The Linden High School seniors in Mitzi Gates’ advanced English class read excerpts from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” and they brought their favorite characters to life on their own pilgrimage.

Rather than journeying to the shrine of Christian martyr Thomas Becket, as Chaucer’s pilgrims did, the LHS senior pilgrims clad themselves in medieval garb and went on a pilgrimage through the halls of the school, out the front doors, down the steps, along the Main Street sidewalk and into the Linden United Methodist Church, where the Rev. Ray Bass welcomed the weary travelers and listened to their tales.

After the seniors chose their favorite pilgrim based on Chaucer’s descriptions in The General Prologue, they designed a costume and wrote a description — either in prose or poetry — detailing the pilgrim’s appearance and personality, as well as a summary of the pilgrim’s tale.

The seniors enjoyed bringing the Canterbury characters to life, and they did an accurate and amusing job of doing so, according to Gates. In addition to sharing their descriptions and tales with Bass, the seniors made stops in Eddie Armstead’s science class, Tiffany Stephens math class and Pamela McPherson’s Spanish class along their pilgrimage for the same purpose.

The Chaucerian characters on the LHS pilgrimage included Jertrice Richardson, Chelsea Tucker and Brianna Williams as the Manciple; Jasmine Aldridge and Latice Glover as the Prioress; Tiffany Burrell and Parnesha Nickels as the Wife of Bath (beloved for her five trips down the marriage aisle as well as her “gap-toothed and big-hipped” good looks); Ebony Sims as the Physician; Shanique Lewis as the Plowman; Terrica Craig as the Clerk; Dorielle Sims as the Cook; Amber Madison as

the Knight’s Yeoman; Jalen Fanning as the Parson; Maria Norah as the Pardoner; Jasmine Rembert as the Knight; Justin Delaine as the Squire; and Milton Anthony as the Host and owner of the Tabard Inn.