# Friar — The Canterbury Tales character guide

> Friar in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Friar John

**First appearance:** 0000-the-prologue

## Snapshot

A begging friar who trades flattery for donations, keeping ivory tablets to record who pays and erasing the names of those who don't.

## Who they are

This limitour roams his circuit with a scrip and tipped staff, cozying up to wealthy households and collecting wheat, cheese, and coin in exchange for prayers he has no intention of delivering. He is locked in a bitter feud with the Sompnour, and their mutual contempt erupts into a tale-telling duel on the road. His oily courtesy and casual fraud expose how religious office could be turned into a racket, and his tale about a greedy summoner sharpens the pilgrimage's running argument about corruption.

## Relationships

### [Palamon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/palamon)

_rivalry_

The Friar is a rival storyteller and antagonist to Palamon's tale, often clashing in narrative tone and moral stance.

### [Alein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/alein)

_rivalry_

Alein is a student who outwits the Friar in the Reeve's Tale, creating a comedic rivalry between them.

### [Palamon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/palamon)

_rivalry_

The Friar is a rival storyteller and antagonist to Palamon's tale, often clashing in narrative tone and moral stance.

### [Palamon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/palamon)

_rivalry_

The Friar is a rival storyteller and antagonist to Palamon's tale, often clashing in narrative tone and moral stance.

### [Alein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/alein)

_rivalry_

Alein is a student who outwits the Friar in the Reeve's Tale, creating a comedic rivalry between them.

### [Alein](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/alein)

_rivalry_

Alein is a student who outwits the Friar in the Reeve's Tale, creating a comedic rivalry between them.

## In the story

### [The Friar's Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-friar-s-tale)

The narrator of the tale, who uses the story to criticize summoners.

### [The Prologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-prologue)

The Friar speaks disparagingly of Summoners, calling them runners up and down for fornication who are beaten at every town's end.

### [The Friar's Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-tale)

The Friar tells this tale against the Summoner, describing a corrupt archdeacon's summoner.

### [The Sompnour's Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-sompnour-s-tale)

The target of the Sompnour's tale, representing clerical hypocrisy.

### [The Prologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-prologue)

The target of the Sompnour's anger, accused of lying and being akin to fiends.

### [The Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-tale)

The friar visits Thomas, flatters his wife, preaches against ire, and attempts to secure a gift for his convent.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/friar
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters