ABSTRACT
A study of religious narratives in The Canterbury Tales needs to address a number of questions at the outset so as to explain the terms within which it was conceived and the limits within which it had to operate. The completed collection is in intention coextensive with the completed journey of the framing narrative. Narratives structured about the idea of journey regularly work on a symbolic as well as a literal level: the hero’s journey is thus metaphorically a quest for self-fulfilment. The ‘greet mateere’ is initiated by a group of tales directly dependent on the unfolding pilgrimage narrative in the General Prologue. Shortly after the pilgrims have set out, the Host initiates the storytelling by inviting the pilgrims to draw lots. The Physician’s comment on Envy works very differently; it makes the pagan narrative exemplary of Christian teaching. A further comparison of the Physician’s with the Franklin’s tale supports the decision to include the one and exclude the other.
