# The Reeve — The Canterbury Tales character guide

> The Reeve in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the Reeve, The Reeve, Osëwold the Reeve, Reeve

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

## Snapshot

A thin, choleric estate manager and former carpenter who answers the Miller's tale with a sharper one about a cuckolded miller.

## Who they are

Oswald the Reeve rides at the back of the pilgrimage, a wiry, close-shaven Norfolk man whose lord's wealth he manages with cunning and quiet theft. When the Miller tells a story mocking a carpenter, the Reeve takes it personally and retaliates with a tale of a proud miller outwitted by two clerks. His thin skin and long memory turn the storytelling contest into a feud, showing how the pilgrimage's fellowship frays when old trades and grudges collide.

## In the story

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

Angrily rebukes the Miller for his drunken plan to tell a tale that defames carpenters and wives.

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

Tells a tale of revenge against a miller, retaliating for the Miller's earlier tale about a carpenter.

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

Angered by the Miller's tale about a carpenter, he delivers a speech on old age and vows revenge.

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

The narrator of this tale, telling a story of revenge against a miller.

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

The Reeve is the subject of the Cook's praise, having just finished his tale.

## Links

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