In the 14th century, class distinction was of great importance. The class you belonged to determined the clothes you could wear, the color of those clothes and even your behavior. In Geoffrey Chaucer's General Prologue and The Canterbury Tales, we can find any number of characters with these distinctions of behavior if we examine them. The Knight, for example, is described as a man worthy of "trouth and honour, liberty and courtesy" (I, 46). He is of noble rank and therefore his behavior is of good reputation (honor). In contrast, both the Reeve's and Miller's descriptions in the General Prologue are rather unflattering; their verbal cutting in the stories of others demonstrates the stereotypical "uncouth" behavior of the lower class. The word gentilesse, which occurs several times in the Canterbury Tales, is often defined as descriptive of nobility, so those of the noble class are "gentil man" and "gentil woman". The Knight as a member of the noble class is gentle because of his title. Members of the clergy may also fall into the category of gentilesse. Although Reeve and Miller being rude and crass do not fall into this category, Chaucer does not limit gentilesse to the noble class alone. Instead, it broadens the definition to include those characters who are patient, steadfast, and capable of enduring great hardship, and who surrender their will to the will of God. The crone in The Wife of Bath's Tale and Griselda in the Clerk's Tale are both perfect illustrations of the vision of Chaucer of the non-noble gentlesse. The hag and Griselda show kindness because they are virtuous, dedicated to God, and positive forces of change for those around them. In the tale of the Wife of Bath, the crone... in the center of the card... gives them to a superior spiritual gentilesse. Bibliography Brewer, Derek. Tradition and innovation in Chaucer. London: Macmillan, 1982. Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Pp 3-328. In Chaucer's Riverbank. Larry D. Benson, ed. Boston: Houghton, 1987.Cooper, Helen. "The Wife of Bath's Shapes, 1395-1670." Pp 168-184. In the Chaucer Traditions: Studies in Honor of Derek Brewer. Ruth Morse and Barry Windeatt, eds. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990. Delasanta, Rodney. “Nominalism and the 'clerk's tale' revisited.” Chaucer Review 31.3 (1997), 209-231. Hallissy, Margaret. Clean maids, true wives, steadfast widows: Chaucer's women and medieval codes of conduct. Connecticut: Greenwood, 1993.Saul, Nigel. "Chaucer and Kindness." Pp 41-58. In Chaucer's England. Barbara A. Hanawalt, ed. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota P, 1992.