# The Prioress — The Canterbury Tales character guide

> The Prioress in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Madame Eglentine

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

## Snapshot

A dainty nun who sings the service through her nose, feeds her little dogs on fine bread, and weeps over a trapped mouse.

## Who they are

Madame Eglentine wears a coral rosary with a golden brooch that reads 'Love conquers all,' and she speaks French after the school of Stratford-at-Bow. Her tender heart aches for any small suffering creature, yet she tells a tale of a little Christian boy murdered by Jews, a story of fierce devotional cruelty. Her delicate manners and her tale's violence sit side by side, showing how gentility and religious zeal can share one breast.

## In the story

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

A lady prioress present among the pilgrims, called upon by the Host to draw a cut.

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

The teller of this tale, a nun who invokes the Virgin Mary and tells a miracle story.

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

The Prioress agrees to tell the next tale.

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

Narrator of the tale, invoking the Virgin Mary and telling the story of the little clergion.

## Links

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