The Friar - Brooke Crossley

## The Friar (Canterbury Tales)

### Summary:

The Friar is one of many characters in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffery Chaucer. He is also one of the religious characters. This part of the story is told by Huberd (aka, The Friar). Huberd was not the greatest person in the world. Yes, he was a member of the church but not all of the things he did was right. For the most part, the Friar was a very cheerful person. He gave prayers to all people; the ones who ask and for the ones who are in need. He likes to help people, but for a cost. The Friar knows almost all people in the town but only because he goes around praying for people. When hearing about the pilgrimage, the Friar saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the people, who were planning on going, to make money off of them.

### Description:

The Friar was always happy. He loved what he did for others and his serving to God. The Friar is also known for being selfish but not a lot of people seem to notice. Many people would agree that the Friar had a beautiful singing voice. He enjoyed singing songs about joy, happiness and God. The Friar wears an older, long-sleeved robe when he is around the poor, but when around others he tends to dress with a more expensive robe to impress women.

### Status/Class:

The Friar was very popular and he was considered to be in the upper class. Many people looked up to him and went to him to talk about their sins. He was considered to be close to God and people respected that, so they went to him to feel closer to God.

### Story:

Being in the position of a Friar, you are suppose to live a life in poverty. Of course, this is not how Huberd saw it. He goes around asking for money that is suppose to be for the poor, but instead he keeps it for himself. In the beginning of the Friar's prologue, he is telling a story to the Wife of Bath about the Summoner. The Friar and the Summoner do not really get along with each other. They both ask for money, so it is kind of like a constant battle between the two. This is why he is telling this story because it is just a big lie about the Summoner that others are believing. The Friar is saying the the Summoner asks for too much money than he should be asking for. He explains how and why the Summoner tries to summon the Devil who is the Yeoman in disguise. In the end, the Summoner ends up being dragged to Hell. Of course, this was just the Friar's story.

### Symbolism:

The Friar is symbolizing a religious leader. In modern day, the Friar would be known as a priest.

### Middle English:

The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffery Chaucer, was written in Middle English. Middle English can be hard to understand because it was being developed from Old English . Many thing were being changed such as grammatical changes and spelling. This development is similar from Middle English to Modern English.

### Sources:

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/canterbury/summary.html

http://www.gradesaver.com/the-canterbury-tales/study-guide/summary-the-friars-tale

http://www.librarius.com/canttran/friartrfs.htm

http://www.librarius.com/canttran/gptrfs.htm

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lVEYkCXlgeo/UeK9-HcCQOI/AAAAAAAAMAg/kJmdcF5IG9c/s1600/Friar.gif

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Friar%27s\_Tale

https://canterburytalesfirst.wikispaces.com/The+Friar

http://www.librarius.com/canttran/gptrfs.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrimage

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper\_class

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Wife\_of\_Bath%27s\_Tale

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Summoner%27s\_Tale

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Canon%27s\_Yeoman%27s\_Tale

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle\_English

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old\_English

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern\_English