Ⅰ．The Writing of the Prologue 1
1．The Occasion 1
2．The Scheme 3
3．The Date 7
Ⅱ．Religion in the Later Fourteenth Century 10
1．The Religious Background 10
2．The Faithful Clergy 14
Parson 14
Prioress 17
Nun，Nun＇s Priest，Clerk 18
3．The Profiteering Clerics 19
Monk 19
Friar 20
Summoner and Pardoner 22
Ⅲ．The Fourteenth Century Secular Scene 25
1．＇Sondry Folk＇ 25
Manciple 26
Sergeant of the Law and Doctor 26
Knight 27
Squire 29
Franklin 30
Five Gildsmen 31
Cook 31
Shipman and Merchant 32
Miller and Reeve 33
Wife of Bath 34
Ploughman 35
Yeoman 36
Poet Chaucer and Host 37
2．The Prologue as a Source of Knowledge 38
Ⅳ．Chaucer＇s Art 42
1．Language and Metre 42
2．Chaucer＇s Style 47
3．Chaucer＇s Art of Portraiture 56
4．Chaucer＇s Humour 63
Ⅴ．Conclusion 68
Ⅵ．Further Questions 71
Ⅶ．Further Suggested Reading 72