The General Prologue and The Physician's Tale characters

Appears from the start

The observing pilgrim who joins the company at the Tabard Inn and records the travelers' appearances, occupations, habits, and social standing. He presents himself as a straightforward witness, although the portraits often leave room for readers to judge more than he explicitly says.

Appears from the start

An experienced warrior who has campaigned widely in the service of his faith. Despite his high rank and reputation, he is modest in dress and conduct and is presented as an ideal of courtesy and honor.

Also known as Madame Eglantine

Appears from the start

A prioress who carefully cultivates refined manners, speaks French in an English fashion, and displays conspicuous tenderness toward animals. Her polished behavior and personal ornaments complicate the religious simplicity expected of her office.

Appears from the start

A prosperous churchman who prefers hunting, fine horses, and rich clothing to the austere study and labor traditionally associated with monastic life. He openly treats old restrictions as unsuitable to his way of living.

Also known as Hubert

Appears from the start

A sociable friar skilled at arranging marriages, hearing profitable confessions, and building connections with wealthy townspeople. He knows taverns and innkeepers better than the poor people his office is meant to serve.

Appears from the start

An Oxford student devoted to philosophy and books. Thin, quiet, and materially poor, he spends what money he can obtain on learning and prefers concise, morally serious speech to worldly employment.

Appears from the start

A successful cloth maker, seasoned traveler, and veteran of five marriages. Bold in dress and conversation, she is knowledgeable about both pilgrimage routes and relationships and expects to occupy a prominent place in company.

Appears from the start

A poor parish priest who teaches Christian virtue by practicing it. Patient, diligent, and unwilling to abandon his parishioners for richer opportunities, he provides a contrast to the more worldly religious figures in the company.

Appears from the start

A physically imposing miller with a red beard, great strength, and a taste for coarse stories. He plays the bagpipes and is suspected of using his thumb to improve his share when weighing customers' grain.

Appears from the start

A church official who travels with counterfeit relics and official documents, using fluent preaching and emotional display to obtain money. He is open about his greed even while remaining highly effective at denouncing greed in others.

Also known as Harry Bailly

Appears from the start

The confident proprietor of the Tabard Inn. He proposes the storytelling contest that gives the pilgrimage its structure, offering to travel with the company and act as guide, organizer, and judge.

Appears from the start

A well-fed and expensively dressed medical practitioner whose learning draws on astrology and established authorities. He understands the profitable side of his profession and is notably attached to the gold he earns.

First appears in chapter 2

The young daughter of Virginius, celebrated for beauty joined to modesty and disciplined conduct. Her innocence attracts the corrupt judge Apius, placing her in danger from a man able to misuse public authority for private desire.

First appears in chapter 2

A respected Roman knight and Virginia's father. When a corrupt legal scheme threatens to place his daughter in Apius's power, he must respond to a judgment that ordinary appeals cannot defeat.

First appears in chapter 2

A Roman judge who becomes consumed by desire for Virginia. Unable to win her honorably, he plans to use his courtroom and an accomplice's false claim to remove her from her father's protection.

First appears in chapter 2

Apius's accomplice in the plot against Virginia. He brings a fraudulent case alleging that she is his slave rather than Virginius's daughter, giving the judge a pretext for an arranged ruling.