Middle Age and The Canterbury Tales

A f t e r t h e f a l l o f R o m e , w e s t e r n E u r o p e e n t e r e d a

p e r i o d k n o w n a s “ m i d d l e a g e s ” , a l s o k n o w n a s t h e

m e d i e v a l p e r i o d , w h i c h l a s t e d f r o m 5 o o - 1 5 0 0 A D.

After the fall of Rome,

no single state or

government united the

people who lived in the

European continent.

The Catholic Church

became the most

powerful institution of the

Medieval period.

THE RISE OF ISLAM

The Islamic World was

growing larger and more

powerful.

Muslim armies conquered

large part of the Middle East.

At its height, the Medieval

Islamic world was more than

three times bigger than all of

Christendom.

Toward the end of the 11th

century, the Catholic church

began to authorize Crusades,

or Military expeditions.

The Crusades began in

1095, when Pope urban

summoned a Christian army

to fight its way to Jerusalem,

and continued on and off until

the end of the 15th century.

THE CRUSADES

THE CRUSADERS

WHAT WAS IT LIKE

TO LIVE IN THE

MIDDLE AGES?

L i n g u i s t s a n d c u l t u r a l c h a n g e s i n B r i t a i n w e r e

a c c e l e r a t e d b y t h e N o r m a n c o n q u e s t i n 1 0 6 6 , w h e n

w o r d s f r o m F r e n c h b e g a n t o e n t e r t h e E n g l i s h

v o c a b u l a r y.

By 14th century, English re-emerged as the dominant language

but in a form very different from the Anglo-Saxon Old English.

LANGUAGE

The co-existence of Norman French and the emerging English

now known as Middle English.

SOCIETY

Feudalism- method of

organizing society consisting the

three estates.

Clergy- those who attended

the spiritual realm and spiritual

needs.

Nobility- those who ruled,

protected, and provided civil

order.

Commoners- physically labored

to produce necessities of life of

all the estates.

CHIVALRYChevalerie- derived from the French words

for horse and horsemen, indicating that

chivalry applied only to knights, the nobility.

It is the Code of Conduct that bound and

defined a Knight’s behavior.

Under the Code of Chivalry, the Knight

vowed not only to protect his vassals, and

demanded by the feudal system, but also to

be the champion of the church.

The medieval knight was

bound to the chivalric

code to be loyal to:

- god

- his lord

- his lady

Chivalric ideals include:

- Benevolence

- Brotherly love

- Politeness

THE BLACK DEATH

Between 1347 and 1350, a

mysterious disease known as

the Black Death (Bubonic

Plague) killed some 20 Million

people in Europe- 30-50 % of

the continent’s population.

Medieval Literature

English literature had no existence until

christian times of the Dark ages when Latin

was the language of Literature.

The Church was the only source of education.

Latin was common language for Medieval

writings.

TYPES OF LITERATURE

Troubadour Poetry

Sonnets

Religious Poetry

Book of Hours

Psalters

Missals

Brevaries

Hagiographies

Devotional books

Sermons

Medieval Dramas

Mysrery Plays

Morality Plays

CHARACTERISTICS OF

MEDIEVAL LITERATUREHeroism

- From both Germanic and Christian traditions

o Beowolf

o Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Presentation of idealized behavior

- literature as a moral

o Loyalty to the king

o Chivalry

Use of kennings

- Hypenated expression, representing a single noun

THE IDEAL OF COURTLY

LOVE

The knight serves his courtly lady with the same

obedience and loyalty which he owes to his lord.

She is in complete control; he owes her obedience and

submssion.

He was the major poet in

england in the late middle

ages and the most

significant writer before

Shakespeare.

He was a son of a

prosperous wine merchant.

He wrote the Canterbury

Tales sometime in 1387

Before he was 25, he married

an attendant of the queen.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1345-1400)

LITERARY WORKS OF

CHAUCER

Anelida and Arcite (late 1370’s)

The House of Fame (1379-1380)

Parlement of Fouls (1382)

Troilus and Criselde (1382-1388)

The Legend of Good Women (1386-1388)

The Canterbury Tales (late 1380’s-1390’s)

Treatise on the Astrolabe (1391)

OT HE R MAJOR WR IT E R S OF T HE

ME DIE VAL PE R IOD

William Langland (Piers the Plowman)

Thomas Malory (Le Morte d’ Arthur)

Caedmon (The Dream of the Holy Rood)

Venerable Bede (Ecclesiastical History of England),

(De Natura Rerum)

Margery Kempe (first autobiography in English)

The Gawain Poet

THE KNIGHT’S TALE

The knight was socially

the most prominent

person on the pilgrimage,

epitomozing chivalry,

truth, and honor.

THE PHYSICIAN’S TALE

A doctor who can speak

knowingly of

medicines, drugs, and

humours. He also

knows astrology.

THE PARDONER’S TALE

The most complex of

all the pilgrims. He is

an intellect and uses

the advanced

psychological means to

gain his objective.

Although he is not a

good person, he can

preach a good sermon.

THE WIFE OF BATH’S

TALE

Characterized as

a gat-toothed,

somewhat deaf,

and wearing

bright scarlet red

stockings. She

had five

husbands, enjoys

her freedom, and

is openly sensual.

THE MERCHANT’S TALE

A shrewd and

intelligent man

who knows how

to strike a good

bargain and is a

member of the

rich rising

middle class.

CHARACTERSThe Host

The Knight

The Physician

The Pardoner

The Wife of bath

The Physician

Others: Squire, Prioress, Yeoman, Second Nun, Monk,

Friar, Clerk,Man of Law, Franklin,Weaver, Dyer,

Carpenter, Cook, Shipman, Parsin, Miller, Manciple,

Reeve, Summoner & Chaucer himself.

THE KNIGHT’S TALEKing Theseus- the famous ruler of ancient Athens who

performed many outstading feats in his life and was reputed to

ba a great and noble ruler.

Queen Hippolyta- The wife of Theseus. She was a

powerful queen of the amazons before Theseus conquered the

tribe and made her his queen.

Emelye- Theseus beautiful sister-in-law who inadvertently

attracts the attention of two imprisoned knights.

Palamon- A Theban knight who is wounded fighting

against Theseus and imprisoned in perpetuity. Years later, he is

the first to fall in love with the beautiful Emelye.

Arcite- another noble Theban knight who also fell in love

with Emelye.

THE PHYSICIAN’S TALE

Virginius- a rich and honorable knight with a beautiful

daughter named Virginia.

Virginia- Virginius’ daughter who has an incomparable

beauty.

Appius- an unjust judge who is captivated by Virginia’s

beauty and is determined to have her.

Claudius- a wicked balackguard who assists Appius in his

wicked plan to capture and seduce Virginia.

THE PARDONER’S TALE

The three rioters – Drunken rioters who decide to find

Death.

Old man- he is sorrowful and he is waiting for Death to

come and take him for some time.

THE WIFE OF BATH’S

TALE

Knight- a lusty knight who raped a young maiden. He is

sentenced to death but was but will be saved only if he could find

the answer as to what do women want.

King Arthur- he decreed that the knight should be put to

death.

King Arthur’s Queen- she gave the knight a chance to live on

the condition that he has to tell everybody as to what do women

want.

Old woman/old hag- an old and ugly woman who saved the

knight’s life and wanted the knight to marry her. Later in the story

she became the knight’s wife and turned into a young beautiful

woman.

THE MERCHANT’S TALE

January- an old knight who decides to abandon his wild

ways and marry a beautiful young maiden.

May- a beautiful young wife whose husband, January,

became blind and cannot satisfy her sexually.

Damian- a handsome and young man who is smitten with

love for May.

SETTING

England

Tabard Inn, Southwalk

London

SUBJECT MATTERS

Time

Lies and Deceit

Competition

Beauty

Greed

Courage

Love

MORALS

Love conquers all.

Forsake your sins before your sins forsake you.

Greed is the root of all evil.

If you learn to respect people, they will respect you.

Love is blind.

THANK YOU