Abstract
The chronology of the “Monkes Tale” has been often discussed, and there are widely divergent views regarding its composition. Skeat and others have suggested that it was an independent work of Chaucer's, written early as the beginning of a collection after the form of the De Casibus. More recently, Professor Robinson has suggested that Chaucer's model was the Roman de la Rose, which provided not only the source for some of the stories but the connecting link of the Fortune Moral as well. If Chaucer did use the Roman de la Rose, the “Monkes Tale” may very well have been written early, at a time, indeed, when the French influence on Chaucer was still strong. For this reason and others, Professors Robinson and Kittredge regard the poem as an early composition. On the other hand, Professor Tatlock has argued that the poem was written expressly for the Canterbury Tales and at a time when this project was already well under way.
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