The Nuns Priests Tale We should know: Romance Beast fable Exemplum a story with a moral Fabliaux a comic

ic or satiric tale, tending to be obscene or vulgar, it corresponds to the social status of the teller (in context of Chaucer), characterized by contemporary setting, man and women, a dynamic tempo of narrative, extensive use of dialogue, a critical attitude towards women and clergy when we blink, when we should see, we deserve what we get never trust the woman never fall to flattery do not speak when unnecessary or unadvisable Stories are paired, knights tale with millers tale A crucial difference between humans and animals animals do not have souls, animals do not think or reason, while people are rational beings Giving a man reason is giving him the responsibility For people the consequences are more dire than for animals, and thus animals serve as a deterring example. A widow steps out of her human sexuality, she represents purity, humility and thus she represents virtues of a Christian. Jack Straw a leader of a peasant rebellion in 1391. Chaucer condemns the rebellion by comparing it to the ideal of humble and poor Christian. The Golden Sprangled Hamburg a race of rooster that is depicted in this tale Chaucer uses two literary conventions to describe Chauntecleer and Pertelote The first convention is chivalry and Chauntecleer is like a king. How many times he had sex with Pertelote twenty times. It is a breach of chivalric principles So the second convention is fablieau Pertelote is described as a courtly lady, but a perfect courtly lady has knowledge about herbs, so it is the element of fablieu. There are six other hens

A Nuns Priest is telling a story, he has knowledge about historical events and literary knowledge. The breach of decorum is in the comparison of Chauntecleers kidnapping by a fox to Troy and its falling, element of mock heroic. Theory of humours Pertelote attributes his dreams to imbalance of humours choleric fluid. There are two types of dreams according to Macrobius: - significant somnium, visio and oraculum dreams foretelling the future but its allegorical form has to be interpreted (somnium). Visio shows the events exactly how they are supposed to happen. Oraculum an authority appears in a dream and tells the future. - insignificant insomnium, visum Pertelope is providing physiological explanation Two dreams in the story provide by the rooster to justify his behaviour: one is visio (friend is slain, he visits his other friend in a dream and tells about that) Chauntecleers dream is visio, he sees a giant beast, red and fiery, and he cannot interpret it because he has never seen a fox. The message of the story is that if Chauntecleer listened to his dream, he would live. But he listens to his wife, who is not especially gifted with reason. It is the rooster that can give a rational explanation, but nevertheless he listens to Pernelope, since he loves her. He was given the reason in order not to listen to the woman. The moral: listening to the woman is wrong. Why Adam fell (Paradise Lost): uxoriousness (pantoflarstwo ), when a love to woman is superior to reason. A right kind of love is that the man loves the woman but does not listen to her, she is obedient. Chauntecleer is driven by lust.

Free will and predestination Boethius: Simple necessity, a view that God determines the course of our actions The possibility that God knows what a man will do, but his will is free All is in mans hands. and its Chaucers favourite.

Chauntecleer has a reason, he is an allegory of man, a rational being, but also warned by a dream. He is responsible for his deeds.

Hope of salvation even if you fall in Christian terms. It may be the meaning of the end of this story. On the other hand, you cannot trick the devil, so it is unclear if a man would be successful. ?

Seven deadly sins by the rooster: 1. Pride - the best cock in the neighbourhood, singer 2. Avarice too much sex 3. Sloth he ignored the warning 4. Envy towards his father, that was said to be better 5. Wrath fox and Chauntecleer 6. Gluttony unrestrained sex 7. Lust sex All these sins are represented in the text by Chauntecleer On the allegorical level, the rooster is a man, his favourite hen is a woman, and the fox is a sin or evil. On the tropological level, the rooster is Adam, the hen is Eve, and the fox is Satan. The issue of reason and free will connected to the validity of womans advice and the meaning of dream-warnings.