In The Canterbury Tales, what strategies are used to individualize the characters in Chaucer's General Prologue?

Chaucer's band of pilgrims represents a remarkable
collection of literary characters, presented to the reader in a generally concise but
very effective manner. Chaucer's knowledge of medieval English society, his eye for
detail, and his understanding of human nature worked together in the General Prologue to
create some truly unique personalities.

Chaucer employed
several literary strategies to individualize his characters. For the major characters,
he created personal histories and vivid physical descriptions, including their apparel.
He also developed these characters by imbuing them with distinct personality traits that
set them apart from their fellow travelers.

Another
literary device Chaucer employed was to create characters from different English social
classes and different walks of life. Numerous characters reflect the organization and
workings of the Catholic Church as it existed in Chaucer's time; others represent city
life and country life. Chaucer's various pilgrims engage in trades, commerce, law,
medicine, education, farming, and military pursuits, to name some of their occupations,
in addition to their clerical employments.

By way of
example, consider Chaucer's Knight. He has distinguished himself fighting valiantly and
well in many foreign campaigns (personal history). He is wise, modest, and never
boorish, regardless of the circumstances (personality). The Knight is not "gaily
dressed." His tunic is "stained and dark with smudges where his armor had left mark"
(physical description). These details set the knight apart from the other pilgrims; he
is an individual unlike any of Chaucer's other
characters.

Some of Chaucer's characters--like the
Haberdasher, Dyer, Carpenter, Weaver, and Carpet-maker are presented with scant detail,
while others are developed in far greater detail than the Knight. The dainty Prioress,
the worldly Monk, the corrupt Pardoner, the saintly Parson, and the earthy Wife of Bath,
to name only a few, are distinct, unforgettable personalities in the General
Prologue.