How many pilgrims are there exactly in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales?

Answer 1

In the General Prologue, Chaucer has already checked in, when he says that 29 more arrived in a company. He then names 30 more. With Chaucer and the Host, 32 set out. They are joined by the Canon's Yeoman to make a group of 33 at the end, a suitable number of some religious significance (years of Christ's life, e.g.)

Note that 29 is also of some significance, since St. Thomas a Becket's feast day is Dec. 29.

Why the error? Probably since Chaucer the Narrator is always making quick judgments, which the reader has to take with a grain of salt. This is Chaucer the Poet's ironic way of first indicating this to us.

For more details, see Caroline Eckhardt's "The Number of Chaucer's Pilgrims: A Review and Reappraisal" in The Yearbook of English Studies, Vol 5 (1975), pp. 1-18.

Answer 2

Chaucer meets 29 pilgrims in the Tabard Inn in Southwark. Chaucer joins the group, and so does the Tabard landlord - Harry Bailey.

While on the route to Canterbury, the party meets a Canon and his Yeoman. The Canon does not stay around long, but the Yeoman joins the group.

Correct answers to your questions include: 29, 30, 31, 32.; but 30 is probably the best of these answers.

Answer 3

Chaucer meets 29 pilgrims at the Tabard. Chaucer and Harry Bailey (the landlord) join the group, to make 31.

Later they meet the Canon and his Yeoman - but the Canon doesn't stay with them long.

So 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 are all possible answers to your question.

Answer 4

If you mean pilgrims:

Chaucer meets 29 pilgrims at the Tabard Inn in Southwark. Chaucer himself joins the party, and so does the landlord of the Tabard - Harry Bailey. This makes 31 pilgrims, of whom only 30 will take part in the Tale telling (Harry is excluded as the judge).

On their way to Canterbury the pilgrims meet a Canon (who has been operating as an Alchemist and general purpose confidence trickster) together with his Yeoman. The Canon doesn't stay around long, but his Yeoman joins the pilgrimage (perhaps only as far as Canterbury - we never find out).

So the group momentarily increases to 33, then drops back to 32 again.

There are 31 pilgrims as they set out from the Tabard, including Chaucer and Harry Bailey. Later they are joined by the Canon and his Yeoman, but the Canon doesn't stay around long.

If you mean tales:

The original plan was that each pilgrim would tell two stories on the way to Canterbury, and two on the way back home to London. With 30 competing pilgrims (remember that Harry Bailey is excluded) this would be 120 tales.

Chaucer never completed the Canterbury Tales, and no pilgrim really tells more than one tale, while a few never tell a tale at all. But the plan was for 120 separate stories.

Answer 5

There are 29 pilgrims in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.