Canterbury Tales Line Count Comparison (Riverside Lines)

Compare 23 Canterbury Tales line counts from Riverside Chaucer, from Knight at 2250 lines to Cook at 58, in a linked converter with full bars and table.

Entry A

Amount of A

Entry B

Amount of B

Unit

Amount in unit

Visual comparison

Linear scale: bar lengths are directly proportional to value, relative to the largest entry.

Knight's Tale2,250 Lines

Wife of Bath's Tale1,272 Lines

Merchant's Tale1,223 Lines

Clerk's Tale1,210 Lines

Man of Law's Tale1,029 Lines

Pardoner's Tale968 Lines

Franklin's Tale896 Lines

General Prologue858 Lines

Monk's Tale856 Lines

Miller's Tale668 Lines

Squire's Tale660 Lines

Summoner's Tale633 Lines

Nun's Priest's Tale626 Lines

Canon's Yeoman's Tale566 Lines

Second Nun's Tale553 Lines

Shipman's Tale434 Lines

Reeve's Tale406 Lines

Physician's Tale286 Lines

Manciple's Tale272 Lines

Prioress's Tale250 Lines

Friar's Tale229 Lines

Sir Thopas206 Lines

Cook's Tale58 Lines

All values

Click any row to load it as Entry A.

Name	Value	Context	Source
General Prologue 858 lines. Frame for the contest.	858 lines	Pilgrim portraits at the Tabard Inn	Riverside Chaucer, General Prologue lines 1-858
Knight's Tale 2250 lines. Longest verse block here.	2,250 lines	Palamon and Arcite at Athens	Riverside Chaucer, Knight's Tale lines 859-3108
Miller's Tale 668 lines. Comic reply to the Knight.	668 lines	Carpenter, Alison and Nicholas	Riverside Chaucer, Miller's Tale 668 lines
Reeve's Tale 406 lines. Follows the Miller.	406 lines	Two clerks and a cheating miller	Riverside Chaucer, Reeve's Tale 406 lines
Cook's Tale 58 lines. Left unfinished.	58 lines	Unfinished tale of Perkyn	Riverside Chaucer, Cook's Tale 58 lines
Man of Law's Tale 1029 lines. Longest after the Knight group.	1,029 lines	Constance and shipwreck trials	Riverside Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale 1029 lines
Wife of Bath's Tale 1272 lines. Includes her long prologue.	1,272 lines	Loathly lady and sovereignty	Riverside Chaucer, Wife of Bath block 1272 lines
Friar's Tale 229 lines. Quarrel with the Summoner.	229 lines	Summoner dragged to hell	Riverside Chaucer, Friar's Tale 229 lines
Summoner's Tale 633 lines. Reply to the Friar.	633 lines	Greedy friar and the fart	Riverside Chaucer, Summoner's Tale 633 lines
Clerk's Tale 1210 lines. Includes envoy.	1,210 lines	Patient Griselda tested	Riverside Chaucer, Clerk's Tale 1210 lines
Merchant's Tale 1223 lines. Bitter marriage tale.	1,223 lines	January, May and Damyan	Riverside Chaucer, Merchant's Tale 1223 lines
Squire's Tale 660 lines. Left unfinished.	660 lines	Cambuskan and the brass horse	Riverside Chaucer, Squire's Tale 660 lines
Franklin's Tale 896 lines. Closes the marriage group.	896 lines	Dorigen and the rash promise	Riverside Chaucer, Franklin's Tale 896 lines
Physician's Tale 286 lines. Short moral tale.	286 lines	Virginia and Appius	Riverside Chaucer, Physician's Tale 286 lines
Pardoner's Tale 968 lines. Prologue plus tale.	968 lines	Three rioters and death	Riverside Chaucer, Pardoner block 968 lines
Shipman's Tale 434 lines. Money and trickery.	434 lines	Merchant, wife and monk	Riverside Chaucer, Shipman's Tale 434 lines
Prioress's Tale 250 lines. Devotional miracle.	250 lines	Murdered choir boy miracle	Riverside Chaucer, Prioress's Tale 250 lines
Sir Thopas 206 lines. Stopped by the Host.	206 lines	Chaucer the pilgrim burlesque	Riverside Chaucer, Sir Thopas 206 lines
Monk's Tale 856 lines. Series of short falls.	856 lines	Falls of great men tragedies	Riverside Chaucer, Monk's Tale 856 lines
Nun's Priest's Tale 626 lines. Beast fable.	626 lines	Chauntecleer and the fox	Riverside Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale 626 lines
Second Nun's Tale 553 lines. Saint legend.	553 lines	Life of Saint Cecilia	Riverside Chaucer, Second Nun's Tale 553 lines
Canon's Yeoman's Tale 566 lines. Late addition.	566 lines	Alchemy fraud exposed	Riverside Chaucer, Canon's Yeoman's Tale 566 lines
Manciple's Tale 272 lines. Last verse tale.	272 lines	Phoebus, crow and wife	Riverside Chaucer, Manciple's Tale 272 lines

About this converter

Riverside Chaucer prints the Canterbury Tales with fixed verse line counts for each tale block. The Knight's Tale at 2250 lines is the longest verse block here. The Wife of Bath block at 1272 lines follows, with the Clerk at 1210 and the Merchant at 1223 close behind. The Man of Law stands at 1029 lines. The Franklin at 896 and the Monk at 856 sit in the upper middle. Short verse blocks anchor the lower end, with the Cook's Tale at 58 lines, Sir Thopas at 206, the Friar at 229 and the Prioress at 250. The set spans pilgrim storytelling from the General Prologue at 858 lines through the Manciple at 272.

How to use it

Pick two entries and a unit in the top row. The three boxes below stay linked. Change any box and the other two update. One box holds a count of the first tale, one holds the matching count of the second, one holds total lines. Try 1 Knight's Tale against Cook's Tale to see the long to short ratio.

Counts use Riverside Chaucer tale lineation for verse blocks. The Parson's Tale is prose and stays out of the rows. The Retraction is prose and stays out of the rows. The Tale of Melibee is prose and stays out of the rows. Prologues that belong to a tale block are counted inside that block total. The Cook fragment is short because Chaucer left it unfinished at 58 lines.

FAQ

Which Canterbury verse tale is longest?

The Knight's Tale at 2250 lines. The Wife of Bath block follows at 1272.

Which verse tale is shortest?

The Cook's Tale at 58 lines. It is unfinished. Sir Thopas follows at 206.

Why are the Parson and Retraction missing?

Both are prose. This table covers verse tale line counts only.

Which text sets the counts?

The Riverside Chaucer, checked against Harvard line pages and the Sheffield lineation table.

Sources

Larry D. Benson, ed., The Riverside Chaucer, 3rd ed., Oxford University Press
Harvard University Chaucer site, General Prologue lines 1-858 and Knight's Tale lines 859-3108
University of Sheffield lineation table for tale ranges
British Library Hengwrt and Ellesmere tale order for block divisions

Last verified: 2026-10-07 · 23 entries

More arcade scores converters

Arcade Scores

100m Sprint Record Comparison (Seconds)

Compare 10 fastest legal 100 meter sprint times in seconds, from Bolt at 9.58 to Greene at 9.79. World Athletics marks in a linked tool here. right now.

Athletics · 10 entries

Arcade Scores

100m World Record Progression Comparison (Men)

Compare 15 mens 100m world records, from Lippincott 10.6 to Bolt 9.58. World Athletics progression data in a linked tool. See bars. Verified now. Verified.

World Athletics · 15 entries

Arcade Scores

12 Monkeys Episode Count Comparison (Seasons)

How many 12 Monkeys episodes per season? Compare all 4 season counts plus the 47 total, from 10 in season 3 to 13 in early years, using Syfy guides. Data.

12 Monkeys · 5 entries

← Candy Candy Episode Runtime Comparison · Canyon Depth Comparison (Meters) →