What's up with those pilgrims?

The speaker in the General Prologue of the Canterbury Tales says,
"But, before I go further with this tale,
And while I can, it seems reasonable
That I should let you have a full description
of each of them, their sort and condition,
At any rate as they appeared to me;
Tell who they were, their status and profession,
What they looked like, what kind of clothes they dressed in; . . ."

Your post should have two parts:

The first should address what it is that we can we say about these pilgrims from "their sort and condition," from "their status and profession." If you had to make some generalizations about all of them, what would they be? Use evidence from the text to support your interpretation.

The second should address what it is that we could say about the speaker. He's careful to say "as they appeared" to him. How does this begin to qualify him as the speaker? What else does he say about himself? What seem to be his character traits and his relationship to the story? Use plenty of details from the text to support your interpretation.