THE MONK’S PROLOGUE AND TALE

THE MONK’S PROLOGUE AND TALE

The Host wishes that his own wife were as patient as Melibee’s, and calls upon the Monk to tell the next tale. First, he teases the Monk, pointing out that the Monk is clearly no poor cloisterer. The Monk takes it all in stride and tells a series of tragic falls, in which noble figures are brought low: Lucifer, Adam, Sampson, Hercules, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Zenobia, Pedro of Castile, and down through the ages.