The Canterbury Tales The Merchants Tale Merchants in

The Canterbury Tales The Merchant’s Tale

Merchants in the Middle Ages Merchants in the middle ages were business people. n The clergy convinced the community that merchant activities, banking and trading, were evil and against God’s will. n

The Merchant n The Merchant was part of a powerful and wealthy society, he was trading furs and other clothes from Flanders.

The Merchant’s Tale n The Merchant tells a story about an wealthy, old knight that marries a young beautiful girl.

The Merchant’s Tale Januarie decides that it’s time to get marry and have a child. n He chooses May spontaneously after telling his friends to go look for a wife for him. n

The Merchant’s Tale A young squire, Damian , falls in love with May and he writes her a letter to confess his love. n May responds to his letter and reciprocates her attraction, while her old husband was going blind. n

The Merchant’s Tale May plots to meet Damian in a pear tree. n Two Gods are watching the adultery and they decide to give Januarie his sight back, but also give May the ability to excuse herself easily. n

The Moral n The moral of the story is “love is blind” and it shows us the evil of a spontaneously and false marriage.

Reference List n Merchants in the middle ages http: //www. thefinertimes. com/Middle-Ages/merchants-in-the-middle-ages. html n The Merchant http: //www. sparknotes. com/lit/canterbury/characters. html n The Merchant’s Tale http: //www. cliffsnotes. com/literature/c/the-canterbury-tales/summary-and-analysis/themerchants-prologue-and-tale