Canterbury Tales, "General Prologue" Pilgrim Group Assignments

For Wednesday, September 5, read the whole "General Prologue" to the Canterbury Tales, but reread and think carefully about one pilgrim from the pilgrim group your student group was assigned.  If you can, contact the other members of the group and agree on the pilgrim you are going to "specialize in" and represent on Wednesday: Abbondanza, Adams, Cardona and Cole--Nobility (petite) and retinue: Knight, Squire, Yeoman (NT); Colon, Courtney, Fetzer and Garwood--High Clergy: Prioress ("madame Eglentyne"), 2nd Nun, three Priests (? see Exp. Note and Textual Note), and Monk; Halse, Hodal, Justis and Kluger--Mendicant Clergy: Friar ("Huberd"); Kulchinsky, Lichtman, Martin and Meros--Free, high-status non-nobles: Merchant, Clerk, Sergeant of the Lawe (lawyer), Frankeleyn (wealthy landowner); Morgan, Nelson, Saba, and Sabine--Guildsmen and their wives (NT all except their Cook): Haberdasshere (hats and handkerchiefs), Carpenter, Webbe (weaver), Dyere, Tapycer (maker of tapestries). and their Cook; Schwartz, Shapiro, Silvis, and Stark--Freemen, middle-status: Shipman, Doctour of Physik, Wif of Bathe, Persoun (parson), Plowman (NT, the Parson's "brother," maybe a real sib or "good friend" or "comrade"); Vidler, Williams, Winkler, and Ziegler--Freemen, contested status: Reeve (estate overseer), Miller, Somnour (bishop's "sheriff"), Pardoner, Maunciple (household purchasing agent) & Chaucer-the-pilgrim.  If you are wondering about the "Free" adjective in the last two groups, keep in mind that the largest single social group in England and, indeed, in all of Europe, was the peasantry, people bound to the land they worked for life or to the lord/lady whose fiefdom controlled that land.  (Medieval English law was squeamish about people owning people, so permanent enforced vassalage had to do, whereas Russian and European peasants could be and were owned by their landlords.  The "Renaissance" brought, among other things, legalized slavery both in England and in its colonies.)