Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer 1340-1400 (?)

Father of English language Middle class, welleducated (father was wine merchant) Served at court Diplomatic missions to France, Spain, Italy Catholic who perceived abuses within Church and exposed them

Church in England
Pope collecting heavier & heavier taxes from England Political maneuvering among bishops against Roman control As English kings gained power, they began to resist power of church English church full of ignorant priests & corrupt officials simony, indulgences, abuse of church courts & positions Common person unschooled & illiterate: couldnt dispute religious leaders John Wycliffe (1328-84) English theologian and religious reformer who rejected biblical basis of papal power and disputed doctrine of the transubstantiation; translated first English Bible from Latin Vulgate

Languages of Engand
Old English: form of German spoken by Saxons before Norman Conquest Middle English: influx of French; Latinization Native tongue, Latin and French spoken

Map

Pilgrims Route

Canterbury

The Place: Canterbury

connected 3 trading ports to London; Julius Caesar invaded in 43 A.D. Roman civilization with theatres, baths, temples, etc. until invasion of Angles, Saxons, Jutes in 5th/6th century Canterbury converted to Christianity in 597 by Saint Augustine Monastery, todays Cathedral, founded in 602 by St. Augustine; Canterbury as mother of British Christianity Surrendered at Battle of Hastings (1066) to William the Conqueror; Cathedral destroyed by fire in 1067; fortified with new walls, gates, stone keep

St. Augustine

Thomas a Beckett
Thomas Becket archbishop; struggled for churchs independence with King Henry II; exiled to France for 6 years; returned & angered King Not one will deliver me from this low-born priest. 4 knights murdered him December 29, 1170, in Cathedral, spilling his brains on floor; canonized 3 years later and shrine completed in 1220

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral

The Tales
work existed in fragments at Chaucers death planned for each of 30 to tell 2 tales/going & 2 tales/returning (120 stories in original framework)? we have only one story each from 24 pilgrims written between 1357-1400 each tale deals with one of Chaucers themes richest portrayal of religious men & women in earthly scene (Dante: portrayal of life after death) detached delight of Chaucer regularly rhyming couplets Chaucer customarily writes a five-stress, ten-syllable line, alternating unstressed and stressed syllables (what would later be called iambic pentameter): told in social order (except for Miller)

A pageant of 14th Century life

Pilgrims span the whole range of the unofficial middle class. Groups represented are: Upper class (Knight, Squire, church people); Learned professions (Physician, Man of Law); Landed gentry (Franklin); Medieval manor people (Miller, Reeve); Mercantile class (Shipman, Merchant); Guildsmen (Haberdasher, Dyer, etc.); Laborer (Plowman).

Structure & Style

Tales have different tones, attitudes, poetic style: Marian miracle tale for Prioress Sermonic structure for Pardoners tale Supernatural, folkloric tale for Wife of Bath Point of View Chaucer enables reader to see story, person telling story, point behind story--all at once points of view represent different outlooks, morals Sources: virtually every type of medieval writing Fabliaux, mini-epics, romances, fables, exempla, lays, anecdotes, a sermon, religious allegories

Chaucers Attitude
Five ideals, Chaucer treats seriously (Knight, Squire, Clerk, Parson, Plowman); Some he pokes fun at (Prioress, Monk, Wife of Bath); Some is quiet about; short portraits with now personal view coming through (Prioress's entourage); Some not very good; Chaucer is just a little negative (Shipman, Manciple); Hardened sinners, all of them religious officials (Friar, Pardoner, Summoner)

General Prologue
Introduction of pilgrims Catholics (150 years before Henry VIII broke from Rome) Reasons for pilgrimage? Common to travel together: protection April in Southwark at Tabbard Inn, owner Harry Bailey Bailey suggests they pass time by taking turns telling stories; best will win prize Brief portraits of pilgrims Attitude of Chaucer the Pilgrim Three estates and rising middle class represented

7 Church Officials
Prioress sentimental depiction, proud in petty way Monk hedonistic, hunter, inept but not malicious Friar seducer, sells forgiveness Parson and Plowman ideal religious men Parson one of 2 heroes in tales Summoner blackmailed, bribed on way to success; ugly, stupid thug Pardoner perfect fraud: charming, clever, corrupt; biggest hypocrite secular church official fighting w/church official (Friar)

Discussion
"The General Prologue" presents a vivid cross-section of the people who composed the various social classes of 14th Century England. Organize the characters depicted in the "Prologue" based on social position first then on their morality. What seems to be Chaucer's opinion of the Clergy? Of the other classes? Which characters does Chaucer seem to esteem or criticize? What attributes do these characters have that Chaucer appears to value or not?

The Pilgrims
Knight Squire Prioress Monk Friar Merchant Clerk The Lawyer The Franklin The Cook The Physician The Wife of Bath The Parson The Plowman The Miller The Manciple The Reeve The Summoner The Pardoner The Host Chaucer the Pilgrin

The Prioresss Tale

Cult of the Virgin Marian Miracle tale Anti-Semitic legends Hugh of Lincoln, murdered in 1255 Relation of Teller to Tale: who is antisemitic? The Prioress? Chaucer?

Discussion
Is the Prioresss Tale anti-semitic? Does Chaucer approve or condemn it? Chaucer? What type of religiousity is expressed in the tale? Does the description of her seem to match her tale? What is the relation between teller and tale?

The Pardoners Tale

Pardoner: a layman who sells pardons or indulgences, certificates from the pope by which people hoped to gain a share in the merits of the saints and escape more lightly from the pains of Purgatory after they die Eunuch--The Pardoner is spiritually sterile, a more significant fact than being physically sterile.

The Pardoners Tale

The tale is an incomplete sermon. A medieval sermon should contain six parts:
1.Statement of theme or text; 2.Protheme, introduced directly from the four gospels; 3.Dilatation, expansion of the Biblical text; 4.Exemplum, a story illustrating the point; 5.Peroration, the application or eloquent haranguing; 6.Benediction, the closing formula.

This tale contains only parts 1, 4, 5, and 6.

Discussion
How does the Pardoner characterize himself in the Prologue to his tale? What text does he always preach on? Do you see irony in this? What is the relation between teller and tale?

Wife of Bath
Experience vs Authority The nature of Woman Role of man and women in marriage: who is in top? What do women want? Is this tale antifeminist?

Discussion
Prologue Why does she open her Prologue by claiming that experience is a better guide to truth than authority? Do you think this helps in her argument on marriage and in her general defense? Are her arguments problematic? Does the Wife completely reject antifeminist attitudes toward women, or does she provide proof that these old books are correct in what they assume about women? Do you believe that she is an object of satire in her Prologue or an instrument of satire---or somehow both at the same time? Tale What is the relationship between teller and tale? Is it an appropriate tale for her to tell?

Chaucers Retraction
Chaucer is retracting what works? Is he sincere?