CANTERBURY OUTLINE

• The Sea Captain's Tale (Shipmanne's Tale)
• About a merchant and his wife, and a young monk (Dan John)
• Merchant gave private loan of 100 francs to Dan John 
• He then pays the merchant's wife the francs in exchange for sex
• The merchant finds out about this at the end but is not too angry
• Dan John is about 30 years old
• Light, humorous tone
• Casual mood
• Simple plot told in a very lengthy way
• The monk character is paying for sex, which clearly goes against "monk code"
• This shows Chaucer's contrasting attitude, and his connection to the everyday person, acknowledging that even "holy" people are flawed
• Dan John leaves the next morning, and no one knows he paid "wife" for sex
• The wife is not given a name at all, nor is the merchant
• In this way it's possible that Dan John could be considered the protagonist, depending on perspective
• Dan John confesses to the merchant that he slept with his wife
• The merchant is probably the main character/protagonist
• He is in the middle of it- the monk Dan John, who he's friendly with, slept with his wife
• Other main characters are the wife and monk