The Canterbury Tales

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Jacob Ramsey
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2 Englishman Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of stories in a frame story, between 1387 and A story about of a group of thirty people who travel as pilgrims to Canterbury (England). The pilgrims, who come from all layers of society, tell stories to each other to pass time while they travel to Canterbury. Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back.

3 He never finished his enormous project and even the completed tales were never finally revised. Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales. As the printing press had not yet been invented when Chaucer wrote them, The Canterbury Tales were passed down in several handwritten manuscripts. The Canterbury Tales is written in Middle English.

4 Canterbury Tales 1 Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote When April with its sweet-smelling showers 2 The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, Has pierced the drought of March to the root, 3. And bathed every veyne in swich licour And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid 4. Of which vertu engendred is the flour; By the power of which the flower is created; Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth When the West Wind also with its sweet breath, 3. Inspired hath in every holt and heeth In every holt and heath, has breathed life into 4. The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne The tender crops, and the young sun 5. Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne, Has run its half course in Aries, 6. And smale foweles maken melodye, And small fowls make melody, 10 That slepen al the nyght with open ye Those that sleep all the night with open eyes 11 (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages), (So Nature incites them in their hearts), 12 Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, Then folk long to go on pilgrimages, 13 And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, And professional pilgrims (long) to seek foreign shores, 14 To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; To (go to) distant shrines, known in various lands; 15 And specially from every shires ende And specially from every shire's end 16 Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende, Of England to Canterbury they travel, 17 The hooly blisful martir for to seke, To seek the holy blessed martyr, 18 That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke. Who helped them when they were sick.

Chaucer began work on The Canterbury Tales about 1387 and intended for each of his thirty pilgrims to tell four tales, two while traveling to Canterbury and two while traveling from Canterbury.

5 Chaucer began work on The Canterbury Tales about 1387 and intended for each of his thirty pilgrims to tell four tales, two while traveling to Canterbury and two while traveling from Canterbury. However, only twenty-three pilgrims received a story before Chaucer's death in Chaucer's Tales gained mass popularity the early fifteenth century. all of humanity moves through its pages. Presents humor, at once friendly and satirical. This facsimile is from the first reproduction ever made of this manuscript, considered a prime authority for the text of The Canterbury Tales.

6 Provide a rich, tapestry of medieval social life combining elements of all classes, from nobles to workers, from priests and nuns to drunkards and thieves. When The Canterbury Tales were written: Christianity was the dominant social force throughout western Europe, including England. In the 1380s, while Chaucer was working on the tales, a change occurred in the way that Christianity was perceived and practiced. John Wycliffe, an English reformer, released a version of the Bible translated into English. For the first time, people from the lower classes, who had not been educated in Latin, could read the Bible themselves instead of having its word interpreted to them by members of the clergy.

The General Prologue consists of character sketches of each member of the group that is going to Canterbury, as described by Chaucer, who is also a character in his own novel.

7 The General Prologue consists of character sketches of each member of the group that is going to Canterbury, as described by Chaucer, who is also a character in his own novel. Any other characters in The Canterbury Tales are created by one of the pilgrims, in stories within the novel. Chaucer is a character in his own novel, and he writes in the first person as an outside observer traveling with the pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.

8 Canterbury Tales- some of the characters The Knight: a warrior who relies on the code of chivalry. Represents the romanticized standards of the feudal system The Prioress: A nun, named Madame Eglantine. She makes every effort to be refined and elegant, and she cannot bear to see any harm come to any of God s lesser creatures, like mice. However, when it is her turn to tell a story, hers is violent and full of blood and sorrow. The Merchant: The merchant is obsessed with his wealth, and talks about money constantly.

9 Canterbury Tales- some of the characters The Wife of Bath: A well-traveled middle-aged woman who has been married five times, not counting other lovers she did not marry. She has a large amount of knowledge from experience, and when she questions the authority of the bible, she does it with a very good background from which to debate it. Poor Priest: lived truly poor and in the service of God. An example of how a traditional priest should live in Chaucer s opinion, following the life of Christ. The Miller: a large and strong man, and is one of the best at telling vulgar stories. The Pardoner: A clergyman who is outwardly corrupt. His main motivating factor is money, and so if a sinner has the gold, the Pardoner will favor the sinner and help pardon him.

Geoffrey Chaucer The Father of English Literature

Geoffrey Chaucer The Father of English Literature Geoffrey Chaucer 1343-1400 The Father of English Literature History Medieval England was a feudal society England s ruler was Edward III (until 1377) and then Richard II (both of the House of Plantagenet)