We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story The Miller Quotes

The Miller

Quote 1

[The Miller] swoor, "By armes, and by blood and bones,
I kan a noble tale for the nones,
With which I wol now quite the Knyghtes tale."

(Miller's Prologue 17 – 19)

By demanding that he be the one to tell the next tale, the Miller not only upsets the proper social order the Host has indicated he plans to follow, he also sets himself up in direct competition with the Knight. It would have probably seemed a little ludicrous to a medieval person that a Miller would think he could compete with a knight, even if only in tale-telling, but that's all part of the fun.