The Reeve would be considered a part of the middle class because his job holds a higher, more honorable status than a simple peasant. As the leader of a village, the Reeve was respected by many peasants.
serf
The reeve, named Oswald in the text, is the manager of a large estate who reaped incredible profits for his master and himself. He is described in the Tales as skinny and bad-tempered and old; his hair is closely cropped reflecting his social status as a serf.
Who is middle class in Canterbury Tales?
And Chaucer’s interest in middle class characters, such as a cook, carpenter, miller, lawyer, merchant, clerk, physician reflects the rise of the middle class in the fourteenth century (Collin 1).
What is the Reeve like in The Canterbury Tales?
The Reeve in The Canterbury Tales is a shrewd, power-hungry liar. He is very talented in his job and has gained wealth because of it. But he has also learned how to obtain power by lending money to the lord he works for to assure that he can gain favors and grow in esteem. He is a carpenter in his spare time.
- Nobility/Ruling Class – Knight and Squire.
- Clergy – Monk, Friar, Prioress, Parson, Summoner, Pardoner.
- Middle Class – Merchant, Doctor, Student, Wife of Bath.
- Peasants – Miller, Plowman, Skipper.
- Physical Characteristics, Clothing, and Accessories.
- Words, Experiences, and Personality Traits.
Who is in the upper class in The Canterbury Tales?
The examples of the characters in this class include the Knight, dukes, and other aristocratic families, such as the Knight and his son, the Squire. All these people owned such luxurious possessions as horses, which signified wealth in Medieval England (Chaucer 132).
The five groups were Royalty, Nobility, Church, Merchants, and Peasantry.
The wealthiest class with the most respect is royalty, which is followed by the noble. Both royalty and noble had a few things in common, one being clothes made from fine materials with bright colors and fancy food covered in seasonings that were devoured by the rich and served by the poor (The Middle Ages, 2018).
How does Chaucer view the middle class?
In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer depicts this rising middle class of medieval England in a positive light by joining all the classes together during the pilgrimage, by describing the variety and utility of the middle class through details of different characters, and by stressing the value of education to the middle
Who were the middle class in the Middle Ages?
The Middle Class
They included merchants, doctors, and those with higher education, as well as lower clergy members.
What does the Reeve represent?
A reeve is a manager of someone’s estate or farm. This reeve is also a carpenter, which leads to trouble when the Miller tells a tale insulting carpenters, but most of the Reeve’s portrait focuses upon his role as a manager, which he’s been doing for many, many years.
How does the Reeve describe himself?
The Reeve elaborates upon how old he is, using various metaphors to describe old age. He describes himself as a horse that is confined to the stable, and a rotten fruit.
How is the Reeve described in the prologue?
The Reeve, who in The Prologue is described as “old and choleric and thin,” tells a tale that reeks of bitterness and is less funny than The Miller’s Tale, partly because the Miller is a boisterous and jolly person. Trumpyngtoun (Trumpington) a town near Cambridge, England.
prestige and power. Medieval writers classified people into three groups: those who fought (nobles and knights), those who prayed (men and women of the Church), and those who worked (the peasants).
What’s higher than a peasant?
Second Level – Nobility and Lords. Third Level – Knights. Fourth Level – Peasants. Fifth Level or bottom – Serfs.
What is the trade class in Canterbury Tales?
Chaucer chooses to group these five tradesmen – a hat and accessories dealer (Haberdasher), carpenter, weaver (Webbe), cloth-dyer, and rug/tapestry maker (Tapycer), respectively – together in one portrait.
Throughout “Canterbury Tales,” each of the characters fits into a certain type or class of person; the Knight being a noble upperclassman, the Miller is a peasant/tradesman, the Wife of Bath representing the women/middle class, and the Pardoner portraying the Clergyman.
The main social classes of feudalism included monarchs, bishops, nobles, knights, and peasants.
What three major groups are represented in the prologue to The Canterbury Tales?
The pilgrims represent a diverse cross section of fourteenth-century English society. Medieval social theory divided society into three broad classes, called “estates”: the military, the clergy, and the laity.
In what class system did Chaucer grow up in?
Chaucer’s family was of the bourgeois class, descended from an affluent family who made their money in the London wine trade. According to some sources, Chaucer’s father, John, carried on the family wine business.
What is true middle class?
The Pew Research Center defines the middle class as households that earn between two-thirds and double the median U.S. household income, which was $65,000 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Using Pew’s yardstick, middle income is made up of people who make between $43,350 and $130,000.