Canterbury Tales: The Summoner Brittany Gadsden

Background In the Middle Ages, Summoners were hired to call people to the court for their spiritual crimes, such as adultery and heresy Charges could result in excommunication (expulsion from the church) There was a lot of corruption in this office of the church

Appearance Cherubin Type of angel depicted with a fiery face in the Middle Ages

“A summoner was with us in that place, Who had a fiery-red, cherubic face” This “fiery face” is in reference to his possession of numerous carbuncles Carbuncles – pimples

“There was no mercury, sulphur, or litharge, No borax, ceruse, tartar, could discharge, Nor ointment that could cleanse enough, or bite, To free him of his whelks of white”

Eats smelly vegetables such as onions, leeks, and garlic “Well loved he garlic, onions, aye and leeks, And drinking of strong wine as red as blood” Eats smelly vegetables such as onions, leeks, and garlic Therefore, he probably has really bad breath as well

Unlike a lot of the other characters, his unattractive physical traits do not cloak his good intentions He’s actually a pretty disgusting guy

Personality Lecherous Dishonest Unethical And….a bit of a drunk

Bushy eyebrows and narrow eyes He scares little kids “With black and scabby brows and scanty beard, He had a face that little children feared.” Bushy eyebrows and narrow eyes He scares little kids

“And when a deal of wine he'd poured within, Then would he utter no word save Latin. Some phrases had he learned, say two or three, Which he had garnered out of some decree; No wonder, for he'd heard it all the day”

When intoxicated, he tries to sound intelligent by spouting random lines of fragmented Latin Knowing Latin was a big educational requirement back then, so this shows that he isn’t very qualified for his position “No wonder for he’d heard it all day” He only knows this little bit of Latin because he hears it in the court all day. So yeah….he’s a poser

“But when, for aught else, into him you'd grope, it was found he'd spent his whole philosophy; Just "Questio quid juris" would he cry” Whenever someone would bring up his ignorance, he would just say “Questio quid juris” which means “I wonder which law applies in this situation.” Which REALLY just means….he’s an idiot. Because clearly that one sentence doesn’t work for every situation.

“Why, he would suffer, for a quart of wine, Some good fellow to have his concubine A twelve-month, and excuse him to the full (Between ourselves, though, he could pluck a gull)” Despite his absolutely disgusting appearance, he seems to have the ladies wrapped around his finger, and sells his concubines to his friends for alcohol. He does this because he knows he’s a pimp and he can easily get another one. How this is possible, I just don’t know.

He drinks excessively, and becomes a very unpleasant person to be around when he drinks

Wears a garland of oak leaves Identifies the wearer as a “King of Outlaws”

He is known to be quite lecherous, and he seduces young girls

More Background Since summoners were not paid much money, they had to rely on bribery to get by They did this by threatening to hold people to their charges if they did not pay them This is why the office was corrupted

Holding true to history, he scoffs at the Church’s teachings He laughs at people’s concern over excommunication, because you can always bribe people to get out of it Does this as a way to ensure that people will keep feeling secure in their briberies

“He would instruct him never to have awe of the archdeacon's curse, because a man's soul lie within his purse; For in his purse the man should be punished”

The Summoner vs. The Friar The friar tells a story about a corrupt summoner so the summoner gets angry and tells a story about a corrupt friar

This is ironic because the story he tells is about a spiritually corrupt friar, but he’s a spiritually corrupt summoner So…he can’t really defend himself when what the friar said is true

Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Summoner%27s_Tale http://english.fsu.edu/canterbury/summonerpro.html http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/literature/canterbury-tales/summary-analysis/summoners-prologue-tale.html