The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue (Lines 79-100)

n lines 79–100 of The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue, Geoffrey Chaucer introduces the second pilgrim of his company: the Squire, who is the son of the previously described Knight. While the Knight represents the solemn, spiritual, and battle-hardened ideal of the older generation, his son embodies the vibrant, fashionable, and courtly romance of youth. The transition from father to son offers a brilliant study in contrasts, highlighting the shifting values of the fourteenth-century aristocracy.

Lines 79–100: The Portrait of the Squire

Middle English

With hym ther was his sone, a yong SQUIER,
A lovyere and a lusty bacheler,
With lokkes crulle as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,
And wonderly delyvere, and of greet strengthe.
And he hadde been somtyme in chyvachie
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Pycardie,
And born hym weel, as of so litel space,
In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
Embrouded was he, as it were a meede
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and reede.
Syngynge he was, or floytynge, al the day;
He was as fressh as is the month of May.
Short was his gowne, with sleves longe and wyde.
Wel koude he sitte on hors and faire ryde.
He koude songes make and wel endite,
Juste and eek daunce, and weel purtreye and write.
So hoote he lovede that by nyghtertale
He sleep namoore than dooth a nyghtyngale.
Curteis he was, lowely, and servysable,
And carf biforn his fader at the table.

— Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: The General Prologue (Lines 79-100)

Modern English

With him there was his son, a young Squire,
A lover and a lively bachelor (knight in training),
With curly locks as if they had been laid in a press.
He was twenty years of age, I guess.
In stature, he was of average height,
And wonderfully agile, and of great strength.
And he had been on a cavalry expedition for a time
In Flanders, in Artois, and in Picardy,
And had conducted himself well, considering his short time there,
In the hope of standing in his lady's good graces.
He was embroidered, looking like a meadow
All full of fresh flowers, white and red.
He was singing, or playing the flute, all day long;
He was as fresh as the month of May.
His gown was short, with long and wide sleeves.
He knew well how to sit on a horse and ride beautifully.
He knew how to compose songs and write the lyrics well,
Joust and also dance, and draw and write well.
He loved so passionately that at nighttime
He slept no more than a nightingale does.
He was courteous, humble, and willing to serve,
And he carved the meat before his father at the table.

Summary

Accompanying the Knight was his son, a young Squire—a passionate lover and a lively young knight-in-training. His hair was heavily curled, looking as though it had just been styled in a mechanical press. I would guess he was about twenty years old. Physically, he was of average height, but he possessed remarkable agility and great physical strength. He had recently seen some military action, riding on cavalry raids across the English Channel in Flanders, Artois, and Picardy. Considering how brief his military career had been, he had acquitted himself very well in battle—primarily driven by the hope of winning the favor and admiration of his lady love.

His clothing was highly decorated; he wore a tunic so heavily embroidered with red and white designs that he looked like a vibrant spring meadow full of fresh flowers. He spent his entire day either singing or playing the flute, embodying the very essence and freshness of the month of May. Following the latest courtly fashion, his tunic was cut short, featuring extremely long and wide, flowing sleeves. He was an excellent horseman who rode with great style. Beyond his athletic skills, he was fully trained in the aristocratic arts: he could compose melodies and write poetry, joust in tournaments, dance gracefully, and both draw and write beautifully. He was so passionately in love that he stayed awake most of the night, sleeping no more than a nightingale. Yet, despite his flamboyant romanticism, he remained courteous, respectful, and eager to do his duty, humbly carving the meat for his father at the dinner table.

Word Meanings

Squier – Squire; a young nobleman acting as an attendant to a knight before becoming a knight himself
Lovyere – Lover (in the tradition of courtly love)
Bacheler – A young knight, not yet a fully established banneret; an unmarried man
Lokkes crulle – Curly hair or curly locks
Presse – A mechanical press or curling tongs used for styling hair
Evene lengthe – Average height or moderate stature
Delyvere – Agile, nimble, or active
Chyvachie – A cavalry raid or fast-moving military expedition (chevauchée)
Litel space – A short amount of time (referring to his brief military experience)
Embrouded – Embroidered
Meede – A meadow
Floytynge – Playing the flute or whistling
Endite – Compose lyrics or write poetry
Juste – Joust (fight on horseback with lances in a tournament)
Purtreye – Draw or paint
Nyghtertale – Nighttime
Lowely – Humble or modest
Servysable – Willing to serve; dutiful
Carf – Carved (meat)

Explanation

If the Knight represents the austere, spiritual pinnacle of the older generation, his son, the Squire, bursts onto the page as the vibrant embodiment of youth, fashion, and courtly romance. While the father's portrait is dominated by a grim list of international holy wars, the Squire’s life is defined by the arts, romance, and the pursuit of love.

Chaucer’s description of the Squire highlights the changing priorities of the late fourteenth-century aristocracy. The young man is certainly athletic and capable of fighting—he is "wonderly delyvere, and of greet strengthe." However, his military experience is notably different from his father’s. Instead of fighting in distant crusades for the faith, the Squire has participated in "chyvachie" (fast-moving cavalry raids) just across the English Channel in Flanders, Artois, and Picardy. These were domestic, politically motivated skirmishes against the French, not holy wars. Furthermore, his motivation for fighting is entirely secular: he does not fight for God, but rather "in hope to stonden in his lady grace." He is a practitioner of "courtly love," where military valor is performed to win the romantic favor of a noblewoman.

The Squire's appearance ("array") stands in sharp contrast to his father's rust-stained tunic. The Squire is highly fashion-conscious, with hair so perfectly curled it looks mechanically pressed. He wears a short tunic with dramatically wide, flowing sleeves—a style that was highly fashionable (and often criticized by moralists for wasting expensive fabric) in Richard II's court. His clothing is so heavily embroidered with red and white flowers that Chaucer compares him to a blooming meadow.

Yet, for all his vanity and romantic obsession (staying awake all night like a lovesick nightingale), the Squire is not a bad person. He has been thoroughly educated in the aristocratic arts necessary for a well-rounded courtier: he can ride, joust, dance, write poetry, and draw. Most importantly, the portrait ends on a note of filial piety. Despite his flamboyant youth, he knows his place and performs his traditional duties, humbly carving the meat for his father at the table ("Curteis he was, lowely, and servysable").

Literary Devices

Simile & Metaphor: Chaucer uses vivid natural imagery to describe the Squire's freshness and attire: his embroidered clothing makes him look like a "meede" (meadow), and he is as fresh as the "month of May." Comparing his sleeplessness to a "nyghtyngale" connects him to the traditional bird of romantic love.

Juxtaposition / Foil: The Squire serves as a direct foil to the Knight. The Knight is serious, plain-dressed, and fights for faith; the Squire is musical, fashionably dressed, and fights for a lady's love.

Irony (Mild): There is a gentle, affectionate irony in describing the young man's intense, sleepless suffering for love, contrasting his dramatic romanticism with his father's actual life-and-death struggles on the battlefield.

Catalog of Skills: Lines 94–96 provide a rapid inventory of the expected courtly accomplishments of a young aristocrat (singing, jousting, dancing, drawing, writing), showing he is fully trained in the social arts of his class.

Significance

The portrait of the Squire introduces the theme of generational shift within the English aristocracy. While the Knight represents the old-world values of religious devotion and austere duty, the Squire represents a newer, more secular, and culturally refined courtly ideal. By placing the father and son side-by-side, Chaucer captures a society in transition. Importantly, Chaucer does not condemn the Squire for his fashion or his romanticism; he portrays him with warmth and amusement. The young man's willingness to serve his father at the end of the portrait assures the reader that, despite the differences in their generations, the core aristocratic value of courtesy remains intact.