In medieval society, friars were mendicants, or beggars who could not work but had to live off the charity of others. Although they were supposed to be humble and modest, this Friar is jolly and wants to lead a comfortable life. Instead of ministering to lepers and beggars, as friars are supposed to do, the Friar cultivates relationships with rich men so that he can make a profit. Rather than the simple cloaks of a beggar, the friar wears expensive clothing.
The Friar Quotes in The Canterbury Tales
The The Canterbury Tales quotes below are all either spoken by The Friar or refer to The Friar. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Get the entire The Canterbury Tales LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Friar Character Timeline in The Canterbury Tales
The timeline below shows where the character The Friar appears in The Canterbury Tales. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The General Prologue
The merry, wanton Friar is licensed to beg in a certain district. Of all the orders of Friars, his...
(full context)
The Friar is an excellent singer and knew every innkeeper and barmaid in every town. He disdains...
(full context)
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue
The Friar interrupts the Wife of Bath’s prologue to complain about its length. He and the Summoner...
(full context)
