In addition, they can be considered as characters of the framing narrative the Host, who travels with the pilgrims, the Canon, and the fictive Geoffrey Chaucer, the teller of the tale of Sir Thopas (who might be considered distinct from the Chaucerian narrator, who is in turn somewhat divorced from Chaucer the author).
The pilgrims fall into various groups, the religious group and the military group[2] for example.
Also there are important pairs, including the tale pairs - which pair are supposed to be telling their tales on the same night.
| Role | Name | Tales | Notes |
|---|
| Narrator | Geoffrey Chaucer | Sir Thopas and the Tale of Melibee | Although he writes all of the tales, Chaucer describes himself telling two tales as one of the pilgrims. |
| Host | Harry Bailey | Owner of the Tabard Inn, where the pilgrimage starts. He agrees to travel on the pilgrimage, promising to judge the tales, and disputes between the pilgrims. |
| Knight | The Knight's Tale | A valiant and experienced crusader who lives by the code of chivalry |
| Squire | The Squire's Tale | Son of the knight, a finely dressed and artistically talented bachelor |
| Knight's yeoman | An archer and possibly a forester |
| Prioress | Madame Eglantine | The Prioress's Tale | A woman with impeccable table manners who wears a brooch reading Amor vincit omnia (love conquers all) |
| Second nun | The Second Nun's Tale | Chaplain to the prioress |
| Nun's priests | The Nun's Priest's Tale | Three priests in the prioress's party |
| Monk | The Monk's Tale | An avid hunter and horseman who disdains the rules of his order |
| Friar | Huberd | The Friar's Tale | A mendicant who takes confessions from the well-to-do for a price, and spends the money on himself rather than to benefit the poor |
| Merchant | The Merchant's Tale | A successful Hanseatic trader |
| Clerk | The Clerk's Tale | An Oxford-educated scholar |
| Man of law (sergeant of the law) | The Man of Law's Tale | A wealthy lawyer known as much for his personal extravagance as for his professional skill |
| Franklin | The Franklin's Tale | Companion of the man of law, a pleasure-seeking landowner who dines on every kind of food and drink |
| Five craft workers | A haberdasher, carpenter, weaver, dyer and tapester, all described together |
| Cook | Roger | The Cook's Tale | A servant of the craft-workers |
| Shipman | The Shipman's Tale | A barge captain from Dartmouth |
| Physician (doctor of physic) | The Physician's Tale | A practitioner of astrology and humorism |
| Wife of Bath | Alisoun | The Wife of Bath's Tale | A five-time widow who has traveled throughout the world |
| Parson | The Parson's Tale | A benevolent and virtuous town pastor |
| Plowman | The parson's brother, who loves God and his neighbor and plows poor men's fields for free |
| Miller | Robyn | The Miller's Tale | A brawny and profane tradesman who overcharges and steals from his customers |
| Manciple | The Manciple's Tale | A purchasing agent to an Inn of Court |
| Reeve | Osewald | The Reeve's Tale | A feudal accountant from Bawdeswell |
| Summoner | The Summoner's Tale | A gluttonous, lecherous, intemperate man who notifies people to appear at ecclesiastical courts |
| Pardoner | The Pardoner's Tale | A close companion of the summoner who sells indulgences and phony religious relics |
| Canon | An alchemist and confidence trickster who encounters the pilgrims on the road, then rides away when his yeoman speaks too freely |
| Canon's yeoman | The Canon's Yeoman's Tale | Unwitting accomplice of the canon |
|
1. ^[https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/c/the-canterbury-tales/character-list Cliff's Notes]
2. ^{{Cite book|page=13|title=Sources and Analogues of the Canterbury Tales|volume=2|series=Chaucer studies|author=Robert M. Correale, Mary Hamel|publisher=DS Brewer|date=2005|id={{ISBN|9781843840480}}, ISSN 0261-9822}}
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