Friar’s Tale Quotes

He hadde eek wenches at his retenue,
That, wheither that sir Robert or sir Huwe,
Or Jakke, or Rauf, or whoso that it were
That lay by hem, they tolde it in his ere.
Thus was the wenche and he of oon assent,
And he wolde fecche a feyned mandement,
And somne hem to chapitre bothe two,
And pile the man, and lete the wenche go.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Friar’s Tale. The dishonest Summoner employs prostitutes to reveal the names of the customers they have sex with, so that the Summoner can rob the men using a fake order to the archdeacon’s court forged by him.

"Now certes," quod this Somonour, "so fare I.
I spare nat to taken, God it woot,
But if it be to hevy or to hoot.
What I may gete in conseil prively,
No maner conscience of that have I.
Nere myn extorcioun, I myghte nat lyven."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Friar’s Tale. The Summoner admits to the Yeoman (Devil in disguise) that he too lives by extortion, in his case stealing the money that he collects from peasants. The collections he makes he doesn’t give to his archdeacon but keeps for himself. He doesn’t tell those he takes the money from that it goes straight into his pocket, and not to the church. And he has no pangs of conscience about it, this greedy church official boasts, for were it not for his extortion he could not live.

My trouthe wol I holde to my brother,
As I am sworn, and ech of us til oother,
For to be trewe brother in this cas;
And bothe we goon abouten oure purchas.
Taak thou thy part, what that men wol thee yive,
And I shal myn; thus may we bothe lyve.
And if that any of us have moore than oother,
Lat hym be trewe and parte it with his brother.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Friar’s Tale. The Devil and ecclesiastical court Summoner make a pact to bond together as brothers forever. This is no surprise, as they certainly make a good fit seeing as they have a shared interest in deceitfulness and hypocrisy. They agree to go about their trade and share the proceeds together.

"Brother," quod he, "heere woneth an old rebekke
"Brother," said he, "here dwells an old crone
That hadde almoost as lief to lese hire nekke
As for to yeve a peny of hir good.
I wole han twelf pens, though that she be wood,
Or I wol sompne hire unto oure office;
And yet, God woot, of hire knowe I no vice.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Friar’s Tale. The greedy Summoner hatches a plot with the Devil to blackmail an old widow woman with a threat to summons her on trumped up charges before the ecclesiastical court, unless she pays him twelve pence. He admits that she is not guilty of any vice that he knows of.

"Pay me," quod he, "or by the sweete Seinte Anne,
As I wol bere awey thy newe panne
For dette which thou owest me of old.
Whan that thou madest thyn housbonde cokewold,
I payde at hoom for thy correccioun."
"Thou lixt!" quod she, "by my savacioun,
Ne was I nevere er now, wydwe ne wyf,
Somoned unto youre court in al my lyf;
Ne nevere I nas but of my body trewe!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Friar’s Tale. The Summoner attempts to extort money from the old widow using lies and deceit. He tells her she has already been fined by the church court for being unfaithful to her husband and that he paid the fine. He threatens to take her new pan as payment, if she doesn’t give him a twelve pence bribe. But the woman dismisses the greedy Summoner’s claims as a pack of lies, saying she was always true to her body, and refuses to pay.
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