Franklin In Chaucer's Tale

A franklin, in Chaucer's time, was a freehold landowner whose status would have been that of the minor gentry. Chaucer's pilgrim is described as having been a member of Parliament, a magistrate, a sheriff and a district auditor, and would thus have been a very important person in his local community. He is by no means a poor man, as if evident from the description given in the General Prologue. His tale is told immediately after that of the Squire, who would have come from the social level just above that of the Franklin. The Squire's Tale is incomplete, so the words of the Franklin at the end cannot be seen as an interruption but as congratulations at the end of a tale well told. He clearly admires the Squire, and wishes that his own son had
Her fears are made worse when she looks down from the cliffs at the black rocks that threaten passing ships; especially the one that she hopes will bring Arveragus back home. The friends therefore decide that she would be happier away from the coast and take her to a secluded garden where there is a feast and dancing. At the dance is a young squire, named Aurelius, who has long admired Dorigen from afar, in the approved "courtly love" tradition. He eventually gets his chance to talk to Dorigen and declare his love, which she rejects. However, she then tells him that she will return his love if he can get rid of all the horrible black rocks that she has been so concerned about. The dance soon ended and the guests went home, except for Aurelius, who fell to his knees, and prayed to Apollo, the sun god, to appeal to his sister, the moon goddess, to bring about a high tide of such height and duration that the sea covers all the rocks for two years. Arveragus then returned from abroad, and Dorigen was delighted to have him