The Haberdasher Essay -- Chaucer Essays

The HaberdasherThe orphan pilgrims of the Canterbury Tales appear to be preferably interesting with their geere apiked (365). A snapshot of the guildsmen determines that the men were wealthy, apart of some casing of brotherhood, and had wives that were socially upstanding. Now an argument arises when trying to decide whether or non the craftsmen were actually in a guild or not. Evidence supports my take that, not lone(prenominal) were they in a guild, but it was legitimate, exclusive, and included only those with similar occupations.A haberdasher was amongst the fraternity Chaucer mentions. During the medieval times, this hat shaper was credibly using a cloth called chaperon to make hats. both(prenominal) men and women wore these types of hats beaver hats became popular. Women also wore veils on their head to hide their haircloth (Britannica). At this point in history, there were no legal contracts. This became a problem when the townspeople needed credit to buy item s and the craftsmen needed fond materials. The main solution was for the craftsmen to join guilds in an effort to boost their reputation.The solempne and know fraternitee in whose livery Chaucer dressed the five Burgesses in the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales was probably a craft fraternity (McCutchan 313). Guilds were very important forces in the fourteenth century. A haberdasher or any craftsman would join for ad hominem establishment and membership also was the most frequently employed pith of claiming such status in local society (Rosser 10). The fraternities served as a form of kinship and inclusion amongst peers. The fictional kinship of a fraternity lent a moral force to the declarations of mutual respect swear between the ... ... However, they are highly revered respected in the community of interests and part of that is because of the product that they make. Clothing is a symbol for status, a policy-making statement, and a first im pression.Works CitedBoccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Garden metropolis Garden City Publishing Company, 1930.Chaucer, Geoffrey. Canterbury Tales. Boston Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987.Harwood, Britton J. The Fraternitee of Chaucers Guildsmen. The Review of English Studies 39.155 (1988) 413-417.Hat. cyclopedia Britannica. 2003. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 13 Nov 2003 http//search.eb.com/eb/article?eu=40311.Kirby, Thomas A. The Haberdasher and his Companions. Modern lyric Notes 53.7 (1938) 504-505.Rosser, Gervase. Crafts, Guilds and the Negotiations of Work in the Medieval Town. Past and Present 154 (1997) 3-31.