Hood College Chaucerians

Oh my... the Friar is soooo ready to dig into the Summoner for all of his faults, but is he ready to get it thrown back at him? I have read the Summoner's tale before, but I can's remember all of the details of it...and now that I've gotten much better at reading and understanding middle English, I cant wait to read the response to the Friar. It's about to be a roast fest... The Friar is making the Summoner out to be a super horrible person; after all, can anyone who makes a deal with the devil really be a good person? (Bearskin from the German fairytale being the exception...) I mean, honestly, he calls the Devil his brother! From my understanding of the general prologue, neither of these men are exceptional Christians; so, if the devil takes the Summoner down to hell in the Friar's story, I can't wait to see what happens to the Friar... (btw isn't it funny that he gets called out by a poor old lady!)

Well, clearly the Friar has dug at the Summoner. The animosity between these two men could not be more obvious. In fact, I’m wondering if this is going to turn into a “at-least-I’m-not-as-bad-as-you” battle, though who will really come out on top is the main question. Clearly, in calling out the Summoner and his “evil” deeds the Friar has unexpectedly set himself up for a prideful fall that I really hope happens later. I mean, is the Friar really trying to deflect attention away from his own “lady’s man” ways by focusing the spotlight on the Summoner? Does he honestly think that this going to work? What I found really funny though was that in his tale the Friar tells of a summoner who goes to collect money from a poor old widow without just means, but in the prologue, Chaucer describes the Friar as someone who could preach so well that poor old widows, who may not even had enough for themselves would readily donate to him. Well then. And just like the summoner in his tale, the Friar...