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Chivalry can be classified into three basic but overlapping areas

Duties to countrymen and fellow Christians: this contains virtues such as mercy, courage, valor, fairness, protection of the weak and he poor, and in the servant-hood of the knight to his lord. This also brings with it the idea of being willing to give ones life for anothers; whether he would be giving his life for a poor man or his lord.

Duties to God: this would contain being faithful to God, protecting he innocent, being faithful to the church, being the champion of good against evil, being generous and obeying God above the eudal lord.

Duties to women: this is probably the most familiar aspect of chivalry. This would contain what is often called courtly love, the dea that the knight is to serve a lady, and after her all other ladies. Most especially in this category is a general gentleness and graciousness to all women.

Different weight given to different areas produced different strands of chivalry warrior chivalry: in which a knight's chief duty is to his lord, as exemplified by Sir Gawain religious chivalry: in which a knight's chief duty is to protect the innocent and serve God, as exemplified by Sir Galahad courtly love chivalry: in which a knight's chief duty is to his own lady, and after her, all ladies, as exemplified by Sir Lancelot

The Nun's Priest tale a beast fable: A story in which the principle characters are animals, teh beast fable is commonly characterized as a type of allegory. "Reynard the Fox" tradition The hero's appearance is a crucial descriptive element in every romance, as is the portrait of the heroine. With what kind of language does the narrator describe this barnyard pair? Compare it with the description of the Prioress in the "General Prologue." Pertelote's name translates from the French as "one who confuses someone's lot or fate" . Does she deserve this name? Medieval dream theory is in brief they thought dreams might be of several kinds. The most important difference was between that which arose from natural causes and that which was sent from heaven to warn and instruct. Which kind of dream does Pertelote think Chauntecleer has had, and which kind does the plot indicate it was? What is the Nun's Priest saying about this rooster? How does Pertelote first treat Chauntecleer's fear about his dream and what effect does this have upon the rooster? Does Pertelote's attitude and rhetoric remind you of any of the pilgrims? Similarly, does the rooster's response with a reading of Cato bring any of our previous tellers to mind? The Nun's Priest's claim for the fable's historical truth clearly is ironic, but which pilgrims' tales is he taking a swipe at?

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The apostrophes that introduce the fox's arrival are part of the narrator's mock-epic style (Batman) which he called "comical epics in prose." To what kinds of tales does the narrator compare the fox's betrayal of the rooster, and what does this association make possible for this tale? Remember that medieval readers were not shy about seeking hidden philosophical or religious significance in the world of narrative. The narrator's excursion into the problem of fate and destiny recalls ideas from earlier tales. What difference does it make that this story is about a fox and a rooster? More importantly, where have we heard a disclaimer like the one he uses to escape women's blame for his allusion to Eve's blame for the Fall?

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