Chaucer described the Shipman as is a very tough, clever, and skilled ship captain. He is well-traveled because he works in the sailing and shipping business and has been to many places in Britain and Spain that his colour is brown because of the hot summer. He wears a woolen outfit with a dagger hung under his arm with a lace.

And despite the fact that he is “a good fellow” as Chaucer mentioned, the Shipman is not really a good man because he is nasty and unmerciful. He steals the merchants’ wine whenever they sleep, and he is also so brutal with his enemies that if he wins over them, he makes them walk the plank, and this means he forces them to jump into the sea to torture them before they die.

“And certeinly he was a good felawe.
Ful many a draughte of wyn had he ydrawe
From Burdeux-ward, whil that the chapman sleep.
400 Of nyce conscience took he no keep.
If that he faught, and hadde the hyer hond,
By water he sente hem hoom to every lond.”

Why did Chaucer describe the Shipman as “a good fellow”? Was he referring to how “good” the Shipman is at what he does as a ship-captain?  He told us that the Shipman is a shrewd mariner who knows all ways to the best harbors and ports and has all the needed skills for navigation, calculating tides, and sailing his ship safely.

Or did a “good fellow” in Middle English simply mean being a “festive sort of fellow” in Modern English, a man’s man, a man whose nautical skills and “manly” misdemeanours are admired by other men? This sounds more logical.  It is a pity, but some men admire the traits of a too masculine man! I guess this is where the ideas of the so-called “Alpha Male” come from. You know,  the ‘manly’ man who is the roughest, cruelest, less civil and most mischievous male. Not impressive at all, to me at least, plus: this notion is all inhumane.

However, I guess it is true that some men (the ones who lack self-esteem) would consider the Shipman a ‘good fellow’ for these traits. They lack confidence. Thus, they admire such a character because they ‘think’ what makes them powerful or strong (that is: “real” men) is roughness and cruelty. They are wrong, I believe, but from their point of view, yes, he is a ‘good fellow’.  But was Chaucer of that kind of men? I would be disappointed if the answer was “yes”!

The Shipman really sounded like a pirate actually more than anything else, but I think that since he was a skilled sailor, merchants would cooperate with him or hire him to ship their goods. There was not that big distinction at that time, so I guess he was both: an owner of shipping business and a pirate.

One might think of Captain Jack Sparrow when studying the Shipman’s portrait and tale. This is because Jack Sparrow is a very shrewd and skillful sailor  exactly like the Shipman, but the latter is so aggressive and prefers to achieve his goals by force. He is cruel,  so physically strong, and kills his opponents unmercifully. In contrast, Jack Sparrow uses his wit and mind more than his hand to get his goals, so if the Shipman was given a chance to choose another career, he would rather be, let’s say, a soldier , but Jack Sparrow can make a manipulative broker or a smart and mischievous sales representative! He prefers to end arguments and fight verbally with his clever remarks and the least aggressive physical force.