The Squire by Clara Jorgensen

Vision Charter School English 175 2018-2019 Wiki

## Description

   The Squire is a fictional character in Geoffrey Chaucer's, Canterbury Tales. The Squire is described in the Canterbury Tales in lines 79-100 of the General Prologue.

With hym ther was his sone, a yong SQUIER,

A lovyere and a lusty bacheler;

With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in presse.

Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.

Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,

And wonderly delyvere, and of greet strengthe.

And he hadde been somtyme in chyvachie

In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Pycardie,

And born hym weel, as of so litel space,

In hope to stonden in his lady grace.

Embrouded was he, as it were a meede,

Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and reede;

Syngynge he was, or floytynge, al the day,

He was as fressh as is the monthe of May.

Short was his gowne, with sleves longe and wyde.

Wel koude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.

He koude songes make, and wel endite,

Juste, and eek daunce, and weel purtreye and write.

So hoote he lovede, that by nyghtertale

He slepte namoore than dooth a nyghtyngale.

Curteis he was, lowely, and servysable,

And carf biforn his fader at the table.

The Squire is twenty years old and he is the son and servant of the Knight. The Squire is very handsome, charming, courteous, humble, willing, able, and talented. He has very fine curly hair, is average height, and dresses very elegantly and in the finest clothing. The Squire is very strong, active, and agile. He is also very talented in the art of dancing, jousting, horseback riding, singing, writing, drawing, and courting. He is said to be a “lover and a lively bachelor,” and he is a lover of romance. He is also explained by the Franklin to be “everything a man ought to be” and is expressed in the Canterbury Tales as an almost perfect person with great virtues and talents.

Though he is very talented and able, his focus drifts away from becoming a knight and his duties, towards the topic of love and impressing his lady with his skills and bravery. The topic of love plays an important role in shaping the Squire as a person and character and is his main focus and drive. He is also very youthful and carefree. In the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the Squire represents both youthfulness and femininity.

## Status

The Squire is one of the pilgrims in the military group in the Canterbury Tales. As a Squire, he is meant to dedicate his time to serving the Knight and becoming a successful knight himself. Both the Squire and the Knight are part of the noble and warrior class. In the Canterbury Tales, the Knight and the Squire are the pilgrims with the highest social standing.

## Occupation

The day to day life of a Squire would be serving the knights. The Arming Squire, accompanied the Knight to the battlefield and the Squire of the table performed duties in the castle or court. According to medieval-life-and-times.info, other duties squires would have to do were: “attending to their Knights horses - the stabling and care, waiting at table, some duties in the kitchen, arranging for the upkeep of clothing, running errands, carrying messages and guarding their knight when he slept. They would also have to assist the Knight in dressing in his armor, ensure the armor and weapons of the knight were in good order, and they would accompany their Knight to tournaments and during the time of war, to the battlefield.”

They were also required to learn “The Code of Chivalry, the Rules of Heraldry, horsemanship, the use of weapons - swordsmanship and marksmanship, Medieval Squires had to develop strength, speed, dexterity and leadership skills, climbing skills, athletics, and swimming skills - important in situations which related to a castle siege, he must also learn bravery and the ability to withstand extremes in cold and heat, tiredness and hunger. Squires would also have to learn the skills of jousting, music, and dancing.”

The Squire has also gained great military experience through his career and has won many honors. He has rode with the cavalry in battle many times, has great strength, and is very talented on horseback.

The need for this occupation tells us that the medieval times was a time of war and a time where people needed to be protected. Knights were needed to help keep the peace, so there was a great effort to train Squires to become knight’s. The Squire was a person with great values, talents, and was a light within the corruptness of the medieval times.

## The Squire's Tale

The squire is the narrator of the Squire's Tale.

The Squire is asked by the host to share a tale, and he shares the tale of Cambyuskan, the king of Sarai in Tartary. The king’s wife was named was Elpheta. Together they had two sons named Algarsyf and Cambalo and a daughter named Canacee. On the Ides of March, the people celebrated the king’s rule of 20 years with a great feast.

During this feast, a strange and unknown Knight entered the hall with great style and nobility. He entered riding a brass horse, carrying a mirror, wearing a ring, and carrying an uncovered sword at his side. The knight says he was sent to them by the king of Arabia and India to bring the king the brass horse. He says that the horse, within 24 hours could transport someone anywhere through the power of teleportation. He also gives a mirror that can show the true nature of friends and enemies. He then gives a ring to Canacee that has the power to allow someone to understand the language of birds and the healing properties of all herbs. Finally, he gives the king a sword that’s edge could cut through any armor and whose flat could cure any wounds inflicted by the sword. The ring is given to Canacee.

The next morning, Canacee woke up early. While on a walk, she came across a wounded and grieving peregrine falcon. She picked it up, and with the power of the ring, spoke to it. The falcon tells her that her lover has abandoned her for a "kite" (lower class maiden). Canacee healed the bird with herbs and put it in a velvet box with a meadow painted within it, and laid it by her bed. The narrator promises to return to the story of Canacee later. He says he will first tell the tale of Cambyuskan, Algarsyf, and Cambalo, who fought to win Canacee as his wife.

The tale is interrupted by the Franklin, who praises the squire for his unsurpassed wit and eloquence. The Franklin says that he would give his son twenty pounds worth of land if he was even close to as virtuous as the squire.

The Squire choosing to share this romantic and adventurous tale shows his love of romantic literature. Wikipedia says that “compared to the tale told by his father, the Knight, which is formal, serious, and complete, the rambling and fantastical story shows the Squire's inexperience. Some critics see the gifts as symbolic of the powers of poetry, which the Squire is still learning to use.” The Squire’s tale is an expression of who the Squire is and what he enjoys. It shows the Squire's lack of experience on the topic of love. It also shows his youthfulness and inexperience in general. The tale goes unfinished.

## Chaucer's Opinion

Geoffrey Chaucer seems to view the Squire as young and inexperienced. He focuses on the Squire’s teenage tendencies and his focus on impressing girls and using his time for “feminine” things such as art, music, and dancing. In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer says that the squire is “as fresh as the month of May.” By saying this, Chaucer expresses the squire’s youthfulness and inexperience.

Chaucer tends to spend more time talking about the talents of the Squire, his youthfulness, and how handsome and stylish he is. He talks more about the previous aspects of the Squire than he does about the Squires skill on the battlefield. This expresses that in the eyes of Chaucer, the Squire is more focused on developing talents and the topic of love than he is about his chivalrous duties. Chaucer also focuses on the Squire’s “sexuality and attitudes toward women.” Through the Squire, Chaucer was trying to correlate youth and femininity. Chaucer believes that the Squire is a teenager that still has many things to learn. Though Chaucer views the Squire as young, he still respects and admires him. The Franklin says that the Squire is “everything a man ought to be.” He praises the Squire’s good moral values, his talents, and expresses the Squire as a respected and close to perfect person.

## References

“Character Analysis The Squire.” *Character Analysis - The Squire*, csis.pace.edu/grendel/projs4a/squir1.html.

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

“Chaucer's Opinion.” *The Squire*, Weebly, canterburysquire.weebly.com/chaucers-opinion.html.

“Medieval Squires.” *Medieval Squires*, www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-knights/medieval-squires.htm.

Shmoop Editorial Team. “The Squire in The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story.” *Shmoop*, Shmoop University, 11 Nov. 2008, www.shmoop.com/canterbury-tales-prologue/the-squire.html.

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

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

“The Squire (Canterbury Tales).” *Wikipedia*, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Aug. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Squire\_(Canterbury\_Tales).