The Canterbury Tales

Grade Levels

Excerpt

The Canterbury Tales Medieval Job Descriptions

• Knight: (1): a mounted man-at-arms serving a feudal superior; especially: a man ceremonially inducted into special military rank usually after completing service as page and squire (2): a man honored by a sovereign for merit and in Great Britain ranking below a baronet (3): a person of antiquity equal to a knight in rank b: a man devoted to the service of a lady as her attendant or champion c: a member of an order or society
• Squire: a shield bearer or armor bearer of a knight
• Yeoman: (1) a: an attendant or officer in a royal or noble household b: a person attending or assisting another: retainer c: yeoman of the guard d: a naval petty officer who performs clerical duties (2) a: a person who owns and cultivates a small farm; specifically: one belonging to a class of English freeholders below the gentry b: a person of the social rank of yeoman
• Prioress: a woman who is the second in command to the superior (abbess) of a convent of nuns
• Nun: a woman belonging to a religious order; especially: one under solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience
• Priest: one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God; specifically: an Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, or Roman Catholic clergyman ranking below a bishop and above a deacon
• Monk: a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery
• Friar: a member of a religious order (as the Franciscans) combining monastic life and outside religious activity and originally owning neither personal nor community property
• Merchant: a buyer and seller of commodities for profit
• Oxford Cleric: a student
• Sergeant-at-Law: a member of a former class of barristers of the highest rank (Barristers are lawyers admitted to plead at the bar and undertake the public trial of causes in an English superior court.)
• Franklin: a medieval English landowner of free but not noble birth
• Haberdasher: a dealer in men's clothing and accessories
• Dyer: one who dyes materials
• Carpenter: a worker who builds or repairs wooden structures or their structural parts
• Weaver: one who weaves especially as an occupation
• Carpet-maker: One who weaves carpets
• Cook: a person who prepares food for eating
• Skipper: the master of a ship; especially: the master of a fishing, small trading, or pleasure boat
• Doctor: a person skilled or specializing in healing arts; especially: one (as a physician, dentist, or veterinarian) who holds an advanced degree and is licensed to practice
• Parson: a member of the clergy (as of the Protestant Episcopal Church) in charge of a parish
• Plowman: a farm laborer
• Miller: one that operates a mill ; specifically : one that grinds grain into flour
• Manciple: a steward or purveyor especially for a college or monastery
• Reeve: a medieval English manor officer responsible chiefly for overseeing the discharge of feudal obligations
• Summoner: one who commands by service of a summons to appear in court
• Pardoner: a medieval preacher delegated to raise money for religious works by soliciting offerings and granting indulgences
• Host: a: one that receives or entertains guests socially, commercially, or officially b: one that provides facilities for an event or function

About

This is a handout I made with the credit going largely to dictionary sites and such. I just made a list of all the pilgrims and put parameters on what it meant to be a reeve, miller, etc., so that my kids would know what was going on.