Transcript Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

The
Middle Ages,
Geoffrey Chaucer,
&
The Canterbury
Tales
www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/
The Structure
• It’s a frame story! This means, stories
or a story within an overall story. Can
you think of some?
• 1001 Arabian Nights
• The Princess Bride
• Bocaccio’s Decameron
The frame is the outside narrative, the
portrait is each pilgrim’s tale
Who? Pilgrims (travelers going to a site associated
with a saint). 29ish + 1 narrator + the host
Where? To Canterbury, about 80 miles SE of London
why go to Canterbury?
One Answer: Religion
• Canterbury has always been an
important religious center in
England.
• St. Augustine (seen in stained
glass from the Canterbury
Cathedral) was sent by Pope
Gregory the Great to establish
the Catholic faith in the country
• Religion played an important part
in medieval life, so some of
these pilgrims are going to show
religious devotion
Why was religion important?
• It’s the Middle Ages
– Bubonic plague*
– Hundred Years’ War*
– High infant mortality rate
– Short life expectancy
– …and if you were a peasant
(the old-school 99%), you lived
your entire life in harsh
conditions
• About the best thing that you had
to look forward to was dying and
going to heaven
• *It’s interesting that w/all this going
on, Chaucer didn’t really write
about the plague or the war…
England was divided among very strict
class/economic lines
Thus, heaven was often described as a shining white castle in the
sky.
England was divided among very strict
class/economic lines
Thus, heaven was often described as a shining white castle in the
sky.
Canterbury was a Pilgrimage Site
People of all classes went on pilgrimages to holy sites to ask for help with
medical, financial, or other problems. It was believed holy relics had healing
properties. So some are going to
be healed of their ailments.
The starting point is the Tabard Inn. Where do most
holy journeys begin?
The Tabard is in the Red Light District…what does that
tell you?
So, again, why go to Canterbury? What happened
there that’s worth this trip?
The Shrine of St. Thomas à Becket
Becket was a trusted adviser and friend of King Henry II.
Henry named Becket Archbishop of Canterbury.
Becket’s outspoken style
angered the King. One day,
Henry complained, “Will no
one rid me of this
meddlesome priest?”
In December 1170, four
knights rode to Canterbury
where they found Becket at
the altar of Canterbury
Cathedral.
Becket was murdered at the altar.
The death of Becket
angered the
peasants who felt
his Saxon heritage
made him one of
them.
Public outrage led to
devotion, and the
Canterbury Cathedral
became a site for
pilgrims to offer prayers
to St. Thomas the
Martyr.(the holy blissful
martyr)
Today, a modern cross made from swords marks the site of the
martyrdom.
In The Canterbury Tales,
Chaucer wrote about the people
he met in his various jobs and
journeys. If Chaucer were writing
his tales today, think about the
variety of types of people he
might know and/or encounter…
Some characteristics/style/structure
• A prologue followed by a series of
stories and linking dialogues and
commentaries between pilgrims on a
journey
• Each character tells two stories going
and two stories coming home
– Uh…coming home from WHERE?
• Canterbury, of course.
• Many of the tales are derived from
previously known tales. And they are
not all very nice. There are rivalries.
The Miller and the Reeve hate each
other, so their tales make fun of each
other. Look at the motivations for the
characters’ journey and their tale.
Each is supposed to somehow
represent the teller.
Tales of the people
The fact that Chaucer
wrote in English (Middle
English), rather than
French or Latin like many
of his fellow writers,
meant that ordinary folk
could enjoy The
Canterbury Tales and
their vivid characters.
Writing in the language
people speak is called
the vernacular.
Genres of the Tales (you will get a handout of these genres)
Miracle of the Virgin
Tales in which the Virgin Mary aids a follower
Exemplum
Tales intended to inspire moral conduct in the listener
Beast Fable
Animals with human characteristics involved in clever moral tales
Fabliaux
Stories of the lower classes based on clever tricks, usually involving infidelity
Breton Lais
Tale, often set in Brittany region, of courtly love, magic, and folklore
Secular Saint
Inspirational tale in which a character triumphs after much adversity due to faith in
God
Chivalric Romance
Non-scholarly narrative of love, chivalry, and adventure
Mock-Heroic
Ridicules or satirizes the chivalric romance by parody
Class Hierarchy of the Tales
Nobility
Clergy
Middle class (the
largest; it’s
growing)
Trade
Peasants
Class Hierarchy of the Tales
Knight and
squire
Monk friar
prioress summoner
parson
pardoner
merchant franklin lawyer
doctor wife reeve
student/Oxford clerk
Chaucer host?
guildsmen manciple
Skipper/sailor
host? Cook?
Miller plowman yeoman?
Chaucer’s Biography: Early Life
• Born in 1340
• Son of a prosperous wine
merchant
• His name means “shoemaker”
• In his teens, Chaucer was
placed in the service of the
Countess of Ulster to be
schooled in court and society
life
• Thus, he would have learned
Latin and some Greek as well
as perhaps some French and
Italian
Early Life (cont.)
• In, 1359 he was captured by
the French at the siege of
Reims during the Hundred
Years’ War; he was ransomed
by King Edward III a year
later. So in a way, he was a
POW.
• Chaucer joined the royal
household and became a
trusted messenger and minor
diplomat
As a Royal Messenger
• Chaucer was frequently sent to the continent on secret
business for the King.
• Some of these trips were to Italy where he became
acquainted with the works of the great Italian authors:
Boccaccio, Dante, Petrarch
– These were the greatest Italian writers of the early
Renaissance period
Other Jobs Chaucer Held…
and Learned From...
• Controller of Customs on Wools, Skins and Hides for the
Port of London
– Here he would meet many types of businessmen, sailors, travelers
city folk and common laborers
• Clerk of the King’s Works
– In charge of construction and repairs affecting royal residences;
required interaction with guildsmen as well as court officials
• Deputy Forester of the King’s Forests
– Away from the city, Chaucer met peasants, foresters, local clergy
and other country folk
• Representative of the Shire of Kent in Parliament
– Government position working with influential, upper-middle class and
higher-ranking church officials
Other Chaucer Fun Facts
• In 1368 married a lady
of the court, Phillipa de
Roet. She was a ladyin-waiting to Edward
III's queen.
• Those diplomatic trips
to Italy changed/greatly
influenced his own
writing, and even tho’
he’s Medieval
England’s greatest
poet, there is influence
from the Renaissance.
More Chaucer Fun Facts
• He wrote in Middle
English, which was odd
b/c all great works of the
time were in French or
Latin.
• He speaks to and satirizes
all class levels and
genres, from nobility to
peasants and from
sermons to fabliaux to
beast fables to chivalric
romance
• But he believed in
courtesy, loyalty, & honor
Even More Chaucer Fun Facts!
- That image you see to the
left is from the Ellesmere
illustrated version of
Chaucer’s Tales…guess
where it is???
- Mr. Powers has a tie w/all
the characters in this
style…he claims that
picture of Chaucer to the
left is going to be his
tattoo
Biography continued
- Chaucer dies in 1400(?)
and is buried in Poet’s
Corner in Westminster
Abbey, where most
English Monarchs have
been crowned since
William the Conqueror
- He was buried there not
because he was an
awesome poet, but
because he was a tenant
of the Abbey grounds.
The late fourteenth century
world was still very much
one of the spoken word.
Books were copied by
hand and were a rare
luxury until the advent of
the printing press 70 years
later. The educated elite
could read, but they
preferred to hear texts read
out loud for entertainment.
The Canterbury Tales, with
its authentic voices, earthy
humor and vivid dialogue,
was a runaway success.
But wait, there’s more…
• This is the address for the Harvard
Chaucer page. You’ll find it an excellent
resource to help you research the
background to your tales and pilgrims,
learn more about Chaucer and his life,
and it has some cool pictures.
• www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/
So, let’s travel back to London, to the area
called Southwark, and stop at the Tabard Inn…