Section 1Springtime Pilgrims and a Knightly Household
Reading boundaryStart: WHEN that Aprilis, with his showers swootStop after: A forester was he soothly
Summary
April’s rain, the west wind, young sun, and singing birds awaken both the land and people’s desire to make pilgrimages. The narrator, preparing to seek Canterbury’s holy martyr, meets twenty-nine fellow pilgrims at the Tabard in Southwark. He joins their fellowship and promises to describe their condition, rank, and clothing.
He begins with a widely traveled Knight praised for chivalry, honor, courtesy, wisdom, and meek speech. Though newly returned from military service, the Knight wears a mail-stained tunic rather than showy clothes. His twenty-year-old son, the Squire, combines brief military experience with courtly love, music, poetry, dancing, and devoted service to his father. Their one Yeoman, dressed in green, carries well-kept archery gear and is identified as a forester.
Who’s who
The narrator — A Canterbury pilgrim who joins the company and undertakes to describe it.
The Knight — An experienced, modestly dressed warrior devoted to chivalric virtues.
The Squire — The Knight’s young, accomplished son, lover, and soldier.
The Yeoman — Their green-clad servant and skilled forester.