The Innkeeper, sometimes called The Host named Harry Bailey, is the character who proposes the story-telling competition that frames the remainder of the Canterbury Tales.
The setting is at a tavern in Southwark, near London. Twenty-nine pilgrims are gathered there, before travelling to the shrine of the martyr Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The innkeeper, whose name is Harry Bailey, is the one who proposes everyone to ride together and to entertain one another with stories. He also promises that whoever tells the best story will receive a free meal at his tavern.
