed as blood" (635) and "He wolde suffre for a quart of wyn" (649). These both state that he enjoyed to drink wine and in large quantities. As modernmyth91 says Chaucer seems to have dissaproval for the summoner when he says that he only knows "some" of the legal terms. He seems to also enjoy worrying people for his own pleasure. He speaks of excommunication and imprisonment and in the last few lines it seems as if he holds their secrets against them. He is the person one would turn to in the Church about their secrets. (655) He is supposed to advise and show forgiveness in the Church but he is using their secrets as his own devise. Overall the summoner seems to be a drunk and a manipulative figure. He is obviously selfish and does what he can to get in the position he wants to be in.
ReplyDeleteChaucer writes a lot in his description of The Summoner that suggests his disapproval of him and how he carries out his job. Chaucer describes The Summoner as being very ugly, so ugly that “Of his visage children were aferd” (628). Chaucer also says that The Summoner was lecherous and loved to drink and get drunk. When he was drunk Chaucer says that, “Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn. A fewe termes hadde he, two or three,That he had lerned out of som decree” (639-641). Chaucer is poking fun at him saying that he would only speak latin even though he barely knew any, The Summoner was trying to make himself seem educated by speaking Latin. He was also known as a womanizer. Chaucer calls him a “harlot” and talks about how he would have his concubine, and women on the side, even though a church official should uphold the values of the religion they represent. When it gets to his actual job, he would tell the person who was being charged that all they had to do to get out of being punished by the church was to pay a bribe, hardly a religious and justified way to handle those who have committed a crime. Chaucer said that he knew The Summoner was lying, and that, “Of cursing oghte ech gilty man him drede—For curs wol slee, right as assoilling saveth—“ (661-662). Which is basically saying every man should be afraid of the crime they have committed. That money can’t save you from excommunication.
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ReplyDeleteAs Crayola mentions, Chaucer uses many descriptive terms to show us how twisted the Summoner is. Chaucer may be the first to use this template that has been copied many times over to show a classic villain whose soul is as twisted as his outsides. But in contrast with that we are presented with the Pardoner. The very description of his hair reminds me of an angel. Chaucer writes, “…hadde heer as yellow as wex, but smoothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex.” His hair fell in locks down to his shoulders. It is quite a beautiful picture. In appearance he is nothing like the Summoner—dark and scary, but we find in substance he is very like his friend. The Pardoner has adorned himself in the finery of the church, but I found it interesting to note that some of it was a re-creation or fake. He wears a reproduction of St. Veronica’s handkerchief. I find this telling. It is perhaps a symbol of his fake faith. The Pardoner also boasts that his pillowcase is made from a sail of St. Peter, and he’s carrying around pig bones that he boasts are a saint’s. This is not very Christian-like behavior—boasting or lying. But because of his position in the church and because he is friends with the Summoner he has no reason to fear being brought on charges. Like the Summoner, he is every bit the extortionist for the church. He sells pardons from sins. They aren’t earned. They are sold as a way for the church to make money. This “angelic” man uses his voice and looks to pry money from the congregation when he sings the Offertory. His goal is not in salvation but in making money. “To winne silver, as he ful wel coude.”
ReplyDeleteAs modernmyth91 points out, the Summoner and the Pardoner travel together as a seemingly corrupt duo. Chaucer begins with line 623, describing the Summoner as a horribly unattractive human being. He goes into detail about the blemishes on his face saying in lines 631-635, "Ther nas quiksilver, litarge, ne brimstoone, Boras, ceruce, ne oile of tartre noon, Ne ointment that wolde clense and bite, That him mighte helpen of his whelkes white, Nor of the knobbes sitting on his cheeks." Chaucer explains how the children and afraid of this man. The Summoner has been called out by Chaucer for being one to drink red wine heavily. He also points out how he would speak Latin, but only knew two or three terms. Chaucer, as Watts Davidson points out, is poking fun at the Summoner, making him seem arrogant and not knowledgeable. Also, Chaucer claims that the Summoner had, "spent al his philosophie", meaning he had used up all his learning. He would ask the same questions and cry out but none either made sense or applied. On top of everything we have already heard about the Summoner, Chaucer also claims that he is one to have many women on the side especially when alcohol was involved. The Summoner also is said to claim that if you want freedom from sin, or from the crime you have committed, you can be freed by paying a bribe. This is something that went on in the Catholic church years and years ago, but led to many uprisings and controversies. So clearly this was not the right way to go about giving people forgiveness and/or saving them from excommunication. Chaucer clearly disapproves of the Summoner and how he carries out his job.
ReplyDeleteThe Summoner and Pardoner, who travel together, are the most corrupt and debased of all the pilgrims. Neither man believes in what he does for the Church; instead, they both pervert their functions for their own gain and the corruption of others. The Summoner is a lecher and a drunk, always looking for a bribe. His diseased face, “with scaled browes blake and piled beerd/ Of his visage children were aferd”, suggests a diseased soul and an cold heart. The narrator makes the character sound disgusting, unclean, and unsightly by continuing to comment on his skin, “Ther nas quicksilver, litarge, ne brimstoon, boras, ceruce ne oile of tarte noon, ne oinetment that wolde clense and bite, that him mighte helpen of his whelks white.” Lines 625-635. As ModernMyth91 pointed out the summoner is described to be a drunk who could be bribed to condone punishable behavior in return for wine. Watts Davidson also points out another way the narrator mocks and makes fun of the Summoner’s pompousness when he gets drunk and speaks the only few Latin words he knows to sound educated.
ReplyDeleteThe footnotes of the book gave me some background on who the Summoner is supposed to be but what most of them were at the time. It explains that the summoner is “an employee of the ecclesiastical court whose duty is to bring people to court who are suspected of offenses against canon law. It then goes on to say that by the time the story was written most summoners had transformed into corrupt detectives who spied out and blackmailed offenders. The narrator knows this good and well and so I wonder why so many people fell for this scamming and manipulation.