The Prioress's Tale is about a seven year old choir boy who is deeply devoted to his Christian faith and likes to sing songs praising the Virgin Mary. While walking through an area where Jews lived, the boy sang a song which angered the Jews and they had him murdered by slitting his throat. When his mother finds his body, he is still singing thanks to a grain placed on his tongue by the Virgin Mary. This miracle leads the Jews who killed him to be hanged for their crime. The tale promotes Christian devotion and portrays Jews negatively.

1. The Prioress's Tale By: Kylie Schwartz and Melisa Archer

2. The Prioress's Tale Main Characters : The widow--mother of the choir boy The widow’s son--a seven year old choir boy who went to a catholic school and was deeply devoted to his religion. The Jews--had the widow’s son killed for singing Alma Redemptoris The Provost--ordered the Jews death by hanging The Abbot--sprinkled Holy Water on the boy and questioned how he could sing and talk.

3. The Prioress's Tale Setting: The prioress’s tale takes place in a town in Asia where there is a Jewry. At the far end of the town there was a Christian school where the widow’s son went. He learned the song Alma Redemptoris , which is about the Virgin Mary. He walked through the Jewry singing this song. The Jews felt disrespected so they had someone slit the boys throat. His mother went looking for him and found him by his singing of Alma Redemptoris . All the Christian folk from the neighborhood came running to see this miracle, and they called the Provost. The Provost had the Jews hung for their crime, and the abbot came with his monks. They sprinkled holy water on the boys body, and he began to talk. They asked him how he could sing and talk, and the boy said the Virgin Mary placed a grain on his tongue so he could honor her until the grain was taken off. The abbot took the grain so the boy could go to Heaven. They buried him in a marble tomb and he was named a martyr. The theme of this tale has to do with being devoted to Christianity and Jews being evil.

4. The Prioress's Tale Genre of the Tale: The genre of the Prioress’s Tale is “a Miracle of the Virgin”, a common Christian genre of literature. It focuses on Christian devotion to the Virgin Mary, but at the same time has much anti-Semitism showing some corruption. Source of the Tale: The source of the Prioress’s Tale is William Herebert Contemporary Counterparts: Contemporary counterparts to the Prioress’s Tale would be a story of a miracle. It could also be a story relating to justice against an evil.