Chaucer's mounted menagerie: An intertextual examination of horse and rider archetypes in 'The Canterbury Tales'

While many works delve into different aspects of The Canterbury Tales, few chose to recognize and give credit to some of Chaucer's least mentioned characters---the horses. My project attempts to bring these often overlooked and neglected characters a new significance and realization and thus fill an important, though perhaps not large, fissure in understanding and appreciating Chaucer's great work.;Since few authors and critics address the horses mentioned in The Canterbury Tales, the research for this project has lead me to a variety of interesting sources and materials. Not only have I focused on Chaucer scholars and critics, but also on authors of horse history and symbolism. Several of the equine authors wrote lengthy pieces covering the significance of horses in the medieval world. Horses offered status, power, and mobility to those who used them ---such themes are also apparent in The Canterbury Tales. Arthur Vernon, an equine scholar, asks, "where would human history have been in the whole provinces of war and commerce, continental expansion and sports, in a horseless world?" (ix). Society, prosperity, and chivalry (since cheval originally meant horse) was born and borne on the back of the horse. Chaucer's pilgrims rode to Canterbury, more than likely, because it was easier and faster than walking. And the pilgrims rode the type of horse that they, by their meager, modest, wealthy or prideful means could acquire and afford. It is this relationship and its reflection on character that I wish to examine.;The start of my project will focus on the eight mounts and their riders mentioned in the General Prologue---though I will just briefly mention the Squire and the Reeve, as they will be analyzed more in-depth with their tales in a later section. I will look at the type of horse each pilgrim rides (a stot, an ambler, a jade, etc.) and by pairing them with their historic and societal significance, will examine how they represent the status, life, and disposition of their riders as presented through Chaucer's descriptions. I also plan on exploring the symbolic significance of the horse in medieval lore and history and see how this relates to the pilgrims themselves as well as their mounts.;For the last half of my project, I plan on focusing on two pilgrims---the Reeve and the Squire---and their respective tales. These two tales are the only two within The Canterbury Tales that involve a prominent horse character. I will examine these horse characters in relation to the plot and action and to the human characters of the tales. And since the tales somehow reflect their storyteller and/or companied audience, I will study how each tale reflects the status, personality, and even the mount of its narrator.;The purpose of my project will be to show that Chaucer chose to mention the pilgrim's horses, not just for aesthetic detail, but also for actual narrative and figurative purposes. The horses tell as much about the pilgrims as do their manner of dress and physical features. While the horses suggest a pilgrim's social status, they also hint at a character's moral character. Though horses appear minimally throughout The Canterbury Tales, they provide insight into Chaucer's colorful menagerie.