CHAUCER’S PORTRAYAL OF THE SHIPMAN IN THE PROLOGUE

Chaucer’s descriptive skill in the delineation of human character is evident in the portraiture of the pilgrims of The Canterbury Tales. He portrays his characters with precision and accuracy. He often makes use of the details of physical and moral attributes of the characters to describe them.

The Shipman is one of the pilgrims to Canterbury. He hails from Dartmouth. He rides on a big strong horse. He wears a coarse gown down to the knee. Around his neck and under his arm he had a dagger hanging on a lace.  The hot summer had made his complexion all brown.

The shipman is a skilled sailor. He is good at calculating the tides, navigating the stars and bringing the ship safely to the harbour. There was no one from Hull to Carthage who knows more than the Shipman about the harbours. He knows all the harbours and every creek In Britain and in Spain. He was also bold and cautious in his undertakings. In his career, he has seen many a tempest.

Chaucer describes the Shipman as ‘a good fellow’ ironically as he has certain villainous characters. He steals Bordeaux wine from the merchants when they are in sleep on the ship. He has no regard for a scrupulous conscience. If he fights with any one, he throws his enemy into the sea and sends him to ‘afterlife’

Chaucer’s Shipman is representative of the seamen of the day. The reason for Chaucer  to include the Shipman among his pilgrims is that Chaucer wants to show the newly emerging medieval middle class as a result of the developing mercantile ships.