Editing General Prologue (section)

==Synopsis==
The [[frame story]] of the poem, as set out in the 858 lines of [[Middle English]] which make up the General Prologue, is of a religious pilgrimage. The narrator, Geoffrey Chaucer, is in [[The Tabard|The Tabard Inn]] in [[Southwark]], where he meets a group of 'sundry folk' who are all on the way to Canterbury, the site of the shrine of Saint [[Thomas Becket]], a [[martyr]] reputed to have the power of healing the sinful.

The setting is April, and the prologue starts by singing the praises of that month whose rains and warm western wind restore life and fertility to the earth and its inhabitants.<ref>Christ, Carol, et al. ''The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume 1'', W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. pp. 241-243.</ref> This abundance of life, the narrator says, prompts people to go on pilgrimages; in England, the goal of such pilgrimages is the shrine of Thomas Becket. The narrator falls in with a group of pilgrims, and the largest part of the prologue is taken up by a description of them; Chaucer seeks to describe their 'condition', their 'array', and their social 'degree'. The narrator expresses admiration and praise towards the pilgrims' abilities.<ref>"The narrator, in fact, seems to be expressing chiefly admiration and praise at the superlative skills and accomplishments of this particular group, even such dubious ones as the Friar's begging techniques or the Manciple's success in cheating the learned lawyers who employ him". Christ, Carol, et al. ''The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume 1'', W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. pp. 243.</ref>

The pilgrims include a [[The Knight's Tale|knight]]; his son, a [[The Squire's Tale|squire]]; the knight's [[yeoman]]; a [[The Prioress's Tale|prioress]], accompanied by a nun and the [[The Nun's Priest's Tale|nun's priest]]; a [[The Monk's Tale|monk]]; a [[The Friar's Tale|friar]]; a [[The Merchant's Tale|merchant]]; a [[The Clerk's Tale|clerk]]; a [[The Man of Law's Tale|sergeant of law]]; a [[The Franklin's Tale|franklin]]; a haberdasher; a carpenter; a weaver; a dyer; a tapestry weaver; a [[The Cook's Tale|cook]]; a [[The Shipman's Tale|shipman]]; a [[The Physician's Tale|doctor of physic]]; a [[The Wife of Bath's Tale|wife of Bath]]; a [[The Parson's Tale|parson]] and his brother, a plowman; a [[The Miller's Tale|miller]]; a [[The Manciple's Tale|manciple]]; a [[The Reeve's Tale|reeve]]; a [[The Summoner's Tale|summoner]]; a [[The Pardoner's Tale|pardoner]]; the Host (a man called Harry Bailey); and [[Chaucer]] himself. At the end of this section, the Host proposes that the group ride together and entertain one another with stories. He lays out his plan: each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back. Whoever has told the most meaningful and comforting stories, with "the best sentence and moost solaas" (line 798) will receive a free meal paid for by the rest of the pilgrims upon their return. The company agrees and makes the Host its governor, judge, and record keeper. They set off the next morning and draw straws to determine who will tell the first tale. The Knight wins and prepares to tell his tale.<ref name="Koff1988">{{cite book|last=Koff|first=Leonard Michael|title=Chaucer and the Art of Storytelling|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0w56KWBIw0C&pg=PA78|access-date=9 October 2012|year=1988|publisher=U of California P|isbn=9780520059993|page=78}}</ref>