# Nicholas — The Canterbury Tales character guide

> Nicholas in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Hendy Nicholas, quoth Nicholas, This Nicholas

**First appearance:** 0002-the-miller-s-tale

## Snapshot

A clever Oxford scholar with a taste for astrology and a bolder taste for his landlord's young wife, whose scheme to bed her turns on a flood that never comes.

## Who they are

Nicholas is a poor but learned clerk lodging with the old carpenter John, whose beautiful young wife Alisoun he covets. When John grows suspicious, Nicholas concocts an elaborate prophecy of a second Noah's flood, convincing the carpenter to sleep in a tub suspended from the rafters while he and Alisoun slip away. His wit is the engine of the Miller's Tale, and his comeuppance — a misdirected kiss and a scorched backside — is one of Chaucer's most famous comic reversals.

## Relationships

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

_social_

Nicholas and Palamon are characters from different tales, connected only by the pilgrimage framework.

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

_social_

Nicholas and Palamon are characters from different tales, connected only by the pilgrimage framework.

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

_social_

Nicholas and Palamon are characters from different tales, connected only by the pilgrimage framework.

## In the story

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

A clever clerk who seduces Alison and devises a trick to sleep with her.

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

A clever and sly clerk who boards with John the carpenter. He seduces Alison and devises the flood trick to be with her.

## Links

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