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The Middle Ages, Geoffrey Chaucer, & The Canterbury Tales courses.fas.harvard/~chaucer/

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

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The Middle Ages, Geoffrey Chaucer, & The Canterbury Tales courses.fas.harvard/~chaucer/

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  1. TheMiddle Ages,Geoffrey Chaucer,&The Canterbury Taleswww.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/

  2. 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’sDecameron The frame is the outside narrative, the portrait is each pilgrim’s tale

  3. 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

  4. why go to Canterbury?

  5. 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

  6. 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…

  7. England was divided among very strict class/economic lines Thus, heaven was often described as a shining white castle in the sky.

  8. England was divided among very strict class/economic lines Thus, heaven was often described as a shining white castle in the sky.

  9. 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.

  10. 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?

  11. So, again, why go to Canterbury? What happened there that’s worth this trip?

  12. The Shrine of St. Thomas à Becket

  13. Becket was a trusted adviser and friend of King Henry II.Henry named Becket Archbishop of Canterbury.

  14. 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.

  15. Becket was murdered at the altar.

  16. The death of Becket angered the peasants who felt his Saxon heritage made him one of them.

  17. 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)

  18. Today, a modern cross made from swords marks the site of the martyrdom.

  19. 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…

  20. 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.

  21. 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.

  22. Genres of the Tales (you will get a handout of these genres) Miracle of the VirginTales in which the Virgin Mary aids a followerExemplumTales intended to inspire moral conduct in the listenerBeast FableAnimals with human characteristics involved in clever moral talesFabliauxStories of the lower classes based on clever tricks, usually involving infidelityBreton LaisTale, often set in Brittany region, of courtly love, magic, and folkloreSecular SaintInspirational tale in which a character triumphs after much adversity due to faith in GodChivalric RomanceNon-scholarly narrative of love, chivalry, and adventureMock-HeroicRidicules or satirizes the chivalric romance by parody

  23. Class Hierarchy of the Tales

  24. Class Hierarchy of the Tales

  25. 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

  26. 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

  27. 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

  28. 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

  29. Other Chaucer Fun Facts • In 1368 married a lady of the court, Phillipa de Roet. She was a lady-in-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.

  30. 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

  31. 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

  32. 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.

  33. 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.

  34. 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/

  35. So, let’s travel back to London, to the area called Southwark, and stop at the Tabard Inn…

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