Chaucer's Franklin in "The Canterbury Tales": The Social and Literary Background of a Chaucerian Character

Series: Publications of the Department of English, University of Copenhagen, no. 10.

Description: Discusses the Franklin "class" of late-medieval England: etymology, legal status, land tenure, wealth, rank, and social position. Adducing contemporary evidence, some of which is here discussed for the first time, the author explores the clues contained in Chaucer's description of the Franklin in CT, establishing his social identity, and questioning hitherto proposed models for his character.; The results are applied in a reconsideration of Chaucer's literary aims with respect to the Franklin's character, behavior, and tale, to place the Franklin and his tale near the heart of the "Chaucerian ethos."