Canterbury Tales Wealth Quotes

At mete wel ytaught was she with alle;
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
Ne wette hir fyngres in hir sauce depe;
Wel koude she carie a morsel and wel kepe
That no drope ne fille upon hire brest.
In curteisie was set ful muchel hir lest.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Prioress displays impeccable table manners, always making sure that no food or sauce falls from her lips and onto her breast. Good manners is her greatest pleasure, as she tries to put on the air of someone who came from wealth and the upper-class.

Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,
So estatly was he of his governaunce
With his bargaynes and with his chevyssaunce.
For sothe he was a worthy man with alle,
But, sothe to seyn, I noot how men hym calle.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Merchant is described as a fashionably dressed character with a forked beard, who likes to boast about and show off his wealth and status. But his fancy clothes, hat and boots hide the fact that he is in debt, which he goes to great pains to cover up and conceal and so is not all he appears to be. Chaucer also has another swipe at him when he says he has forgotten his name. In his representation of the Merchant, Chaucer appears to be satirising England’s up-and-coming, new middle class.

Discreet he was and of greet reverence –
He semed swich, his wordes weren so wise.
Justice he was ful often in assise,
By patente and by pleyn commissioun.
For his science and for his heigh renoun,
Of fees and robes hadde he many oon.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Man of Law is a successful lawyer with an excellent reputation and is very much in demand. He is often a judge in the court of assizes, there by royal appointment. Because of his knowledge and reputation he earns large fees.

At sessiouns ther was he lord and sire;
Ful ofte tyme he was knyght of the shire.
An anlaas and a gipser al of silk
Heeng at his girdel, whit as morne milk.
A shirreve hadde he been, and a contour.
Was nowher swich a worthy vavasour.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Franklin is a man of high social status, presiding at court sessions and he also has been a sheriff, auditor of taxes and member of parliament. In keeping with his position and reflecting his wealth, he carries in his belt a dagger and silk purse.

Everich, for the wisdom that he kan,
Was shaply for to been an alderman.
For catel hadde they ynogh and rente.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Narrator Chaucer is referring to the five tradesmen – haberdasher, carpenter, weaver, dyer and tapestry maker. He says that each of them is suitable to be an alderman, an important town leadership position, because they have the necessary wisdom. But then he goes on to say that it is their wealth and possessions that really qualifies them for that role. Chaucer is being ironic here.

In sangwyn and in pers he clad was al,
Lyned with taffata and with sendal.
And yet he was but esy of dispence;
He kepte that he wan in pestilence.
For gold in phisik is a cordial;
Therefore he lovede gold in special.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Physician is portrayed at a rich man with a lust for gold. He dresses in red and blue robes of silk and taffeta but is moderate in spending, suggesting he is stingy. He keeps what he earns in times of pestilence and has a very special love for gold. Medicine is more of a money maker than a vocation to the greedy Physician.

A good man was ther of religioun,
And was a povre persoun of a toun,
But riche he was of hooly thoght and werk.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. These lines about the Parson are rich in irony, coming as they do after the descriptions of the wealth and decadence associated with some of the previous pilgrims, like the Monk and Friar. The Parson by contrast is poor, but rich in holy thought and work. He is the one religious character that actually lives his vow of poverty. But for morals and virtues and honest living, he is probably the richest of all.

But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,
Unto his povre parisshens aboute
Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.
He koude in litel thyng have suffisaunce.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Parson is a very selfless, kindly and generous man. He is a stark contrast to some of other characters who pocket all they can and take from the poor. He is not interested in accumulating wealth and finds sufficiency in few possessions. In fact the Parson gives some of his offering received at mass and some of his own income to poor parishioners.

For wheither that he payde or took by taille,
Algate he wayted so in his achaat
That he was ay biforn and in good staat.
Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace
That swich a lewed mannes wit shal pace
The wisdom of an heep of lerned men?

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Manciple, who works for a law school, is in charge of buying food and supplies there. Questions are raised about his honesty. For we learn that whether he purchases with cash or credit, he always manages to come out ahead on his accounts. It is suggested that he is cooking the books and making money for himself, as we are told with delicious irony that this unlearned man surpasses the wisdom of his masters, a bunch of lawyers.

Of maistres hadde he mo than thries ten,
That weren of lawe expert and curious,
Of which ther were a duszeyne in that hous
Worthy to been stywardes of rente and lond
Of any lord that is in Engelond…
And yet this Manciple sette hir aller cappe.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Manciple has more than thirty masters, all skilled and expert in law. It is an irony that he is able to fool all these legal eagles, making good bargains in his purchases of food and supplies, to fraudulently gain money for himself.

His lord wel koude he plesen subtilly,
To yeve and lene hym of his owene good,
And have a thank, and yet a cote and hood.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Reeve is the manager of an estate and is stealing in a particularly sly and underhand way. He gives and lends his landowner some of the Lord’s own possessions. As a result he is rewarded by his employer. A case of the Lord’s serf outsmarting his upper class boss. The Reeve’s stealing has made him a very rich man.

He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.
Wel koude he rede a lessoun or a storie,
But alderbest he song an offertorie;
For wel he wiste, whan that song was songe,
He moste preche and wel affile his tonge
To wynne silver, as he ful wel koude;
Therefore he song the murierly and loude.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. In church the Pardoner uses his pleasant voice to tell stories, sing songs and preach, but not to praise and glorify the Lord. He does it for silver! He knows that the better he sings and preaches the more money he will get, so he makes sure he gives the congregation their money’s worth. The corrupt churchman sets out to make money and profit for himself every opportunity he can get.

His walet, biforn hym in his lappe
Bretful of pardoun comen from Rome al hoot.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Pardoner has a knapsack brimful of Church pardons (indulgences) all fresh from Rome. Selling indulgences was big business then for the Church and brought in a lot of income. Pardoners were meant to offer indulgences to contrite penitants in return for a charitable donation to the Church. But pardoners were known throughout history for keeping the "donations" for themselves.

Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,
Ther was a duc that highte Theseus;
Of Atthenes he was lord and governour,
And in his tyme swich a conquerour
That gretter was there noon under the sonne.
Ful many a rich contree hadde he wonne;
What with his wysdom and his chilvalrie.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Knight’s Tale. At the beginning of his tale the Knight introduces us to his most powerful character, Theseus, the duke and leader of Athens. He has conquered many rich countries and we are told there is no one greater under the sun.

A theef he was for sothe of corn and mele,
And that a sly, and usaunt for to stele.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The Reeve doesn’t waste time telling us the kind of sneaky character Symkyn the miller in his story is. Sly, dishonest and a thief, he steals corn and meal from his customers at the community mill, where he works grinding the grain into flour. For example, he increases his profits by padding the customers’ sacks of wheat flour with the cheaper bran flour.

A wyf he hadde, ycomen of noble kyn;
The person of the toun hir fader was.
With hire he yaf ful many a panne of bras,
For that Symkyn sholde in his blood allye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Symkyn’s wife came from "noble" kin, we are told, in that her father is the town parson. Not quite the nobility, but probably a social step up from the working class Symkyn. In describing a parson who fathers an illegitimate daughter as noble the author is really mocking him and being ironic. The parson also provided his daughter with a substantial dowry of many brass pans, a considerable financial incentive for Symkyn to marry her and move up in the world at the same time. Symkyn’s wife, whose name we are never told, is seen as a property to be owned.

This person of the toun, for she was feir,
In purpos was to maken hire his heir,
Bothe of his catel and his mesuage,
And straunge he made it of hir mariage.
His purpos was for to bistowe hire hye
Into som worthy blood of auncetrye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. The parson plans to marry his granddaughter to a higher class of family of noble ancestry. So he intends to make her his heir, to make her financially attractive. Those with money could finance a marriage with cash-poor members of the nobility, and this is what the parsont wants for granddaughter Molly.

For hooly chirches good moot been despended
On hooly chirches blood, that is descended.
Therfore he wolde his hooly blood honoure,
Though that he hooly chirche sholde devoure.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. If Symkyn is increasing his wealth by cheating customers at the mill, his wife is an even greater source of wealth through her blood line to the church. She is the daughter of a parson, who had a substantial dowry when she married, and the parson intends to pass on the church’s property to his blood heirs. The parson and his heirs are thus dishonestly feeding off the church, with property that should be held in common by the church.
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