The Summoner is one of the pilgrims introduced in Geoffrey Chaucer's late 14th-century collection The Canterbury Tales. Presented in the General Prologue and given his own Tale, he embodies a mixture of comic grotesquerie and social criticism. Chaucer uses the Summoner to expose real tensions in medieval society: the gap between the ideals of ecclesiastical office and the misconduct of some who held such positions.
Role and historical context
In the medieval church a summoner was an officer who served the ecclesiastical (church) courts by delivering summonses and notifying people accused of moral or canonical offences—such as adultery, drunkenness, or failing to pay tithes. These courts played a large administrative and moral role in parish life. In practice, however, summoners could and did abuse their position, extracting payments to suppress cases or turning a blind eye to crimes. Chaucer’s Summoner represents these institutional possibilities for corruption.
Chaucer’s portrayal: appearance and character
Chaucer gives the Summoner a vivid, memorable physical description and a catalogue of vices. He is shown as frequently drunk, inclined to lechery, and fond of coarse language. His face is described as scarred with pustules—an image readers have long read as symbolic of moral decay—while he adopts pretentious Latin phrases when intoxicated, a comic touch that exposes ignorance and vanity. Children are said to be afraid of him, and he is known to intimidate litigants and exploit their fears.
Behavior and corrupt practices
- Accepting bribes to avoid legal action or to manipulate summonses.
- Using his office to harass or extort vulnerable people.
- Partnering with other dubious figures of the church, such as the Pardoner, in mutual satire and rivalry.
The Summoner’s Tale and interactions
The pilgrim appears not only in description but also as an active teller: The Summoner’s Tale targets friars and lampoons clerical hypocrisy. His exchanges with other pilgrims—notably the Pardoner and the Host—help dramatize the social dynamics of the group and provide points of comic conflict and moral judgment. Through these interactions Chaucer balances laughter with critique.
Literary significance and interpretations
Scholars view the Summoner as part of Chaucer’s broader program of social satire. He functions both as a grotesque comic type and as a vehicle for serious commentary about the church’s institutions. Interpretations range from reading him mainly as comic relief to seeing him as a pointed indictment of clerical corruption in late medieval England. His vivid image remains one of the most striking character portraits in The Canterbury Tales.
