Geoffrey Chaucer

1. Geoffrey Chaucer Background

2. Daddy Chaucer • Chaucer has often been called “the father of English poetry,” a phrase that makes him sound like a stuffy sort of writer.

3. The Language • Chaucer’s masterpiece—is anything but stuffy. In fact, its realistic language and coarse humor prompted critics to call Chaucer everything from “observant” to “contemptible.”

4. Man of the World • Chaucer was a man of the world who knew how a variety of people spoke and acted. This knowledge was invaluable to his writing.

5. Family • Born in London into a middle-class wine merchant’s family, he became a page in the royal household while still a teenager, probably around the age of 17. Despite the lowly duties of the job—making beds, carrying candles, running errands—the position offered Chaucer exposure to a world of fine manners and high-born people.

6. The World • A few years later, he saw more of the world when he served in a military campaign in France. While in his twenties, Chaucer was made a court official, an appointment that was the start of many years of public service. During his career, he traveled abroad on diplomatic missions and was therefore exposed both French and Italian literature and culture.

7. Rest of Chaucer’s life • For the rest of his life, he held a variety of government posts. • Some other facts about Geoffrey Chaucer—he was the clerk of the king’s works—a post in which he supervised the maintenance royal buildings and parks. When he moved from London to Kent, he served as a representative to Parliament. He was always considered a commoner.

8. Writings • Despite these busy professional duties, Chaucer managed to create a large body of writing. His work is often divided into three distinct periods. His early poetry, which is influenced by the French medieval tradition, includes the • Book of the Duchess • Romaunt of the Rose

9. Later, he wrote • Parliament of Fowls • Troilus and Cressida

10. His most mature writing, crafted in his forties, includes the: • Legend of Good Women • The Canterbury Tales

11. Masterpiece • The Canterbury Tales is considered Chaucer’s masterpiece for several reasons: • First, it marks the beginning of a new tradition; Chaucer was the first writer to use English in a major literary work. Before him, literature was composed in French or Latin.

12. Cont’d • Secondly, because The Canterbury Tales focuses on an assortment of people who are thrown together on a journey, it gives a lifelike and engaging picture of a cross section of society during the 1300s. • Finally, it is an outstanding literature achievement.

13. Lines • Chaucer created approximately 17,000 lines of vivid poetry, which still attract new readers centuries later.

14. Birth and Death • Geoffrey Chaucer was born somewhere between 1341 and 1343 and died on October 25, 1400 • (One of the years of the plague – even though there is no evidence to suggest what he died of). • Note: Other historians have him being born in London around 1340. • Although Chaucer was considered a commoner, he was buried in Westminster Abbey (in an area known as Poets’ Corner) in honor of his lifelong contributions to England.

15. Setting • The month is April … crops are flourishing … birds are singing again … even the trees are bathed in song. • This is the best season to begin a pilgrimage in England many make their way to Canterbury to visit the holy blissful martyr Thomas.

16. Twenty-Nine Pilgrims • In Chaucer’s work twenty-nine pilgrims travel to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket. • When Chaucer’s pilgrims first meet, at an inn, their hosts, based upon a real life Harry Bailey, the proprietor of an inn in Southwark; suggests they tell stories to pass the time. Their stories become the main part of The Canterbury Tales. • http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/becket.htm • http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/becket_thomas.shtml

17. Movies on Thomas Beckett • 1964 Full Movie with Richard Burton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ol0H348mlY • BBC Documentary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtJX0430bQw&list=PLpTubzvHK9A8gDmNxh8mJC9HOrgiwOMx- • Thomas Beckett Death Scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHCiziDnrS8

18. Real Characters Chaucer’s pilgrims are well-rounded characters with personalities and pasts. As one critic said, “Not a whisper, not a wart, is omitted.” “Each pilgrim is an allegory as well as a person…poem. The whole poem works by contrast – spiritual against secular, piety against buffoonery and salaciousness.

19. Occupations of Fourteenth Century Society • The pilgrims’ occupations reflect different aspects of fourteenth-century society. • Feudel System:Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Franklin, Plowman, Miller, Reeve • Religious Life:Nun, Monk, Friar, Cleric, Parson, Summoned, Pardoner • Trades of Profession:Merchant, Sergeant at the Law, Guildsman, Cook, Skipper, Doctor, Wife of Bath, Manciple, and the Host • The pilgrims are one sense caricatures, but they convey a great sense of underlying reality of the time (Ackroyd p. xv).

20. Frame Story • The Canterbury Tales, uses a frame tale, a story that provides a vehicle, or frame, for telling other stories. The frame is about a pilgrimage, a trip made to a holy place for religious reasons or just for fun and adventure.

21. The Language of Chaucer • Chaucer spoke in Middle English, the result of mixing Old English of the Anglo Saxons with the Old French of the Normans. The grammar and vocabulary might seem the same, but certain pronunciations are different. For example, the e of Modern English was a separate audible syllable in many English words.

22. The Prologue’s Opening Lines

23. Pilgrimages • Pilgrim means “traveler,” and many religions encourage believers to travel to holy places to show devotion or to seek divine help for problems. • People would undertake a pilgrimage for many different reasons, typically spring time. The motivation for most would be a combination of three closely interrelated reasons: • Firstly, people desired to see and touch places and objects that were considered holy. This might involve travelling to view places associated with Jesus or it might be to view relics of a favorite saint. The purpose of this pilgrimage was to attempt to make the object of faith more real. Secondly, people visited holy sites to make amends for having committed sin. By doing a pilgrimage as a penance, they hoped for forgiveness. These pilgrimages might have been for private reasons or for public reasons. They may have been voluntary or they may have been forced. Finally, people went on a pilgrimage for the simple pleasure of travelling. In a world that offered precious few opportunities to experience the world beyond the horizon, pilgrimage was an exciting, challenging opportunity to leave village life behind.

24. Tabard Inn The pilgrims come together in Southwark. They all took lodgings for the night at the tavern known as the Tabard, which is close to the Bell. Every tavern in Southwark is close to one another. http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/The-Tabard-Inn-Southwark/ and http://booma.us/tabard-inn-southwark-london-geoffrey-chaucers-canterbury-tales/

25. The Knight • The poem opens with the Knight because he represents the apotheosis of military virtues in a society that is defined by warfare (Ackroyd p. xv). • A man of substance and valor. • From start of his career as a warrior he fought for truth and valor, for freedom and dignity. • He’s proven himself in warfare in many lands, ridden through territories of the Christians and countries of infidels and was praised for his military virtues. • Was present when Alexandria was won from the Turks. • Taken the palm of valour from all the knights in Prussia. • Mounted expeditions in Russia and Lithuania. • Proved himself in Granada, Morocco and Turkey. • Fought 15 battles • Taken part in 3 tournaments. • He did all these things NOT for glory but for love of Christ. • He believed piety guided his sword. • He considered himself an instrument for God.

26. The Knight cont’d … • He was modest and prudent. • Meek as a maid • No oath or indecency ever passed his lips. • He was never insolent or condescending. • He was the flower of chivalry. • He was a true and noble knight. • He did not wear the robes of office but a tunic of course cloth and it was discoloured too, by the rust from his coat of mail. • He had a good horse but it was not festooned with bells or expensive cloths. It was the horse of a pilgrim.

27. The Squire • The son of the Knight. • He was a lusty and lively young man who was also a knight. • He was of moderate height, strong and agile. • His hair was a token of vitality; knit in tight blond curls that flowed down his neck and across his shoulders. • 20 years of age. • Taken part in cavalry expeditions in Northern France. • Made a good impression on his comrades but he really only wanted to impress one lady whose name was not given. • He wore a tunic embroidered with flowers, white and red and blue. He wore a short gown with wide sleeves that was in alignment with his rank. • He rode easily well and with the grace of a natural horseman. • Was always singing or playing the flute. • Wrote songs • He could joust, write, draw, and dance.

28. The Squirecont’d … • Finer human accomplishments came naturally to him. • In his company, it was always May-time. • He was always in high spirits as he was passionately in love that he could scarcely sleep at night. • He never forgot his manners. • He had been instructed in all the arts of courtesy. • He carved the meat for his father at the table. • When he spoke he took off his hat nor did he glance at the ground but rather looked at a person steadfastly in the face without moving his hands or feet. These were considered very good manners according to Chaucer.

29. The Yeoman • He was the only servant to the Knight. • Dressed in a customary hood and coat of green cloth. (Green is the color of faithfulness and service.) • He carried under his belt a sheaf of dainty peacock arrows, keen and brigh, while in his hand he carried a bow. • He knew how to take care of his equipment, because the feathers were upright and the arrows flew to their target. • His hair was closely cropped. • His visage was as brown as a smoked ham. • On his arm he wore a glittering arm-guard, and by his right side hung a sword and small shield. • On his left side was a dagger in its sheath, its handle richly ornamented and its blade exceedingly sharp. • He was always ready for combat. • He carried a silver badge of St. Christopher, the saint of travelers as well as archers, shining on his tunic.

30. St. Christopher • His original name was possibly Reprobus or Offero in other tales. • He is known for carrying the child Jesus across a river and thus his name was changed to Christopher. • According to legend, St. Christopher was extremely tall, and by some accounts he was even a giant! • Christopher decided one day that he wanted to serve the greatest king he could. He presented himself before his local ruler and entered service, until he noticed the king cross himself at the mention of the devil, revealing that the king believed the Devil to have more power. • St. Christopher then decided to serve the Devil. During his search, he encountered a band of thieves, whose leader referred to himself as the Devil. But when this leader avoided a Christian cross out of fear, St. Christopher learned there was someone even more powerful than the Devil. • One day he runs into a child who asks him to carry him across this dangerous river. While Christopher is carrying the child, he notices the weight of carrying him gets heavier and heavier until he finally reaches the other side. The child confesses he is the child Jesus and this is how he feels everyday carrying the weight of the world. • He eventually was arrested by a King named Dagnus. The king sent two women to seduce Christopher and instead he converted them to Christianity. This angered the king, he order Christopher tied to a pole and shot with arrows. • The arrows did not touch Christopher but one of the arrows struck the king in the eye. • Christopher told the king if he would wait until the following morning to kill him. The king could take his blood, place it on his eye and his eye would heal immediately. • The king refused to wait, had Christopher beheaded immediately and as a result, he died a martyr and eventually became a saint. • http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=macgregor&book=christopher&story=christopher • Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXI9z6Iu22A

31. The Nun Prioress, Madame Eglantyne • She rode before the Yeoman. • She was an exemplary nun who put on no airs of excessive piety. • She was amiable and modest • She occasionally invoked the name of St. Eligius; since he is the patron saint of horses and of smiths, she must have been wishing for a good speed and safe journey. • Her name is Madame Eglantine • She was as fragrant as any sweetbriar or honeysuckle. • She sang the divine service with perfect pitch, and intoned the sacred verses in a deft and sonorous manner. • She spoke French elegantly enough, although her accent was close to Bow than to Paris. • Her table manners were of the best. She never let any meat fall from her lips, and she did not dip her hands too deeply into the sauce; not a drop of it fell upon her [chest]. • She wiped her lips carefully that not one smudge of grease was to be found on the rim of her cup, after she drank from it, and she was careful never to grab at the food on the table. She knew that the manners of the table reflect the manner of a life.

32. The Nun Prioress, Madame Eglantynecont’d … • She deported herself very well . . . and was amiable and pleasant in all of her dealings. • She tried very hard to imitate courtly manners, and remained dignified on all occasions; she deemed herself worthy of respect and, as a result, came to deserve it. • She was so compassionate that she wept whenever she saw a mouse caught in a trap; even the sight of its blood made her lament. • Against the rules of the order she had some small dogs that she fed with roasted meat and milk and fine white bread. She never let them out of her sight, in case one of them was trampled beneath the hooves of the horses or perhaps kicked by a fellow pilgrim. • She was all sympathy and tender heart. She was a model of her kind. • Her wimple was carefully arranged to show her features tot their best advantage . . . well formed nose, eyes as bright as the glass that comes from Venice, her mouth as soft and red as a cherry. • She was eager to display the span of her forehead. • Her cloak was well made and finely embroidered, and about her arms she carried a rosary of coral with green beads. • She sported a bracelet of gold that was surmounted by the letter “A” and then, beneath, the legend ‘Armor vincitomnia’. Love conquers everything.

33. The Monk • “The Monk … represents the cupidity and corruption of the Church” (Ackroyd p. xv). • He does much business outside the monastery, arranging sales and contracts with the laypeople. • He was supposed to follow the rule of St. Benedict . . . but he found the precepts antiquated and altogether too strict. • He paid no heed to the injunction that huntsmen can never be holy men. • He believed. • Who needs water . . . when there is ale and wine? • Why study and make his head spin with words and texts? • Why should he labor and work with his own hands as St. Augustine ordained? . . . St. Augustine could work then. • He had acquired tastes. • He loved hunting . . . he prided himself on being strong and firm of purpose, he would make a very good abbot.

34. The Monkcont’d … • He had a stable of good horses as brown as autumn berries . . . When he rode you could hear his bridle jingling loudly. • He preferred to follow the modern fashions of good living and good drinking. • He loved a fat swan on his table. • He was a sportive horseman. • He owned greyhounds that were swift than any bird in flight. • He loved tracking down and killing the hares on the lands of the monastery. • His appearance. • He was handsome • His sleeves were lined and trimmed with soft squirrel fur, the most expensive of its kind. • He had a great gold pin, to fasten to his hood under his chin, which blossomed into an intricate knot at its head. • He was bald, and shone as if it were made of glass; his face glowed . . .as if it had been anointed with oil. • He was a fine plump specimen of a monk, in excellent condition. • His eyes were bright and mobile, gleaming like the sudden spark from a furnace under a cauldron.

35. The Friar • He loved pleasure and any kind of merriment but, since he was obliged to beg for alms, he was still very resourceful. • He was not importunate, but he was imposing. • If all the four orders, however, he was inclined to gossip and flattery. • He had arranged many marriages and sometimes, for reasons that Chaucer did not mention, he had to pay for them himself. • He was a pillar of the faith. • He was well known to all the rich landowners of his neighborhood and was familiar with the worthy women of his town.

36. The Friarcont’d … • He had full power of confession . . . which was superior to that of an ordinary curate; he could absolve the most awful sins. • He heard confessions patiently and pronounced absolutions very sweetly. • He exacted the mildest of penances; especially if the penitent had something to give to his poor order. • The tip of his hood, handing down his back, was stuffed full of knives and pins which he gave away to pretty wives. • Has a pleasant voice; he could sing well, and play on the gitern or lute. No one could beat him with a ballad. • He can sing “Grimalkin, our cat.” • When he sang or played the harp . . .his eyes shone like the stars on a clear crisp night of frost. • His skin was a white a lily, but he was not lily-livered; he was as strong as a champion at the Shrovetide games. • He knew the taverns in every town, as well as every landlord and barmaid; certainly he spent more time with them than with lepers or beggar-women.

37. The Friarcont’d … • Wherever there was profit to be gained, he was modest and courteous sand virtuous to a fault. • No one was better at soliciting funds. Even a widow with no shoes would have given him something. • When he greeted a poor householder with “In principio’, he would end up with a farthing at least. • His total income was higher than his projected income. • He could frolic like a puppy and, on live days when conflicts are resolved, he was always on hand to reconcile opposing parties. • On those occasions he did not behave like a cloistered cleric, wearing a threadbare gown like poor scholar, but rather like a master or a pope. • His cloak was made of expensive cloth, and it encircled him as round as a bell just out of the mould. • He affected a slight lisp, so that his enunciation seemed all the sweeter. • His name was Hubert.

38. The Merchant • Had a forked beard. • He was dressed in an outfit of many colours, just like the players in the Mysteries, and rode on a high saddle . . . • He wore a Flemish hat of beaver, in the latest style, and a pair of elegant as well as expensive boots. • When he expressed an opinion, he did so carefully and solemnly; he was always trying to weigh the likely profit to be gained from it. • He was good at exchange dealings . . .he was canny in every respect. • He was dignified in his business… buyings…sellings…barterings…and tradings that no one would ever know if he was in debt or not.

39. The Clerk • From Oxford University. • He was a scholar. • He had studied logic for a long time, without progressing any further. • He sat upon a withered horse that was almost as thin as its rider; he was grave and gaunt and hollow-cheeked. • He had obtained no benefices, and he was too unworldly to seek for any profitable post; as a result his coat was as threadbare as his purse. • He would rather have his bedside twenty books of Aristotle, bound in red or black leather, than any amount of rich clothes or expensive musical instruments. • He was a philosopher …there were precious little gold in his coffers.

40. The Clerkcont’d … • Any money he could beg or borrow was immediately spent upon books and learning. • He was a bookworm. • He went down on his knees to pray for those who had paid for his education, which was not cheap, and he took the demands of scholarship very seriously … • He never talked more than was strictly necessary and, when he did speak, it was in careful and measured tones; he was brief and to the point, but full of elevated sentiment. • He loved to discourse on problems of moral virtue. • Like the lawyers, he would begin ‘Put the case that . . .’ But he learned from these debates as much as he contributed them.

41. The Sergeant at Law • He was wise and prudent as any in that position. • He consulted with his clients in the porch of St. Paul’s Cathedral, where he acquired a reputation for judiciousness and discretion. • Chaucer is not sure where he often sat as a justice in the courts of assize that travelled around the country . . . • He was appointed by the king, and in the letters patent he was granted full jurisdiction. • He received an annual income, as well as private fees, for his exertions; his wealth allowed him to buy up land, and of course he purchased it on the principle of absolute possession of ‘fee simple.’

42. The Sergeant at Lawcontinued . . . • There was no one busier than this Man of Law, although in truth he seemed busier than he was. • He was all bustle and hustle. • He possessed all the year books, in legal French, so that he could consult cases from the time of William the Conqueror. • By careful study of the precedents he was expert at drawing up the appropriate writs for each case; if he made any mistakes then the prosecution would be deemed to be void. • But he never made mistakes. • He knew all the abridgments…statutes…registers of writs. • He wore a mantle of green cloth furred with black lamb and embroidered with stripes of mulberry and blue; he wore a round cap of white silk upon his head. • He was dressed in robes of authority.

43. The Franklin • A landowner free but not noble. • The beard of this freeholder was as white as a daisy, and he was of red-cheeked sanguinary humour. • …he was vigorous and cheerful. • It was his custom, in the morning, to dip pieces of white bread into red wine. • He was a true son of Epicurus, and thought no life more worthwhile than that of ease and pure delight. • He held the opinion that sensual pleasure was the goal of every reasonable man. It was the secret of happiness itself. • He was a lavish host in his neighborhood, and worshipped at the shrine of St. Julian, the patron saint of hospitality.

44. The Franklincont’d … • His bread and his ale were always of the finest quality; he had a well-stocked wine-cellar, too. • There was no shortage of roast meat at his table. • There were baked pheasants, and geese, and wild fowl, and pullets, and pork. • There was fish served in green sauce, lobster in vinegar, fried eels in sugar and mackerel in mint sauce. • The meals changed with the seasons, but they were always plentiful. • The whole house snowed meat and drink. • He even had a pen for his birds, and a pond for his fish.

45. The Franklincont’d . . . • …the food was always fresh and renewed. • He would berate his cook if the sauces were not piquant and sharp and if the utensils – the fleshhooks, the skimmers and skillets, the ladles and pestles – were not prepared. • His table was always covered in the hall, ready for use. • …he was not a man of appetite. • He presided at the sessions of the local court, and on many occasions represented the shire in the parliament house. • He had been a sheriff, and a country auditor. • Upon his girdle there hung a dagger, and a silk purse as white as morning milk.

46. The Guildsmen: Haberdasher, Carpenter, Weaver, Dyer, Maker of Tapestries • Worthy citizens . . .all in the livery of their parish fraternity. • They were good guild folk, with their robes freshly turned out. • Their knives were made of silver, not of brass, while their belts and purses were of the best manufacture. • These were the citizens you would see in the guildhall, sitting at the high table, greeting each other with ‘Godspeed’ and ‘God give you grace’. • Any one of them could have been an alderman. • Any one of them had the income, and the property, to attain civic office. • …their wives liked to be called ‘ma dame’. • They enjoyed leading the processions to the parish church, on festal days, bearing themselves with all the dignity of royalty.

47. The Cook • The Guildsmen hired a cook for the journey. • [Chaucer] tasted one his meals, a pudding of chicken, marrow bones, milk, hard-boiled eggs, ginger and other spices that he kept secret. It was delicious. • He knew all about London beer, too, and he could roast or broil or fry or simmer with the best of them. • He could prepare a stew, and bake a pie, with the same alacrity. • There was one problem. He had a large ulcer on his lower leg, which wept and was unsightly. • …his chicken mousse was perfect.

48. The Shipman • …hailing from the west country. • [Chaucer] imagine[s] he came from Devon, judging by his accent . . . • He rode upon a carthorse as best he could, not being used to land fashion. • He had a dagger hanging from a cord around his neck, as if he were to encounter pirates. • The hot summers at sea had weathered him. • He had tapped many barrels of fine Bordeaux wine, when the merchant was not looking, and had no scruples about it. • He had acquired all the skills of observation and navigation; he had learned how to calculate the tides and the currents, and knew from long acquaintance the hidden perils of the deep.

49. The Shipmancont’d. . . • No one from Hull to Carthage knew more about natural harbours and anchorages; he could fix the position of the moon and the stars without the aid of an astrolabe. • He knew all the havens, from Gotland to Cape Finistere, and every creek in Brittany and Spain. • He told [Chaucer] of his voyages as far north as Iceland, and of his journeys to the Venetian colonies of Crete and of Corfu. • He called his bed his ‘berth’ and his companions were his ‘mates’. • His beard had been shaken by many tempests, but he was a sturdy and courageous man. • His boat …was called the Magdalene.

50. The Doctor of Physic • No one could have spoken more eloquently about medicine and surgery. • He exemplified the old saying that a good physician is half an astronomer, and he could identify all the influences of the stars. • He told [Chaucer] that Aries governs the head and all its contents; when the moon was in Aries, he felt able to operate upon the cheek or forehead. Taurus is the sign for the neck and throat. • …this doctor knew the cause of every malady engendered in the bodily fluids. • He was. . .an excellent physician. • As soon as he knew the root and cause of any ailment, he could apply the appropriate remedy.