Summary and Analysis of The Canon's Yeoman's Tale
Prologue to the Canon's Yeoman's Tale: When the story of Saint Cecilia was finished and the company continued on their journey, they came across two men. One of them was clad all in black and had been traveling quickly on their horses; the narrator believes that he must be a canon (an alchemist). The Canon's Yeoman said that they wished to join the company on their journey, for they had heard of their tales. The Host asked if the Canon could tell a tale, and the Yeoman answers that the Canon knows tales of mirth and jollity, and is a man whom anybody would be honored to know. The Host guesses that his master was a clerk, but the Yeoman says that he is something greater. The Host, however, wonders why the Canon dresses so shabbily if he is so important. The Yeoman brags about what the Canon can do, such as creating the illusion of gold, until the Canon tells him to stop. For shame at his Yeoman's behavior, the Canon then departed. The Canon's Yeoman then decides to tell a tale himself. AnalysisThe dull religious reverie of the Second Nun's Tale gives way to the most prominent narrative development within the story of the pilgrims to Canterbury. Chaucer introduces two new characters, the Canon and his Yeoman. The Canon is an imposing figure, a mysterious and intimidating character who differs greatly from the Canterbury pilgrims, who are either jovial and boisterous or quiet and respectable. The Canon is nearly silent, yet his reticence does not stem from chivalric honor or religious principles. He is a man of menacing action afraid to be definitely identified as part of his dubious profession. This automatically marks him as different from the other travelers, who primarily exist as part of their particular job and accept it, even when that line of work as in the cases of the summoner and the pardoner is not respectable. The Canon's Yeoman serves as the voice of his master, but that voice proves inadequate. The Canon's Yeoman reveals too much about his master and then turns on him, condemning the Canon for his fraudulent practices. The Canon Yeoman's Tale: The Canon's Yeoman admits that he has served the Canon for seven years and knows a great deal about his craft. He warns that anybody who becomes involved with a canon will suffer similar miseries: losing one's wealth and esteem. He tells about the wicked craft of alchemy from which they try to gain wealth. He claims that there is a canon of religion of how an alchemist can defraud a person. He then begins his tale of a priest in London who was visited by a false canon who begged for a loan. Two days later he repays the loan and offers to show the priest his methods. The priest was blinded by his avarice. The canon tells the priest to have his servant fetch three ounces of quicksilver and coal. The canon claims that he can make the quicksilver into real silver. The canon contrived to make it appear to the priest that he had made real silver in his crucible. The priest unwittingly exchanged this false silver for money, which he gave to the canon, who made the priest promise never to reveal his methods. The Canon's Yeoman ends his tale with a warning that these types of fraud will eventually be punished. Analysis: The actual profession of the Canon is that of an alchemist, a profession that relates to modern scientific pursuits but in Chaucer's time was endowed with mysterious connotations borne from fear and wonder. The Yeoman regards the Canon as a man of great powers, yet fears the implications of his craft. The Yeoman is most assured when he tells of his masters' sins and deceptions, for it is here that he can consign the Canon to the status of mere charlatan. The description of the Canon that his Yeoman gives during his tale is equivalent to that of the devil. He deals in mystical and dark forces, with references to brimstone and fire, and serves the same purpose as the devil incarnated in several of the other tales, tempting weak men to sin by appealing to their weaknesses. In this case, the Canon manipulates the priest's avarice. The story serves as a confession for the Canon's Yeoman, who admits the sins that he and his master have committed. By revealing his master's professional practices he asks for penance.
ClassicNote on The Canterbury Tales
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