After the Summoner had finished his retaliating story against Friars, the Host turned to the Clerk and said that he had not said a single word since they had left the inn. It seemed as if he was meditating on some profound philosophical proposition. The Host told the Clerk that there was an appropriate time and place for everything. He then told the Clerk to cheer up and tell them a jolly tale of adventure but at the same time keep his language simple. The Clerk agreed to obey the Host, and said that he would tell a tale that he learned at Padua, from the great Italian scholar and poet Petrarch.