A Study of The Canterbury Tales

A Study of The Canterbury Tales

Table of ContentsThe Journey Begins . . . England in the Middle Ages Focus questionGeoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury TalesTravelers to CanterburyChaucer’s Middle Ages PopulationSir Gawain and the Green KnightThe Green Knight Sir GawainWorks Cited

The Journey Begins . . .

In October 1066, a daylong battle near Hastings, England, changed the course of history.

England in the Middle Ages

Feudalism replaced the Nordic social system.

The primary duty of males above the serf class was to serve in the military—Knighthood.

Women had no political rights.

Chivalry and courtly love served as the system of social codes

England in the Middle Ages

Lower, middle, and upper-middle classes developed in the cities.

England in the Middle Ages

The Crusades extended from 1095-1270.They brought contact with Eastern mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and crafts.

England in the Middle Ages

The Magna-Carta defeated papal central power.

England in the Middle Ages

The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) was the first national war waged by England.

England in the Middle Ages

The Black Death (1348-1349) brought the end of the Middle Ages.

Fleas on rats carried the bubonic plague

which killed thousands of people.

in Europe.

How do the writings of the Middle Ages represent the lives, loves, loyalties, and humor of humanity?

Discover the answer by reading The Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Geoffrey Chaucerc. 1343-1400

Considered the father of EnglishWrote in the vernacularServed as a soldier, government servant, and member of ParliamentIntroduced iambic pentameterFirst writer buried in Westminster Abbey

Learn more about Chaucer. Go to. . .http://www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/index.html

The Canterbury Tales: Snapshot of an Age

It frames a story of characters on a religious pilgrimage to Canterbury.The characters are a concise portrait of an entire nation.The pilgrimage is a quest narrative that moves from images of spring and awakening to penance, death, and eternal life.The characters tell stories that reflect “everyman” in the universal pilgrimage of life.

The Travelers to Canterbury

Working Class

Plowman Reeve HostCook Miller

Haberdasher Dyer Carpenter Weaver Carpetmaker

The Travelers to Canterbury

Professional Class

Military Religious Secular

Knight, Squire, Yeoman

Nun, 3 Priests, Friar, Parson,

Pardoner, SummonerCleric, Serjeant at Law, Merchant,

Skipper, Doctor

The Travelers to Canterbury

Upper Class

Wife of Bath Franklin

Chaucer’s Contemporaries

Chaucer’s Snapshot of the Middle Ages Population

Tale Types:

1. Allegory: an extended metaphor that uses persons and objects as examples of abstract concepts.

2. Beast Fable: a story in which all or most of the characters are animals who behave like humans, creating a satire or parody of serious literature

3. Fabliaux: a comic folk tale with satire and base humor, often at the expense of a fool or naive character.

4. Exemplum/Sermon: a morality tale or anecdote that relates a single focused incident with an illustrative purpose.

5. Courtly Romance: "Romance" originally referred not to a specific literary genre but to the vernacular French language which was called romanz (meaning that it was derived from the language spoken by the Romans, i.e. Latin). French and other languages derived from Latin, such as Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, are still

referred to as "Romance Languages" today. In the 12th century, literature which was written down in the French vernacular was referred to as "romance" to distinguish it

from "real" literature, which was invariably written in Latin. Gradually, the term "romance" began to refer not to any narrative written in the French vernacular, but to

the specific sort of narrative literature that was most popular among the French-speaking court audiences of France and Anglo-Norman England: stories of the

chivalric adventures of knights and their ladies, often set at the court of King Arthur.

Works Cited Home

Brown, Ian. “The Green Knight.” 2002. May 16, 2003 <http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/gawmenu.htm>.

“Geoffrey Chaucer.” Elements of Literature Sixth Course. Ed. Robert R. Hoyt. Austin, 1977. T99.Pyle, Howard. “Sir Gawain the Son of Lot, King of Orkney.” 1903. May 16, 2003 <http://wwwlib.rochester.edu/camelot/gawmenu.htm>.

“The Canterbury Tales: A Snapshot of an Age.” Elements of Literature Sixth Course. Ed. Robert R. Hoyt. Austin, 1977. T101-T104.

Invaluable Chaucer websites:

http://teachers2.wcs.edu/high/rhs/stefaniep/English%20IV/The%20Canterbury%20Tales%20characters.pdf

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio.htm

http://afdtk.uaa.alaska.edu/pedagogy.htm