The Critics and the Prioress

Hannah Johnson, Heather Blurton

"Of all the Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer's Prioress's Tale, in which a young schoolboy is murdered by Jews for singing a song in praise of the Virgin Mary, poses a problem to contemporary readers because of the anti-semitism of the story it tells. Both the Tale's anti-semitism and its "Chaucerianism"--Its fitness or aptness as part of the Chaucerian canon--are significant topics of reflection for modern readers, who worry about the Tale's ethical implications as well as Chaucer's own implications. Over the past fifty years, scholars have asked whether the anti-semitism in the tale is that of the Prioress? Or of Chaucer the pilgrim? Or of Chaucer the author? Or, indeed, whether one ought to discuss anti-semitism in the Prioress's Tale at all, considering the potential anachronism of expecting medieval texts to conform to contemporary ideologies. The Critics and the Prioress...