Canterbury Tales: Merchant&Summoner
By: Solomon, Obi, and Jordan
The Merchant:
- The merchant is basically the fashionista of the group because he wears a motley cloak, flemish beaver hat, and he has a forked beard which were the current fashions in that time period.
- Their main motivation is to make money and the military protection of trade that allows them to do so and that's all he talks about.
- Even though the merchant seems very wealthy, he is actually in debt. He never loses any money in his bargains and he is very knowledgeable about business and borrowing money.
- The merchant trades in furs and other clothing to make money and he acts very confident when it comes to trading and he doesn't like to show weakness.
- When Chaucer mentions to us that the merchant was a "worthy man withal" we can all take that as ironically.
- He is unhappily married to a shrewish women who could win a fight against the devil.
- His value is that he is part of the powerful and wealthy class in Chaucer's society.
Quotes:
"A merchant was there with a forked beard."
"His reasons he spoke full solémpnely, sounding always the increase of his winning."
Modern Comparison:
The modern comparison of a merchant would be Rick from Pawn Stars.
- He would be a merchant because he is good at making money
- Any time he makes a deal he always offers a low amount so that he can save money
- He sells different items to make his money
The Summoner:
- A summoner is someone that the medieval church hires to call people before the ecclesistical court for their spiritual crimes such as, adultery and heresy and the punishment would be excommunication which is exclusion from the church.
- Their physical appearence is cringe inducing. Their faces are covered in sores that no ointment can heal and his narrow eyes are covered by bushy eyebrows.
- Children are afraid of him
- The summoner likes to eat smelly onions, garlic, and leeks so his breath always smells bad.
- He's dishonest and lecherous
- He's always drunk and very unpleasent to be aroud
- The summoner is disdainful of the church's teachings
- Chaucer sarcastically approves of the summoner saying that there wasn't a friendlier rascal to be found.
- He doesn't really have any good values but one would be is that he is good at what he does.
Quotes:
"He drank a lot he always consumes wine."
"He smells and angry"
Modern Comparison:
A modern comparison for the summoner would be a police officer.
- The specific occupation for the summoner is to tell people who are bad and who have committed crimes so they can go to court.
- People are scared of him when they walk by.
- He is like a police officer because he is looking for trouble to report the bad people and send them to court.
How they would interact:
The merchant and the summoner would probably interact in a bad way because the merchant is higher up in the Chaucer society and summoner is one of the lowest level in the Chaucer society. The merchant will think that he is better than the summoner and the summoner would get angry because he always drinks and he is always angry.