Jankyn Character Analysis in The Canterbury Tales

The fifth and final of the Wife of Bath’s husbands, and the only one whom she names in her Prologue. Unlike the other husbands, Jankyn is not rich and old, but young and poor: the Wife of Bath marries him for looks, not for money. Jankyn infuriates the Wife of Bath by reading books about wicked women.

Jankyn Quotes in The Canterbury Tales

The The Canterbury Tales quotes below are all either spoken by Jankyn or refer to Jankyn. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

).

And whan I saugh he wolde never fyne
To reden on this cursed book al nyght,
Al sodenly thre leves have I plyght
Out of his book, right as he radde, and eke
I with my fest so took hym on the cheke
That in our fyr he fil bakward adoun.

Related Characters: (speaker),

Jankyn Character Timeline in The Canterbury Tales

The timeline below shows where the character Jankyn appears in The Canterbury Tales. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

The Wife of Bath took her fifth husband, a clerk named Jankyn, not for his money but for his looks and charms. Jankyn boarded at the house... (full context)

The Wife of Bath is upset to learn about Jankyn’s book of wicked wives that he spends his time studying. She tears a leaf out... (full context)

...of frustration, the Wife of Bath tears three leaves out of the book and punches Jankyn in the face. Jankyn retaliates by smacking her on the head, which causes her to... (full context)