Cliffy's Tales of Canterbury Quiz | Authors

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was the profession of Perkin Reveler in "The Cook's Tale"?

Answer: Apprentice cook

Perkin Reveler was an apprentice cook who was fired for bad conduct. Perkin joined forces with another man of bad conduct and they were bad together.

FYI, Roger, the cook, who was telling the tale never finished it. Some believe Chaucer stopped the tale because it wasn't going to be merry.

2. What did the knight do to his fourteen year old daughter to keep her away from the lying blackguard named Claudius in "The Physician's Tale"?

Answer: The knight killed his daughter

The knight decapitated his fourteen year old daughter to keep her away from the lying blackguard Claudius. The town judge imprisoned the knight for murder, but the town citizens knew of the lie that forced the knight to kill his daughter and forced the judge into prison. The knight was released and had Claudius exiled.

FYI, 'The Physician's Tale' told in "The Canterbury Tales" resembles Jean de Meun's 'Roman de la Rose'.

3. Which one of the pilgrims told the tale of the Jewish child?

Answer: Prioress

The Prioress told the tale of a dead Jewish child who was resurrected by the Virgin Mary. The child stayed alive until someone could find him by keeping a grain on his tongue that was given to him by the Virgin Mary. After the child was found, the grain was removed from his tongue and the child died.

4. After Phoebus heard of his wife's affair in "The Manciple's Tale", what did he do to the crow who told him of the affair?

Answer: Phoebus had the crow's voicebox removed and feathers replaced

Chaucer remarked that the moral to "The Manciple's Tale" is that repeating scandal is a dangerous business. Chaucer took "The Manciple's Tale" from Ovid's "Metamorphosis".

5. When the miller told his story in "The Miller's Tale", what body part did he say that Alison stuck out the window for her unwanted suitor to kiss?

Answer: Bottom

Absalan fell in love with Alison, but she didn't return his feelings. One night, Absalan went to Alison's home to get a kiss from her. Alison was with another man in her room. When Absalan called out to her for a kiss, Alison thought it would be funny to stick her bottom out the window. Absalan kissed her bottom and then recoiled in disgust and shame. That same night, Absalan returned with a hot poker to get revenge on Alison. Absalan again called out to Alison for a kiss. This time Alison's lover, Nicolas, stuck his bottom out the window for Absalan to kiss. Instead of a kiss, Absalan pressed the hot poker against Nicolas' bottom and branded him.

FYI, The miller was drunk at the time he told this story and it became Chaucer's most disliked tale.

6. When the woman of Bath told her tale, she spoke of a knight on a quest for an answer to the question, "What is the thing women most desire?" An old woman gave the knight the answer he was looking for, but what did she want in return?

Answer: The old woman wanted to marry the knight

After a knight had assaulted a woman in the kingdom, he was set for death. The queen stopped the sentence by asking him to find the answer to one question, "What is the thing women most desire?" The knight searched the kingdom and beyond until he found an ugly, old woman to answer his question. She told him that women wanted sovereignty over their husbands. The queen accepted the answer and the knight was freed. He married the ugly old woman as she requested. While in bed on their first night together, the old woman changed into a beautiful young woman.

FYI, "The Woman of Bath's Tale" was considered to be Chaucer's most original tale.

7. What was the name of Chaunticleer's love interest in "The Nun's Priest's Tale"?

Answer: Lady Pertelote

Chaunticleer was a rooster in love with a hen named Lady Pertelote. Chaunticleer thought of Lady Pertelote as beautiful and gracious. When Lady Pertelote thought Chaunticleer had been killed by a fox, she tore out her feathers in grief. Chaunticleer outfoxed his captor when the rooster had the fox boast about his conquest to all the other animals. When the fox opened his mouth to boast, Chaunticleer flew free of his captor's mouth.

FYI, "The Nun's Priest's Tale" references the Peasant's Rebellion of 1381.

8. In "The Summoner's Tale", what did Thomas give to the Friar to share equally with other Friars?

Answer: A fart

After the Friar continued asking Thomas for gold, Thomas became tired of the Friar's begging and farted on the man. After the disgusting act, Thomas told the Friar that he could take the fart back to the other Friars and share it with them.

9. A proverb was used as a preaching tool in "The Pardoner's Tale". The Pardoner used the proverb 'Love of _____ is the root of all evil.' What is the missing word?

Answer: Money

The Pardoner was just stating a well known fact that money can cause problems for some people.

FYI, Chaucer believed that the Pardoner was the most corrupt of the pilgrims.

10. "The Parson's Tale" was a sermon on the seven deadly sins. What was his remedy for the sin of anger?

Answer: Patience

The Parson had a remedy for each of the seven deadly sins. The remedies were:

Love was the remedy for Envy
Fortitude was the remedy for Sloth
Mercy was the remedy for Avarice
Abstinence was the remedy for Gluttony
Chastity was the remedy for Lechery
Humility was the remedy for Pride

Source: Author pennie1478

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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Cliffy's Tales of Canterbury Trivia Quiz

Hi! I used the Cliff Notes version of "Canterbury Tales" to write this quiz, hence the title of the quiz.

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