The Merchant: Not All That He Seems

The Characters in Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales'

Characters from The Canterbury Tales: (L–R) The Merchant; the Friar; the Monk; the Franklin; the Wife of Bath; the Parson and his brother the Ploughman, riding side by side." North Reading Room, east wall. Detail of mural by Ezra Winter illustrating the characters in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Library of Congress John Adams Building, Washington, D.C. Public Domain

One of Geoffrey Chaucer’s most celebrated works, “The Canterbury Tales,” features characters from all walks of life. Through a collection of 24 tales and a unique storytelling framework, the author paints the portrait of Medieval English culture, giving readers a fascinating insight into 14th- century English society.

Back then, a new class was emerging: the middle class. Merchants were among this social class and symbolized this new aspect of English society. Their rank was solely due to their commercial wealth and how they presented themselves, something Chaucer explored with his enigmatic yet intriguing character, the Merchant, in “The Canterbury Tales.”

A Deceitful Appearance

The Merchant is not always what he seems. In the prologue, the narrator describes him as wearing a “Flemish beaver hat,” a cloak of “motley,” and “daintily buckled boots,” all of which were fashionable at the time. His clothes refer to his power and wealth, as well as his supposedly prosperous activity, trading in furs and clothes from Flanders.