Chaucer's Works, Volume 5

In Short

This volume is not a direct narrative or poetic romance, but a monumental work of literary scholarship: Rev. Walter W. Skeat’s definitive commentary and explanatory notes on Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales. Organized sequentially through the groups of tales—from the General Prologue through the Knight, Miller, Wife of Bath, Pardoner, and down to the Parson's prose sermon—the text functions as a comprehensive apparatus for understanding Middle English literature. Skeat meticulously unpacks the inner workings of Chaucer’s verse, laying out line-by-line analyses of linguistic developments, etymologies, astrological charts, manuscript variants, historical contexts, and direct literary sources ranging from Boccaccio and Ovid to medieval Latin treatises. It traces the complete trajectory of the pilgrims’ famous journey toward Canterbury while methodically demystifying the dense, late-fourteenth-century culture in which the poems were born. It has endured as an irreplaceable landmark of English philology because it laid the foundational standards for modern textual criticism, bridging the vast historical and linguistic chasm between Chaucer’s medieval audience and contemporary readers.

The Story

The intellectual arc of this volume moves systematically through the structural sequence of The Canterbury Tales, providing an analytical roadmap from the initial gathering at the Tabard Inn to the final spiritual exhortation on the road to Canterbury. Skeat opens with an introductory textual survey that establishes the editorial canon. He evaluates early black-letter editions, assesses the monumental manuscripts—most notably the Harleian and Ellesmere texts—and lays down foundational rules for Middle English scansion, accentuation, and historical pronunciation. From this scholarly foundation, the narrative of the commentary embarks alongside the pilgrims in Group A, opening with the General Prologue on the morning of April seventeenth. Skeat dissects the celebrated descriptions of spring, clarifying how nature stirs the instincts of birds and prompts diverse travelers to seek foreign shrines. He unpacks the social hierarchy of the pilgrims, detailing the specific duties of the Marshal of the Hall and the Host, Harry Bailly, who proposes the tale-telling competition to shorten the journey.

As the journey progresses through Group A, the commentary charts the immediate narrative friction between the travelers. Skeat follows the noble, chivalric sweeping scope of The Knightes Tale—annotating its elaborate descriptions of the circular amphitheatres, coral posts, and temples dedicated to Venus, Mars, and Diana—before turning to the abrupt disruption by the drunken Miller. The commentary explains the vulgar comedic mechanics and slang in The Milleres Tale, detailing how the churlish carpenter is duped, which in turn provokes the aggrieved Reeve to retaliate with his own story of two clerks outwitting a proud miller.

Moving into Group B, the narrative arc turns to timekeeping, astronomical alignment, and moral instruction. Skeat details how the Host calculates the precise hour of the morning—twenty minutes past nine on April eighteenth—by observing the sun’s altitude in the sign of Taurus and measuring the length of shadows. The commentary follows the broad geographic scope of the tales, tracing the maritime trade routes from Dartmouth to Bruges and Gottland in the Shipman's narrative, the anti-Judaic miracle legend of the Prioress, and the deliberate literary parody of Sir Thopas, where Chaucer humorously inserts himself as a bumbling narrator before shifting to the dense, moralizing prose of The Tale of Melibeus. Skeat traces the philosophical debate within Melibeus regarding revenge, hasty counsel, and the governance of speech, before transitioning to the Monk’s tragic catalog of fallen historical figures, including Holofernes, Antiochus, Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar.

In Group C and Group D, the commentary dives into spiritual hypocrisy and social conflict. Skeat annotates the Physician's moral tragedy and the Pardoner's sinister confession of greed, explaining the exact nature of medieval vices, tavern sins, and corrupting spirits like Lepe wine. The commentary then engages with the dramatic dynamic of the Wife of Bath, dissecting her lengthy, rebellious prologue against medieval misogyny, her citations of St. Jerome and Theophrastus, and her tale of a knight tasked with discovering what women most desire within a year and a day. Skeat follows the escalating quarrel that follows, as the Friar and the Summoner exchange scathing satirical attacks on each other’s corrupt professions, detailing friars' manipulative begging tactics and claims to spiritual jubilees.

The commentary advances through the remaining sections, unraveling the courtly and philosophical complexities of Group F and Group G. In the Squire’s unfinished orientalist romance, Skeat identifies the influence of Asian travel accounts like those of Marco Polo regarding Cambinskan and the Grand Khan. In the Franklin’s Tale, he tracks the narrative resolution of courtly love, rash promises, and magical illusion along the coast of Brittany. He then examines the Second Nun’s legend of Saint Cecilia, detailing her underground ministry in the Roman catacombs, and the abrupt interruption by the Canon’s Yeoman, where Skeat provides an exhaustive glossary of medieval alchemy—from sal ammoniac and vitriol to cered pockets and albification.

Finally, the volume reaches its conclusion at four o'clock in the afternoon on the final leg of the journey. In Group H and Group I, after the Manciple tells his fable of the white crow, the commentary brings the pilgrims to the threshold of Canterbury. Skeat annotates the Parson's exhaustive, systematic sermon on the Seven Deadly Sins—focusing heavily on the psychological mechanics of Envy, Backbiting, and Wrath—and concludes with the spiritual remedies necessary for salvation, mirroring the structural and moral resolution of Chaucer's grand design.

How It Unfolds

The gathering at Southwark Skeat opens his commentary by establishing the textual conditions of the pilgrimage, defining the exact April dates and explaining the linguistic markers, unvoiced vowels, and astrological conditions that set the company in motion. He details the duties of Harry Bailly, the Host, who organizes the scores, evaluates the social standing of the guests, and establishes the parameters of the storytelling contest.

Chivalry and churlish disruption The commentary analyzes the grand courtly aesthetics of the Knight's Tale, carefully mapping the physical architecture of the arena and the planetary oratories of Venus and Mars. This lofty atmosphere is immediately shattered as Skeat documents the drunken interposition of the Miller and the ensuing personal vendetta of the Reeve, explaining medieval slang terms like "gnof" and old proverbs regarding white heads and green tails.

Astronomical calculations and sea routes The Host measures the sun's position at twenty minutes past nine on April eighteenth, prompting the Man of Law and the Shipman to take their turns. Skeat outlines the historical trade geography connecting European marts like Bruges to English ports like Dartmouth, while explicating medieval nautical navigation and pilotage.

Parody, tragedy, and moral debate After parodying the doggerel meter of popular romances in Sir Thopas, the commentary tackles the heavy prose of Melibeus, detailing Seneca's and Publilius Syrus's dicta on women's counsel. It then moves into the Monk's tragic exempla, clarifying historical discrepancies in the deaths of Alexander, Caesar, and Holofernes.

Sermons, greed, and marital discord Skeat annotates the Pardoner's cynical exploitation of tavern vices, mapping out the commercial trade of strong Spanish wines from Lepe. He then turns to the Wife of Bath's explosive prologue, tracing every authoritative Latin source she weaponizes against clerical celibacy, followed by her tale of the Arthurian knight's year-and-a-day quest.

Satires on corrupt professions The narrative commentary records the bitter feud between the Friar and the Summoner, detailing the corrupt practices of medieval ecclesiastical courts and the hypocritical habits of mendicant friars claiming visions of dead infants. Skeat breaks down the exact theological and social critiques embedded in their mutual insults.

Eastern romance and alchemical exposure Annotating the exotic narrative of the Squire, Skeat connects the courtly characters to historical accounts of the Grand Khan in Tatary. This passes into the Second Nun's martyrdom narrative and the sudden entrance of the Canon's Yeoman, where the commentary systematically defines the dense jargon, apparatus, and failures of medieval alchemy.

The final homily at sundown As the sun drops to twenty-nine degrees at four o'clock in the afternoon, the commentary reaches its destination with the Parson's prose treatise. Skeat maps out the complex theological classifications of the Seven Deadly Sins, focusing on the remedies for Envy and Wrath to bring the textual journey to its solemn close.

The People

Geoffrey Chaucer The author whose poetic vision and expansive structural design drive the entire endeavor. He appears both as the historical creator observed by Skeat and as a fictionalized, self-deprecating character within the journey who tells the deliberate doggerel of Sir Thopas before being cut off by the Host and forced to tell the sober prose Tale of Melibeus.

Rev. Walter W. Skeat The unseen but dominant editorial guide of the volume, whose singular purpose is to restore, clarify, and contextualize Chaucer's original text. Skeat untangles centuries of manuscript corruptions, corrects previous editors like Tyrwhitt and Wright, calculates astronomical angles, and identifies obscure Old French and Latin sources to make the poetry intelligible to modern readers.

Harry Bailly (The Host) The energetic, commanding keeper of the Tabard Inn in Southwark who appoints himself marshal and judge of the storytelling competition. He wants to keep order, shorten the journey with entertaining tales, and maintain control over the diverse group of travelers, using his rough wit and practical astronomical observations to manage the schedule.

The Monk (Piers) A prosperous, sleek monastic superior who despises the strict, outdated rules of St. Maur and St. Benet, preferring hunting, riding, and fine dining to cloistered study. When called upon by the Host, he delivers a grave, repetitive series of formal tragedies detailing the downfall of mighty historical and biblical rulers.

The Wife of Bath (Alysoun) A fiercely independent, five-times-married woman who wants to defend her marital experience and secure personal mastery over her husbands. She pushes back against clerical authorities and traditional anti-feminist literature, using her immense knowledge of scripture and popular proverbs to argue her case before telling an Arthurian tale of feminine sovereignty.

The Canon's Yeoman A overworked, disillusioned assistant to an alchemist who joins the pilgrimage late, his face discolored by the heat of the fires. He wants to unburden his conscience and expose the deceptive, fraudulent practices of his master, detailing the endless expense, toxic chemicals, and inevitable failure of the attempt to create gold.

In Its Own Voice

"For hard langage and hard matere / Is encombrous for to here / At ones; wost thou not wel this?"

Skeat opens his explanatory notes by placing this insightful line from Chaucer's House of Fame on the title page, framing his massive scholarly commentary as a necessary tool to lighten the burden of medieval language for the modern reader.

"Our hoste. It has been remarked that from this character Shakespeare's 'mine host of the Garter' in the Merry Wives of Windsor is obviously derived."

In his notes to the General Prologue, Skeat highlights the deep cultural lineage of Chaucer's characterizations, tracing how the energetic leader of the pilgrimage provided the direct blueprint for iconic figures in Elizabethan drama.

"The key to the whole matter is given by a passage in Chaucer's 'Astrolabe'... where it is clear that Chaucer... actually confuses the hour-angle with the azimuthal arc."

Annotating the introduction to the Man of Law's Tale, Skeat illustrates his rigorous analytical method by applying medieval astronomical science and mathematical calculation to prove the exact time of day intended in the poem.

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume is an inquiry into the mechanics of literary survival and the preservation of historical culture. It addresses the fundamental problem of how a complex, highly localized fourteenth-century masterpiece can remain coherent across centuries of linguistic drift, printing errors, and shifting social norms. Skeat demonstrates that Chaucer’s poetry is not merely a collection of lighthearted stories, but an extraordinarily intricate tapestry woven from medieval philosophy, classical astrology, canon law, international commerce, and folk tradition.

The commentary systematically explores the conflict between authority and experience—a central tension throughout The Canterbury Tales. By dissecting Chaucer's sources, Skeat reveals how the poet continually cited Latin texts, church fathers, and French romances only to subvert them through the living, chaotic voices of his English pilgrims. It reveals the dynamic interplay between the high culture of courtly romance and the low culture of tavern ribaldry, demonstrating how medieval society processed issues of class hierarchy, religious corruption, gender dynamics, and scientific ambition. Skeat’s painstaking work proves that understanding the precise meaning of an obscure word, a forgotten wine region, or an astronomical calculation is essential to unlocking the profound human humor and social critique at the heart of Chaucer's art.

Why Read It Today

This volume is essential reading for serious students of English literature, medievalists, historical linguists, and any dedicated reader who wishes to move beyond modern translations and experience The Canterbury Tales in its original, vibrant Middle English. Reading Skeat's commentary feels like sitting in the study of a brilliant, endlessly patient Victorian polymath who has dedicated his life to solving textual mysteries. He does not simply tell you what a word means; he demonstrates its etymology, shows where else it appears in Middle English literature, and explains the exact historical reality behind it—whether it is the construction of a medieval warship, the price of spurious Luxembourg coinage, or the physical properties of an alchemical reagent.

The reader must be prepared, however, for a dense, highly specialized scholarly reading experience. The volume is structured entirely around line numbers, manuscript variants, textual notes, and philological cross-references. It requires patience and a willingness to engage with untranslated Middle English, Old French, Latin, and Anglo-Saxon citations. Furthermore, the text reflects nineteenth-century editorial perspectives and treats medieval religious prejudices and crude humor with a cool, detached academic distance.

Yet what stays with the reader is an overwhelming sense of clarity and historical intimacy. Skeat strips away centuries of misunderstanding and editorial guesswork, allowing the true voice of Chaucer to emerge with startling sharpness. By illuminating the specific details of medieval life—from the exact angle of the April sun over Southwark to the corrupt practices of country friars—the commentary transforms what might seem like distant, archaic verse into a immediate, fully realized world populated by real human beings.

<ElicitationsGroup message="To explore Chaucer's textual world further:">

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<Elicitation label="Examine Skeat's analysis of medieval astrology in Chaucer" query="How does Rev. Walter W. Skeat analyze Chaucer's use of medieval astrology and timekeeping in Volume 5 of Chaucer's Works?"/> <Elicitation label="Compare the manuscript differences between Ellesmere and Harleian" query="What are the key differences between the Ellesmere and Harleian manuscripts as detailed in Skeat's notes to Chaucer's Works?"/> <Elicitation label="Explore the alchemical terminology in the Canon's Yeoman's Tale" query="Detail the alchemical terms, equipment, and practices explained in Skeat's commentary on the Canon's Yeoman's Tale."/> </ElicitationsGroup>