The Prologue to The Canterbury Tales page 5
The Shipman
The Shipman lives far in the west and Chaucer disclaims knowing exactly where: "For aught I woot" [for all I know]; this is merely a device as clearly an omniscient narrator and creator must know and so this is Chaucer the innocent pilgrim speaking, perhaps because Dartmouth was associated with piracy and the writer does not want to make this overt criticism but to leave it open to surmise. He rides as best he can on a "rouncy [a large strong horse, probably used mainly for agricultural work]" which makes him, by metonymy, unfashionable and awkward as a sailor might be on land. His gown is of "falding [a rough serge cloth chosen for durability]" and he has a dagger on a cord round his neck, tucked away underneath his arm, which gives him a tough and threatening image. Brown-faced from a hot summer (presumably abroad as the English season is Spring), he is something of a rogue, suggested by the phrase "good felawe", often used ironically with the filler word "certeinly" having a suggestion of "if you like to think so". On his way home from Bordeaux, the centre of the wine trade with London, he has drawn many draughts of wine whilst the merchant was asleep, taking more than his ration by stealth. He has no time for "nyce conscience" [careful, tender or moral feelings], a point developed when we learn that he will murder an opponent if he can. Without explicit criticism, Chaucer is slowly giving us the impression of a man not to be opposed lightly. In a fight, if he has the upper hand, he will dispatch his enemy to the deep by making him walk the plank so that the drowning would never be discovered.
Yet he knows his trade, and has skill in calculating accurately the tides, and assessing the currents and dangers near him as well as knowing the harbouring places, the moon's indications and "lodemenage [piloting]". He is the best at such lore for many miles around the globe and Chaucer often reveres skill and knowledge despite moral reservations. Resilient and strong, he is prudent when undertaking an enterprise but has had his beard (synecdoche, the part representing the whole - therefore his whole being) shaken by many storms which must have been unavoidable as he is aware of all the possible shelters, havens and creeks, over the area he travels. Finally we learn what his ship is called, The Magdalen, but not his own name and so, along with the somewhat distant portrayal, he remains more of a type: the tough seaman whose experience renders him heartless and who might be inclined towards the piratical: certainly he is beyond the law and we might wonder why he is on a pilgrimage if he has no finer feelings left.
It is one of the more neutral portraits as Chaucer is not aiming criticism at an institution such as the Church or Knighthood which has declined steeply from the ideal: he seems to be suggesting that sailors need to be and have always been tough, independent, lawless and skilful. The ambiguity extends only as far as how amoral this particular man is and he is not made into a complex character in any other way but he is of interest as he is, typically, taking advantage of the new trading opportunites offered by an emerging economy and Chaucer seems to recognise the necessity for such men.
The Doctor of Physic
It is quite difficult to assess the tone of this portrait because we cannot know for sure what Chaucer's attitude to astrology was exactly, there being a difference between this and astronomy, the word used at line 414 but meaning astrology. If he had no reservations, this would be a fairly straight picture with little irony until the end as the man is learned and conscientious, like the Clerk. The second line appears to praise him without qualification as the best in the world "To speke of " [concerning] medicine and surgery as he has a sound basis in astrology. This is common in the pattern of the descriptions and often apparent admiration is undermined later as the account progresss. He tends his patients with care at the correct astrological hours according to his "natureel [white/good]" magic. He is also able to choose a fortunate ascendant [the point of the zodiacal circle seen to be climbing above the horizon at that time] for making images and this was a very complicated process. Images of certain zodiacal signs were believed to cure particular parts of the body: Leo, the kidneys; Aries, the head etc.
He knows the cause of all illnesses according to the humours and this was probably conventional wisdom. Following Galen, the belief was that health was governed by four humours or liquids which should be more or less in balance but could cause trouble if one became too predominant: blood, hot and moist, made for a sanguine temperament; phlegm, cold and moist, made the person phlegmatic; choler, hot and dry, made him or her choleric or easily angered; black bile, cold and dry, led to melancholy. (It will be noticed that modern English continues to use some of these words with similar meanings). Another line suggesting complete admiration follows: "He was a verray parfit practisour [practitioner]" knowing the causes and diagnoses of ailments and able to give "anon [immediately]" a sutiable "boote [remedy]" but there is a jingle in the quick rhyme "roote/boote" that suggests undue speed in treatment. A further suggestion that he has his own ends in mind is that he has a liaison with local chemists to send him drugs and "letuaries [medicines]" and this is clearly a long-standing arrangement for mutual profit, though not necessarily wrong or harmful in itself. By litotes it is suggested that it has gone on for a very long period: "Hir frendshipe nas nat newe to bigynne" [note that double negatives do not cancel each other out in Middle English but emphasise] and so must bring in a great deal of money to all parties.
There follows a thorough and lengthy list of authorities he was familiar with, Greeks and Arabians amongst others: Aesculapius, Deiscorides, Rufus, Hippocrates (whose oath is still current), Hali, Serapion, Avicen, Rhazes, Averroes, Johannes Damascenus, Constantinus, Bernard Gordonius, John Gatesden and Gilbertus Anglicus - a seemingly endless naming of learned doctors and writers on medicine with whom he is familiar. He combines scholarship with practicality and may use the former to make the latter more lucrative but no criticism is made explicit here. His diet is "mesurable" [temperate] and does not include any excesses, being very nourishing and digestible: he carries out his own wise beliefs therefore and is in contrast to most of the pilgrims in this respect. He does not study the Bible much, we are told in a separate line, as though he is sceptical of religion, as were many physicians, particularly of the Arabian school of Averroes.
His clothes were entirely of blood-red and "pers [bluish-grey]", lined with taffeta and "sendal [finest silk]", an attractive colourful picture, all the more appealing as his garments have not been extravagantly purchased, since he is "esy of dispence" [moderate in spending]. He saves all the gold he earns in times of plague and pestilence apparently because this rich substance in the form of "aurum potabile" can be used in a "cordial [remedy]" for his patients, which was a common practice, particularly in heart cases. Yet the last line carries a biting irony, a sharp sting in the tail: "Therfor he lovede gold in special" which implies he kept most for himself and that financial gain was a supreme motive.
This is an ambivalent portrait on the part of Chaucer the narrator as the Doctor is learned and does his best for his patients, whilst lining his pockets, and we might surmise that there were many who harmed the sick by ignorance or carelessness whilst also making money. He is a moderate man, neither mean nor luxurious in habits, and probably as trustworthy as many in his profession and more so than most.
The Wife of Bath
I have analysed Chaucer's portrait of her in the section on her Preamble and Tale: click here to read.
Continued with the Parson etc on page six of The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales - click here
To go to the Home Page with list of other texts click here
The Shipman
The Shipman lives far in the west and Chaucer disclaims knowing exactly where: "For aught I woot" [for all I know]; this is merely a device as clearly an omniscient narrator and creator must know and so this is Chaucer the innocent pilgrim speaking, perhaps because Dartmouth was associated with piracy and the writer does not want to make this overt criticism but to leave it open to surmise. He rides as best he can on a "rouncy [a large strong horse, probably used mainly for agricultural work]" which makes him, by metonymy, unfashionable and awkward as a sailor might be on land. His gown is of "falding [a rough serge cloth chosen for durability]" and he has a dagger on a cord round his neck, tucked away underneath his arm, which gives him a tough and threatening image. Brown-faced from a hot summer (presumably abroad as the English season is Spring), he is something of a rogue, suggested by the phrase "good felawe", often used ironically with the filler word "certeinly" having a suggestion of "if you like to think so". On his way home from Bordeaux, the centre of the wine trade with London, he has drawn many draughts of wine whilst the merchant was asleep, taking more than his ration by stealth. He has no time for "nyce conscience" [careful, tender or moral feelings], a point developed when we learn that he will murder an opponent if he can. Without explicit criticism, Chaucer is slowly giving us the impression of a man not to be opposed lightly. In a fight, if he has the upper hand, he will dispatch his enemy to the deep by making him walk the plank so that the drowning would never be discovered.
Yet he knows his trade, and has skill in calculating accurately the tides, and assessing the currents and dangers near him as well as knowing the harbouring places, the moon's indications and "lodemenage [piloting]". He is the best at such lore for many miles around the globe and Chaucer often reveres skill and knowledge despite moral reservations. Resilient and strong, he is prudent when undertaking an enterprise but has had his beard (synecdoche, the part representing the whole - therefore his whole being) shaken by many storms which must have been unavoidable as he is aware of all the possible shelters, havens and creeks, over the area he travels. Finally we learn what his ship is called, The Magdalen, but not his own name and so, along with the somewhat distant portrayal, he remains more of a type: the tough seaman whose experience renders him heartless and who might be inclined towards the piratical: certainly he is beyond the law and we might wonder why he is on a pilgrimage if he has no finer feelings left.
It is one of the more neutral portraits as Chaucer is not aiming criticism at an institution such as the Church or Knighthood which has declined steeply from the ideal: he seems to be suggesting that sailors need to be and have always been tough, independent, lawless and skilful. The ambiguity extends only as far as how amoral this particular man is and he is not made into a complex character in any other way but he is of interest as he is, typically, taking advantage of the new trading opportunites offered by an emerging economy and Chaucer seems to recognise the necessity for such men.
The Doctor of Physic
It is quite difficult to assess the tone of this portrait because we cannot know for sure what Chaucer's attitude to astrology was exactly, there being a difference between this and astronomy, the word used at line 414 but meaning astrology. If he had no reservations, this would be a fairly straight picture with little irony until the end as the man is learned and conscientious, like the Clerk. The second line appears to praise him without qualification as the best in the world "To speke of " [concerning] medicine and surgery as he has a sound basis in astrology. This is common in the pattern of the descriptions and often apparent admiration is undermined later as the account progresss. He tends his patients with care at the correct astrological hours according to his "natureel [white/good]" magic. He is also able to choose a fortunate ascendant [the point of the zodiacal circle seen to be climbing above the horizon at that time] for making images and this was a very complicated process. Images of certain zodiacal signs were believed to cure particular parts of the body: Leo, the kidneys; Aries, the head etc.
He knows the cause of all illnesses according to the humours and this was probably conventional wisdom. Following Galen, the belief was that health was governed by four humours or liquids which should be more or less in balance but could cause trouble if one became too predominant: blood, hot and moist, made for a sanguine temperament; phlegm, cold and moist, made the person phlegmatic; choler, hot and dry, made him or her choleric or easily angered; black bile, cold and dry, led to melancholy. (It will be noticed that modern English continues to use some of these words with similar meanings). Another line suggesting complete admiration follows: "He was a verray parfit practisour [practitioner]" knowing the causes and diagnoses of ailments and able to give "anon [immediately]" a sutiable "boote [remedy]" but there is a jingle in the quick rhyme "roote/boote" that suggests undue speed in treatment. A further suggestion that he has his own ends in mind is that he has a liaison with local chemists to send him drugs and "letuaries [medicines]" and this is clearly a long-standing arrangement for mutual profit, though not necessarily wrong or harmful in itself. By litotes it is suggested that it has gone on for a very long period: "Hir frendshipe nas nat newe to bigynne" [note that double negatives do not cancel each other out in Middle English but emphasise] and so must bring in a great deal of money to all parties.
There follows a thorough and lengthy list of authorities he was familiar with, Greeks and Arabians amongst others: Aesculapius, Deiscorides, Rufus, Hippocrates (whose oath is still current), Hali, Serapion, Avicen, Rhazes, Averroes, Johannes Damascenus, Constantinus, Bernard Gordonius, John Gatesden and Gilbertus Anglicus - a seemingly endless naming of learned doctors and writers on medicine with whom he is familiar. He combines scholarship with practicality and may use the former to make the latter more lucrative but no criticism is made explicit here. His diet is "mesurable" [temperate] and does not include any excesses, being very nourishing and digestible: he carries out his own wise beliefs therefore and is in contrast to most of the pilgrims in this respect. He does not study the Bible much, we are told in a separate line, as though he is sceptical of religion, as were many physicians, particularly of the Arabian school of Averroes.
His clothes were entirely of blood-red and "pers [bluish-grey]", lined with taffeta and "sendal [finest silk]", an attractive colourful picture, all the more appealing as his garments have not been extravagantly purchased, since he is "esy of dispence" [moderate in spending]. He saves all the gold he earns in times of plague and pestilence apparently because this rich substance in the form of "aurum potabile" can be used in a "cordial [remedy]" for his patients, which was a common practice, particularly in heart cases. Yet the last line carries a biting irony, a sharp sting in the tail: "Therfor he lovede gold in special" which implies he kept most for himself and that financial gain was a supreme motive.
This is an ambivalent portrait on the part of Chaucer the narrator as the Doctor is learned and does his best for his patients, whilst lining his pockets, and we might surmise that there were many who harmed the sick by ignorance or carelessness whilst also making money. He is a moderate man, neither mean nor luxurious in habits, and probably as trustworthy as many in his profession and more so than most.
The Wife of Bath
I have analysed Chaucer's portrait of her in the section on her Preamble and Tale: click here to read.
Continued with the Parson etc on page six of The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales - click here
To go to the Home Page with list of other texts click here
