The pilgrims are involved in a story-telling contest at the behest of the Host (Middle English: Hooste), Harry Bailly, the winner of which will receive a free meal at The Tabard Inn on their return.
Sir Thopas comes after The Prioress's Tale, a poem which is exemplary of the miracle of the Virgin genre and which tells the story of a child martyr killed by Jews.
[2] In comparison to the other travellers in the group, Chaucer the character is reluctant to speak, but when he does tell a tale, it is a rather frivolous burlesque very different from what went before.
The poem begins with an introduction to Sir Thopas, detailing his birthplace of Flanders, describing his physical appearance and abilities in hunting.
In the only scene of derring-do that Chaucer tells in the two and a half chapters he gets in, Sir Thopas flees the battle, pelted by stones.
The host, Harry Bailey, does not seem to appreciate this new style of tale and he interrupts Chaucer, telling him that "thy drasty rymyng is nat worth a toord".
Into the eighteenth century, readers regarded Harry Bailey's interruption as a sign of poor breeding, and they treated the tale of Sir Thopas itself as a great work.