Yeoman (Canterbury Tales) - Emily

## Summary

The Yeoman is a character in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Two Yeomen were mentioned in The Canterbury Tales, one accompanies the Knight and the Squire while the other accompanies the Canon

## Character Description:

The Knight's Yeoman is described as dressed in a green coat and hood with a bracer on his arm. He has short hair, a brown face, wears a Christopher medal and has a hunter's horn. He has peacock arrows that are not droopy and a bow. He also has a sword and a dagger. Chaucer mentions that the Yeoman is maybe a forester.

Not much is told about what the Canon's Yeoman looks like other than a rough look and a discolored face. This Yeoman likes to boast about the Canon's craft.

## Class/ Status:

The social standing of the Yeoman was below a gentry but above a husbandman or lower middle class, so that means that they were doing good for where they were. Yeomen usually owned about 100 acres of land or more. They also were known to guard and protect for nobility or ride along with no love and regret.

## The Canon's Yeoman's Tale Summary:

The Canon leaves and the Yeoman tells a tale of two parts. The first part he tells about how he had been with the Canon for seven years and that the Canon uses a form of alchemy. The Yeoman talks about different materials and liquids used by the Canon, how hard it is to learn the Canon’s craft, and how foolish the craft itself is. He says that if a melting pot shatters then the Canon will throw the entire thing away even if some of the metal survived. Both the Canon and himself had gone on a search for the philosopher's stone. The moral of part one was that the wisest men are actually fools and the truest are actually thieves.

The second part of the tale is about a terrible Canon in London that tricks everyone into giving him money. This Canon borrowed money from a priest and then returned the money on time. The priest was pleased so then the Canon showed the priest that he can do a trick. The trick the Canon did was to "turn" some quicksilver into silver. The priest was fooled so the Canon did two other tricks. He sold an expensive “recipe” to the priest that was fraud. The Canon then told the priest not to tell anyone about this because he didn’t want others to become envious and kill the Canon. The moral of part two is that for men that have gold can turn their gold into nothing easily. The Yeoman also includes a little bit about how God doesn’t want man to find the philosopher's stone.

It doesn't mentions that the Knight's Yeoman ever told a tale.

## Imagery/ Chaucer's Opinion:

Chaucer’s opinion toward the Yeoman is that the Yeoman is a very well kept man. He thinks the Yeoman is very courageous. Chaucer also thinks that the Knight's Yeoman could be a forester.

The modern day occupation that could correspond with a Yeoman is a wealthy farmer, navy/military man, or a modern Yeoman.

## Middle English:

Middle English, or an old version of English, is what Canterbury Tales is written in. Middle English can be very difficult to understand. Here are a few spelling variations used in Middle English to Modern English to help understand some of it.

Yeman --- Yeoman

Grene --- Green

Myghty --- Mighty

Swerd --- Sword

Daggere --- Dagger

Arwes --- Arrows

## Sources:

“Sorry !” *Geoffrey Chaucer (1342-1400) "The Canterbury Tales" (in Middle English and Modern English)*, www.librarius.com/cantales.htm.

“Sorry !” *From "The Canterbury Tales": General Prologue (Modern English and Middle English)*, www.librarius.com/canttran/gptrfs.htm.

(Image) Mediastorehouse. “CHAUCER, CANON'S YEOMAN.” *Prints Online*, www.prints-online.com/books-literature/chaucer-canons-yeoman-599350.html.

“Geoffrey Chaucer.” *Wikipedia*, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey\_Chaucer.

“Medievalchronicles.com.” *Yeoman*, www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-people/medieval-peasants/medieval-yeoman/.

“The Canterbury Tales.” *Wikipedia*, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Canterbury\_Tales.

“Yeoman.” *Wikipedia*, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Oct. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeoman.