Introduction

This chapter examines Geoffrey Chaucer’s treatment of economic and ethical value in The Canterbury Tales within the context of contemporary economic and social change and in relation to the scholastic economic theory that attempted to formulate ethical standards for commercial conduct. It outlines the changes in economic and social values in order to provide a background for the subsequent discussions of The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale, The Shipman’s Tale, and The Canon’s Yeoman’s Prologue and Tale. The chapter also outlines the discussion of money’s growing importance in the late Middle Ages and of the changing attitudes toward money, its utility, and the determination of its value. As money became more useful both to small business transactions and to international finance, a stable currency became crucial to national economies.