The Miller's Attempt to Quiet the Knight

In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales a storytelling competition is proposed by the Host. In his mind, it was only proper for the Knight to tell his story first. The sneaky Host rigged the drawing of straws and the Knight won the honor of going first. He told a Roman Epic of loyalty and love, set in classical antiquity that portrayed his gallant manner and elevated social class. The Miller's Tale, a parody of the Knight's Tale, came next. The Miller's Tale was more contemporary and left out many of the ideals that were displayed by the characters in the Knight's Tale. This fabliau told by the Miller seemed to debase the Knight's Tale and also to debase the Knight himself.

Although the Knight and Miller's Tales are very similar, it is obvious that they are told by pilgrims of different social rankings. The Knight was chosen to go first because he represented the highest social class in the estates model, which is made up of those who fight. He was a soldier who was fighting in God's name, and for that reason he occupied the highest position in society. He was described as a truly perfect, noble knight: "A KNYGHT ther was, and that a worthy man, That fro the tyme that he first bigan, To riden out, he loved chivalrie, Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisie. Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre, And therto hadde he riden, no man ferre, As wel in cristendom as in hethenesse, And evere honoured for his worthynesse" (43-50). The Miller was introduced to the reader much later in the General Prologue and was described as being a big-mouth and a cheater. The reader also discovers in the Miller's Prologue that he is very drunk. In his disclaimer he says that he feels he shouldn't be held responsible for anything in the fabliau ...

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...ay, bothe pale and wan, For with the fal he brosten hadde his arm" (3828-3829). These indirect acts of violence resulted from deception, which was common throughout the Miller's tale.

While telling his tale, the Knight kept the rules of the competition in mind, and made it a point to achieve both "best sentence and moost solaas" (798). He achieved this, satisfying all of the pilgrims in the audience. It was fit for the Knight to win the competition. Although some feel the Miller did not quite the Knight, he did achieve what was important to him. This was to mock the Knight's Tale and to mock the Knight himself. In the mind of the Miller, he won the competition, bringing the honorable and worthy Knight down to his level.

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "The Canterbury Tales." The Riverside Chaucer, ed.3. Houghton Mifflin Co.: Boston, MA, 1987. pp. 23-328.