The Canterbury Tales

1. The Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer

2. Geoffrey Chaucer • Called “The Father of English Poetry” • Most famous for the Canterbury Tales

3. Chaucer’s Time • Born in 1342 in London • 13th century had been a prosperous time for Europe • 14th century saw agricultural decline, the Black Death (Bubonic Plague), increased wars and political turmoil, collapsing religious and state institutions, and an estimated loss of 50% of the European population.

4. Chaucer’s Early Life • As a young teenager, became a page in the home of an important family • Met many powerful people and received a rigorous education • Met John of Gaunt, his future patron and protector

5. Military Experience • At 17, enlisted in the army and went to France to fight in the Hundred Years’ War between France and England • Captured as a POW • His friends persuaded the King of England, Edward III to help pay for Chaucer’s ransom • Became a Valet to the King of England and moved in wealthy circles

6. Early Poetry • Began to write poetry on his return from France • Translated famous French poems for English-speaking audiences • Married Philippa de Roet, but did not write any poems to her

7. Italy • Promoted to Foreign Relations officer, traveled frequently to Italy • The Italian literary Renaissance was just beginning • Influenced by Dante’s and Boccaccio’s beautiful poetry and story-telling

8. Beginning of the Tales • Edward III died and Richard II became King • Richard disliked Chaucer and relieved him of his job until John of Gaunt arranged for him to be reinstated • During the three-year interim, Chaucer had time to write more poetry than ever, and began the Canterbury Tales

9. Death • Died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey • A tomb was later built over his burial site, and so began the “Poets’ Corner” in Westminster Abbey where many great English writers are now buried

10. Chaucer’s Works • We do not know exactly when Chaucer wrote most of his poems • Many of his poems have been lost, according to a list made by Chaucer himself • Most famous are the romance Troilus and Criseyde and the Canterbury Tales • Main subjects of poetry were romance and religion

11. Chaucer’s Style • In Chaucer’s day, all literature was written in poetry, or rhymed verse • Prose had not yet become popular • So Chaucer wrote poetry, but is unique for his ability to make it sound like realistic speech • Wrote about serious subjects with humor and irony • Offended many with his realistic, flawed characters • Most importantly, he wrote in English • Not French or Latin, the languages of educated persons at the time

12. Some history behind the Tales • Chaucer writes about a group of people called Pilgrims • A Pilgrim is a traveler, often for religious reasons on a long journey • Pilgrims in the Middle Ages went on journeys to religious sites associated with Saints and miracles to offer prayers and/or thanks • Still a popular spiritual activity in many world religions today

13. Canterbury • The pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales are on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral • Thomas à Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in 1170 after arguing with the King over the rights of the Church • Shortly after canonized as a Saint • High-profile English saint, so his Cathedral attracted many pilgrims

14. The Canterbury Tales • In the Canterbury Tales, 23 people on a Pilgrimage to Canterbury meet while staying at an Inn for the night • The Innkeeper offers to travel with them, and decides that they will each tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back • The pilgrims will then decide which story is best, and that person will get a free meal at the Inn

15. What Really Happened • Not including an Introduction and Conclusion, that’s almost 100 tales that Chaucer had to write. • He did not complete these in his lifetime • He wrote a Prologue introducing all of the characters, and around 20 tales

16. The Characters • The Tales have many different narrators, but are all united by the central theme of the Pilgrimage to Canterbury • The narrators are rich and poor, old and young, male and female, educated and uneducated, clerical and lay, high and low, town and country, good and bad • But there are no extreme characters – they are all individual, realistic, normal people with their own quirks, habits, faults, and stories • This was a new kind of writing that many were not used to, but which quickly became popular

17. The Tales • Chaucer read and traveled widely, and remembered what he learned • The tales his pilgrims tell come from all over Europe and from Asia • But he also invented some of the tales from his personal experiences with a wide array of people • As was popular in stories at the time, most of the tales end with a moral or a piece of wisdom from which the characters learn

18. The Book • Canterbury Tales “published” as an Illuminated Manuscript • Before the Printing Press, so books were hand-copied by monks and nuns • Decorated with beautiful illustrations • Books very very expensive, so only very rich could afford them • Canterbury Tales would have been read aloud at public gatherings for mass entertainment

19. Reception • Chaucer was one of the first authors to write in English • Some looked down on the Canterbury Tales, but many people loved being able to read them in their native language • Helped make English a legitimate language for literature, law, and politics • Chaucer was also one of the first authors to put his name on his work and acknowledge that it was his intellectual property – our modern idea of “authorship”

20. Middle English • Chaucer wrote in English – but can you understand him? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0MtENfOMU • We will be reading a Modern English translation! • Why does it sound so different?