The Squire's Tale is a tale in Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. It is deliberately unfinished; it comes first in group F, followed by the Franklin's interruption, prologue and tale. The Squire is the Knight's son, a novice warrior and lover with more enthusiasm than experience. His tale is an epic romance, which, if completed, would probably have been longer than rest of the Tales combined. It contains many literary allusions and a great deal of vivid description. Chaucer: Illustration from Cassells History of England, circa 1902. ... Canterbury Tales Woodcut 1484 The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). ... The Franklins Tale is one of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. ... The Knights Tale is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucers The Canterbury Tales. ... As a literary genre, romance refers to a style of heroic prose and verse narrative current in Europe from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. ...

Plot

The tale itself tells of King Arthur, a Tartar khan with two sons and a daughter, Canace. At the twentieth anniversary of Cambuskan's reign, he holds a feast, and a strange knight approaches him bearing gifts (a motif common in Arthurian legends). These are a brass steed with the power of teleportation, a mirror which can reveal the minds of the king's friends and enemies, a ring which confers understanding of the language of birds (as some legends say King Solomon owned), and a sword which deals deadly wounds that only its touch can heal again (both the spear of Achilles and the Holy Lance have these powers). After much learned discussion of the gifts, digressing into astrology, the first part of the tale ends. Tartar refers to: the Tatars, an ethnic group in present-day Russia (this term formerly extended to nearly all Central Asian and Mongolian ethnic groups) Mongolian tribe Tartars in 12th century hardened dental plaque (see calculus (dental)). You may also be looking for: tartar sauce, salts of tartaric acid: cream... Khan (sometimes spelled as xan, han, Polish chan) is a title with many meanings, originally commander, leader or ruler, in Mongolian and Turkish. ... King Arthur is an important figure in the mythology of Great Britain, where he appears as the ideal of kingship in both war and peace. ... It has been suggested that Materialization (science fiction) be merged into this article or section. ... Solomon (Hebrew, Shlomo from Shalom for peace, also Arabic as Suleiman or Sulyaman meaning peace) can mean any of the following: 1. ... The wrath of Achilles, by Léon Benouville In Greek mythology, (transliterated to Akhilleus or Achilleus in Roman letters, Latinized from this ancient Greek to Achilles) was a hero of the Trojan War, the central character and greatest warrior of Homers Iliad. ... In Christian mythology the Holy Lance is the lance used at the Crucifixion, which was later identified with a relic or relics that survive. ... Astrology refers to any of several systems, traditions or beliefs in which knowledge of the apparent positions of celestial bodies is held to be useful in understanding, interpreting, and organizing knowledge about human affairs and events on earth. ...

The second part, a subplot of the tale, deals with Canace and her ring. Eagerly rising the next morning, she goes on a walk and discovers a grieving falcon. The falcon tells Canace that she has been abandoned by her false lover, a tercelet (male hawk), who left her for a kite. (In Medieval falconry, kites were birds of low status.) Canace heals the bird and builds a mew for it, painted blue for true faith within and green for falsity, with pictures of deceitful birds, outside. (This image is based on the Romance of the Rose.) Species About 37; see text. ... Falconry (occasionally referred to as falconeering) is the art or sport involving raptors (birds of prey) to hunt or pursue game. ... The Roman de la Rose is a late medieval French work of fiction in allegorical dream form. ...

The second part ends with a promise of more to come-- the adventures of Cambuskan's sons and the quest of Cambalo to win Canace as his bride. (The Man of Law's prologue hints that Canace and her brothers commit incest, as in John Gower's version of the story.) However, it is extremely unlikely that Chaucer ever intended to finish the tale. Instead the Franklin breaks into the very beginning of the third section with elaborate praise of the Squire's gentility (the Franklin is somewhat of a social climber) and proceeds to his own tale. The Man of Laws Tale is the fifth of the Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer written around 1387. ... Incest is sexual activity between close family members. ... The tomb of John Gower in Southwark Cathedral. ... The Franklins Tale is one of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. ...

Criticism and Continuations

Early critics were very admiring of the Squire's tale and John Milton, for instance, was convinced that Chaucer had intended to conclude it. Many authors of the Elizabethan period, including Edmund Spenser, did use characters from the tale in their own works, or even write complete continuations of it. John Milton, English poet John Milton (December 9, 1608 – November 8, 1674) was an English poet, best-known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. ... Edmund Spenser Edmund Spenser (c. ...

In general modern critics have not paid it as much attention, and consider it Chaucer's way of poking gentle fun at the young Squire's love of romance literature, frequent and somewhat pretentious digressions, and lack of narrative self-control. Compared to the tale told by his father, the Knight, which is formal, serious and complete, the rambling and fantastical story shows the Squire's inexperience. Some critics see the gifts as symbolic of the powers of poetry, which the Squire is still learning to use.

There is no clear source for the story but is instead a collection of ideas and themes from many romances as befits the Squire, a lover of such literature. The extravagant details on eastern kingdoms come from the travel literature of the time such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpini, Simon of St Quentin and John Mandeville. The episode of the falcon and the tercelet is similar to part of Anelida and Arcite, an early work of Chaucer's. Travel literature is literature which records the people, events, sights and feelings of an author who is touring a foreign place for the sake and pleasure of travel. ... Giovanni da Pian del Carpini, or John of Plano Carpini or Joannes de Plano (c. ... Simon of St Quentin (fl. ... Jehan de Mandeville, translated as Sir John Mandeville, is the name claimed by the compiler of a singular book of supposed travels, written in French, and published between 1357 and 1371. ... Anelida and Arcite is a 357 line poem by Geofrey Chaucer. ...

External links

• Read "The Squire's Tale" with interlinear translation