This part in the book introduces all of the characters that are on this pilgrimage to Canterbury to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket. There are many characters throughout this book. There were the miller, the pardoner, the wife of bath, the friar, the Summoner, and many others. There were 29 characters besides the narrator. The host of the inn that these pilgrims are in sets up a game, and whomever can tell the best story of two, one on the way to Canterbury and one on the way back, will win a meal served by the other pilgrims. The story is set in this chapter, and the rest are the words of the pilgrims.
Miller's Tale
In this tale, a woman named Allison is married to a carpenter. A man name Nicholas wants to have sex with Allison, so they tell the carpenter, John, a story that Nicholas had a vision that the floods of Noah would return. While John was in a tub tied to the roof of the house, Allison and Nicholas climbed down and started to have sex, when Absalon, another lover of Allison, comes to the window for a kiss. She sticks her rear out of the window and he kisses that. He runs away and returns with a hot, iron brander, and instead Nicholas stuck his behind out. Nicholas farted, and, off taken, Absalon brands Nicholas's behind. The carpenter wakes up from the racket, cuts the rope and falls to the ground, breaking his arms. When a crowd of people came to see what happened, they claimed that John had gone crazy and nothing had happened.
The Pardoner's Tale
This tale was about three young men, who wanted to seek and kill this figure called "Death" for killing a dear friend of there's. In asking an old man where they may be able to find this shady figure, the three boys are directed towards a large oak tree. Under this tree they find gold. One of the men runs back to the town for food so they can transport the gold at nighttime. The other two men plot to kill this man and split the goods evenly. The man also thinks the same way and poisons the wine that he picks up. The two men kill the other one, and they drink wine to celebrate. In the end, they all end up dead due to their greed.
The Wife of Bath's Prologue
Basically, the wife of bath talks about how virginity is not important, and having many husbands is completely exceptional. The wife of bath ends up having five husbands. She married most of these men for gold and money. There is one exception, however. Her last husband, with which she arranged to be married to him if she were widowed, which she was, beat her, yet for some reason he was the only husband that she loved and didn't marry for his money.
The Friar's Tale
The Friar's Tale was about an evil Summoner that met with this man, who turned out to be the Devil. The Devil and the Summoner go to different houses to collect a lot of money completely unfairly. When they go to an old woman's house, she is too poor to pay the money that the Summoner wants her to pay. She gets extremely angry and casts a curse upon the Summoner. She yells that he wants the devil to take him down to hell. At this, the devil asks if she really means it. She says yes, and the Summoner is taken to hell and kept on a shelf.
The Summoner's Tale
The Summoner's Tale was about a Friar that asks for money from sick people. He goes to ask an old man for money for the church, but the old man tells him that he does not have enough money. The old man does, however, say that he will find something wonderful behind his back. The Friar reaches underneath the sickly old man, and the man farts on his hand. The Friar is kicked out and very angry. He goes back, and one of the squire tries to see if there really was something in this "gift" that the friar received. He would place down a wagon wheel with twelve spokes, and place a Friar at each spoke. Each Friar will let out a fart, and they will have the "first-fruits, as is only right." The Summoner's point in this story is basically to say how the lives of Friars are worthless.
