Canterbury Tales: The Prioress's Prologue and Tale Trivia Quiz | Literature

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In this story we have the Prioress telling her tale to the tired folk on their pilgrimage to Canterbury. What continent does this story tale place in?

Answer: Asia

We find out very soon in the tale that it takes place in a small town in Asia. It is specified that it is a Christian town, where a quarter of the population are Jewish. The people lived in a ghetto-like manner with the poorer Christian children having to go to school at the far end of the town.

A lord of poor character, but of much money, takes advantage of the poor living there by taxing them much like today's loan shark would. As time passes, we find out that a young schoolboy is the main character in the tale.

2. One of the young Christian students, a widow's son, would walk on his way to school in an area where most of the Jewish people lived. What was the age of the young boy in the tale?

Answer: 7

"The Prioress's Prologue" literally states he is 7 years old. The tale mentions that the children learn in school by two different ways. One way was by regular reading and the other way by singing. The young boy was taught by his mother to always keep learning and worship the Lord. His mother taught him that each time he passed a statue of the Virgin Mary he should kneel and say a "Hail Mary".

3. The Prioress reminds us of the many examples of reverence that this young schoolboy shows in his devotion to Christ. Which saint does she compare this child to in "The Prioress's Tale"?

Answer: Saint Nicholas of Myra

Saint Nicholas of Myra is who the Prioress uses as a comparison to the young child, since it was he who also celebrated Christ when he was younger. Like many saints who are martyred for their commitment to Christ, this story leads us to believe a similar fate for the young schoolboy may be in the future. On an interesting note, there is an illustration of Saint Nicholas showing him resurrecting three butchered children in "a book of hours" in the "Grandes Heures d'Anne de Bretagne", which was commissioned by Anne of Brittany.

It is seemingly similar to the eventual outcome of this young school boy.

4. Although he was too young to sing in the class with the older children, he would always listen to them. The children sang a certain song and the boy learned more and more of it, until one day he learned the entire first verse. What was the song?

Answer: O Alma Redemptoris

In the actual tale it says he heard 'Gracious (mother) of the Redeemer' being sung. It is the same song. It is one of the Marian antiphons sung at the beginning of Advent. During the tale it tells us the song was sung in Latin, which was a little too much for a 7 year old to totally understand. That being said, the young school boy thought it was better to learn this song, a song about Christ's mother (Mary), than it was to do his homework in his school primer.

He mentioned he would take three beatings a hour, if he had to, so he could honour Our Lady. On Saturday, he would go to a votive Mass specifically dedicated to honoring Our Lady.

He was taught very well.

5. We've heard a great deal about this young schoolboy and of his great desire to love God and the Virgin Mary. What was his name?

Answer: His name was never mentioned

At the end of the story we are led to believe that Chaucer was comparing the "litel clergeon" (the nameless boy) to Young Hugh of Lincoln (or Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln). The murder of Hugh of Lincoln came in 1255 AD (again not the name of the boy in the tale). The setting of the story that the young boy was murdered in was located in Asia, not to be confused with the Hugh that comes from Lincoln, England.

At the time of the writing there were few, if any, Jews living in England. The young boy in the story is not to be confused with the real life Hugh of Lincoln who lived from 1140 to 1200 and known as Hugh of Avalon, who WAS canonized.

6. Eventually, the young boy's body is located in the town's cesspool. His mother, pent up with much sadness, speaks to God who "shows" her where his body is. When she sees him she starts crying uncontrollably. Which woman, who is mentioned in the Bible, does the Prioress compare Hugh's mother to?

Answer: Rachel

The name Rachel is used to signify the grief that a mother has on the loss of her child and, in Rachel's case, the country of Israel. It relates to Israelites having to suffer while in exile in Babylon. The tale also mentions the Massacre of the Innocents, when King Herod ordered all male children two years old and younger in Bethlehem and its surrounding region to be killed, hoping to eliminate the infant Jesus.

7. As with many things that are good, someone always seems to want to stir things up and make bad out of something. In this case the Jews in town were all told that the young boy was only singing his melody to attack them and make fun of their religion. Because of that, they had him killed. Who told them this lie?

Answer: Satan

Even in medieval times we are able to see the powers of good and evil wrestle against each other. Satan is the obvious instigator here, as always, and in this case we are led to believe that he tricks the Jews into hiring someone to murder the little boy. Chaucer tells us of how the Jewish people's hearts are like "wasps nests".

In real-life affairs such as these, it was the Christian leadership who often manipulated its own people into believing that the Jews were responsible, when, in many instances, it was the Christians themselves who were forcing their own agendas.

8. The local Jews were angry (supposedly) at the young boy because they were told that the little boy's singing was done to intentionally dishonor their religious beliefs. They then hired someone to kill him in a grotesque manner. How was the boy to be murdered?

Answer: his throat was cut

While the young boy was near the Jewish side of town singing his favorite song, the Jews were told he was only singing to make fun of them and their religion. Supposedly this angered the Jews who hired a mercenary to cut the young boy's throat and kill him. But the boy didn't die after all. God still had some work for him to do.

This is when Jesus and the Virgin Mary come in to play. This is one of the first mentioned stories of "blood libel" in history against the Jewish people.

9. As the widow mother nears the pit, a miracle happens. The dead child starts singing "O Alma Redemptoris", the same song he learned while at school. Earlier, the Virgin Mary placed a specific jewel on the boy's tongue which allows the boy to continue to sing the song until it is taken away. What type of jewel was it?

Answer: a pearl

The young boy tells of how God told him to continue to sing until his burial. The abbot wanted to have a quick mass, likely due to the body's scent. However, after holy water was sprinkled on the young boy's body, the boy began to sing "O Alma Redemptoris!".

It was Jesus Christ who wanted the boy to sing, so the rest of those there could understand and remember the true meaning of the spirit of Christ. The pearl is mentioned using the term "greyn", meaning grain.

10. As we end the tale from the Prioress, we find out that they have a special place for the young boy to be buried. What type of rock or stones were place on top of the tomb for the young boy from "Canterbury Tales" fame?

Answer: Clear marble stone

It's hard to imagine what clear marble stone would look like as a tomb. It is called "marbul stones cleere", meaning a fair, clear, or even white marble. The boy in the story was not canonized.

Near the end of "The Prioress's Tale" the legend of the young Hugh of Lincoln is brought up. Hugh of Lincoln was canonized. A black marble ledger slab was used to identify the real life St Hugh of Lincoln (not Chaucer's Hugh). Confused yet?

Source: Author BullsGold

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Canterbury Tales: The Prioress's Prologue and Tale Quiz

This tale, as told by the young Prioress, is about a young schoolboy of a widow who lives in a rather poor community. It shows us of his growth in Christ through the Virgin Mary because of him learning one song about her, which, inevitably, is about God.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>