The Canterbury Tales
By Geoffrey Chaucer
The Medieval Period
A.D. 1066-1485
The Norman Conquest
• After conquering the Anglo-Saxons in
1066, William of Normandy began to
fuse the Anglo-Saxon culture with his
own.
• The Normans (or “north men”) were
originally Viking raiders from Northern
Europe, who settled in the northerncoastal region of France known as
Normandy.
The Norman Conquest
• William introduced many French
customs and traditions to England.
• This was the beginning of the Medieval
(or middle) period in England.
• The biggest change that William
introduced was feudalism – the concept
that the king owned all the land in the
kingdom.
The Medieval Period
• As a part of the new feudalism, William
kept one quarter of the land for himself.
• The remainder of the land in England he
divided amongst the church and nobles.
• Many of these nobles were Norman
barons, who either paid William for the
land, or supplied him with warriors
called knights.
The Medieval Period
• With these barons and knights came a
new social ladder, as follows:
• The King
– The Barons
• The Knights
–Peasants and Serfs (those bound
to land they could not own).
Many of these were Anglo-Saxons.
The Medieval Period
• William was succeeded by Henry I, his
son.
• His grandson, Henry II, would follow as
the next king of England.
• Henry II reformed England, creating a
judicial system and English common law
based on old practices.
• Henry II’s wife, Eleanor, introduced the
Code of Chivalry, based on French ideals.
The Code of Chivalry
• Chivalry was a code meant to govern the
conduct and behavior of knights.
• Chivalry encouraged knights to honor
and protect ladies and to go on holy
quests, such as the Crusades.
Have you heard of Robin Hood?
• Henry II was succeeded by his son Richard I –
otherwise known as Richard the LionHearted.
• While Richard I fought in the Crusades, his
brother, John plotted against him. These are
the same figures that are popular in the Robin
Hood lengends.
• After Richard’s death, the royal treasury was
bankrupt. John was forced to sign the Magna
Carta, limiting royal authority by giving more
power to the barons.
The Medieval Period
• King John was succeeded by Henry III.
• Henry III established Parliament as a
governing body of barons.
• Henry’s son, Edward I, modified
Parliament in 1295, allowing commoners
to be included, thus making Parliament
a truly representative body of the people
of England.
The Medieval Period
• As the Crusades continued, England
began to become a center of trade and
commerce. Feudalism began to decline
as a result of the economical changes.
• Education became a focus in England as
cities developed; universities such as
Oxford flourished.
The Fall of the Medieval Period
• As Edward III was king of England, the
Hundred Years’ War began.
• England also endured the plague known
as the Black Death, which killed one
third of the nation’s population.
• In 1453, the Hundred Years’ War finally
ended – England had lost nearly all of
its French possessions.
The Fall of the Medieval Period
• Around the end of the war, a struggle for
power began between the House of York
(represented by a white rose) and the House of
Lancaster (represented by a red rose).
• The War of Roses ended in 1485, when
Lancaster’s Henry Tudor killed the Yorkist
king, Richard II.
• Henry took the throne as Henry VII, ending
the Middle Ages.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Chaucer’s Life
• Chaucer was born sometime between
1340 and 1343
• Born probably in London, England
• His family was not noble, but were well
off
• Parents worked in the wine and leather
trade
Chaucer’s Life
• He was placed as an
attendant for the wife of
Prince Lionel, son of
King Edward III (right)
• Here he learned the
customs of upper-class
life
• Chaucer met Lionel’s
brother, John of Gaunt,
a lifelong patron (left)
Chaucer in the Military
• He fought in the Hundred Years’ War
against the French
• He was captured during the siege of
Rheims
• The king himself contributed to
Chaucer’s ransom
Chaucer’s Life
• Chaucer then served as a royal
messenger
• His royal contacts helped establish his
future life
• He married Philippa, a lady in waiting
to the queen
• He was appointed comptroller of
customs for London in 1374
Chaucer’s Life
• Chaucer continued
his political career
under several kings
– Richard II (1377)
(left)
– Henry IV (1399) – son
of John of Gaunt
(right)
Chaucer’s Death
• Chaucer dies in 1400
– Buried in
Westminster Abbey
– This was a rare honor
for a commoner
Chaucer’s Tomb
• In 1566, an admirer
built an elaborate
marble tomb for
Chaucer’s remains
– This began the Poet’s
Corner of
Westminster Abbey
– Many famous English
writers would later be
buried there
The Poet’s Corner
"The communication of the dead is
tongued with fire beyond the language of
the living”
Epitaph on the memorial to T.S.Eliot.
The Poet’s Corner
The Poet’s Corner
Other Writers in the Poet’s Corner
Several authors have been buried in the Poet’s
Corner of Westminster Abbey since Geoffrey
Chaucer, including:
Edmund Spencer, John Dryden, Tennyson,
Robert Browning and John Masefield. Many
writers, including William Camden, Dr.
Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Richard
Brinsley Sheridan, Rudyard Kipling and
Thomas Hardy
Poet’s Corner Memorials
The following writers are not buried in
Westminster Abbey, but have memorials
placed in the Poet’s Corner:
William Shakespeare, John Milton, William
Wordsworth, Thomas Gray, John Keats, Percy
Bysshe Shelley, Robert Burns, William Blake,
T.S. Eliot, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Samuel
Butler, Jane Austen, Oliver Goldsmith, Sir
Walter Scott, John Ruskin, Charlotte, Emily
and Anne Bronte, Henry James and Sir John
Betjeman
Chaucer’s Inspirations
• Chaucer had heavy influence from
French and Italian Literature
– Italian Influences
• Dante Alighieri
• Petrarch
• Boccaccio
Chaucer’s Writing
• The Romance of the Rose
– Chaucer’s first major writing effort
– A famous medieval French romance
• The Book of the Duchess
– Chaucer’s first important original work
– Tribute to Blanche, John of Gaunt’s wife
– She died of the plague in 1369
• The House of Fame
– A humorous narrative about the instability of
renown
The Canterbury Tales
• A collection of verse and prose tales
• The stories are joined by pretending to be told by travelers
journeying from London to Canterbury.
• Scholars speculate he began planning The Canterbury Tales in
1387.
• The Canterbury Tales were unfinished at Chaucer’s death
• He had already penned nearly 20,000 lines
• Many more tales were planned
• Chaucer portrayed himself in the Canterbury tales
– A short, plump, slightly foolish pilgrim
– Commanded no great respect
The Canterbury Tales
The Tales
The Canterbury Tales are the stories
told by a group of pilgrims traveling
from the Tabard Inn in London to visit
Saint Thomas Becket’s Shrine at
Canterbury Cathedral.
Poetry versus Prose
Most of The Canterbury Tales are
composed in verse, or poetry. However,
two of the tales are told in prose, or
short story-style writing.
Chaucer’s Poetry
• The Canterbury Tales are written in
Iambic Pentameter.
• Iambs are poetic feet that are an
unstressed syllable, followed by a
stressed syllable.
• An example would be:
• “Come live/with me/my Love”
• Pentameter is a line of poetry with five
metrical feet.
The Tales
The Canterbury Tales are told in a
Frame Narrative. This means that the
main story is written to organize several
smaller stories within the work.
Essentially, the main story frames the
tales of the travelers within.
The Tales
The Tales are made up of the stories of
several pilgrims traveling to Canterbury.
These pilgrims make up both upper and
lower class, and include members from
all walks of life.
Some examples:
A monk, a pardoner, a sailor, a miller, a
carpenter, and a knight, as well as the
Wife of Bath
The Tales
The travelers, to help pass the time of
their journey, agree to tell four stories
each. Two on the way to Canterbury,
and two on the return voyage. At the
end of they journey, the best story,
judged by the host, will earn its teller a
free meal, courtesy the rest of the
pilgrims.
The Tales
The Knight begins the story-telling, and
the stories continue on the trip to
Canterbury.
However, in the end, no winner is
chosen, and the stories are never
finished.
The Tales
The tales themselves vary in nature.
Some of the pilgrims tell tales that
represent their social position.
Others tell stories to make fun of others
in the group.
The Tales
At the end of The Canterbury Tales,
Chaucer wrote a retraction.
This retraction intended to apologize for
anything in the stories which may have
been inappropriate or offensive.
Locations in
The Canterbury Tales
The Tabard Inn
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Why Canterbury Cathedral?
Why, to honor Saint Thomas
Becket, of course!
St. Thomas Becket
• Thomas Becket was born ~1118 (Over
200 Years prior to The Canterbury Tales)
• Appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury by
Theobald, the current Archbishop
• Appointed Lord Chancellor by King
Henry II
St. Thomas Becket
• Becket, a friend and fellow noble, even
housed Henry’s son (aptly named Henry)
for a time.
• The young Henry said that Becket
showed him more love in a day than his
father did in a lifetime
• This would eventually cause the young
Henry to turn against his father.
St. Thomas Becket
• In 1162, several months after the death
of Theobald, Thomas Becket is
appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.
• Henry II hoped to use Becket to sway his
influence on the Church and diminish
its power in England.
• Becket drops his Chancellorship in favor
of his new position and authority.
St. Thomas Becket
• Becket consolidates the land revenues of
Canterbury under his control (which
normally were paid to the king as land
tax).
• This begins a conflict between Church
and State, where Henry II struggles
with Becket for power in England.
Henry II wishes to be the absolute ruler
of both Church and State.
The Constitutions of Clarendon
• The major feud between Henry II and
Becket took place due to the
Constitutions of Clarendon.
• These constitutions would give the
clergy less power and weaken the
Church’s connection with Rome.
• Becket refused to sign the constitutions.
Becket is Summoned to Trial
• As a result of Becket’s refusal to sign the
Constitutions of Clarendon, Henry II
summons him to appear before a court
at Northampton Castle.
• Becket is charged with contempt of royal
authority and malfeasance. (Performing an
act that is unjustified, harmful, or contrary to law by a
public official)
Becket’s Trial
• Becket is convicted of these charges.
• He flees the court and escaped to
continental Europe for safety.
• Eventually, due to threats against
Becket’s friends and supporters, he
returns.
• Becket desired to excommunicate Henry
II, but Pope Alexander III wanted a
more diplomatic solution.
Becket’s Reactions
• Despite the opinions of the Pope and
papal legates, Becket eventually
excommunicates 20 of Henry’s
companions.
• Finally, a threat by the Pope to
excommunicate the entire population of
England led to a compromise by Henry,
and he allowed Becket to resume his
position.
Becket’s Reactions
• King Henry the Young is crowned king,
and the coronation is handled by three
bishops. The coronation was supposed
to be handled by Canterbury.
• Becket excommunicates the three
bishops. Word of this reaches the king.
In his anger, he utters, “Will no one rid
me of this meddlesome priest?"
Becket’s Murder
• Several knights, four to be exact, take
this as a royal order.
• They seek out Becket in Canterbury, and
after attempts to draw him out of the
Cathedral, rush in with swords and
murder him.
After Becket’s Murder
• A shrine and memorial were established
for Becket at Canterbury. However, the
shrine was destroyed as part of Henry
VIII’s campaign to punish those who
challenge a king’s authority in England.
• By 1173, Becket was canonized by Pope
Alexander III only 3 years after his
death.
The Shrine of Saint Thomas
King Henry VIII ordered Becket’s shrine
to be destroyed around 300 years after it
was built. There is, however, a
memorial to Saint Thomas a Becket, and
the site remains where his shrine once
stood.
About Saint Thomas’ Shrine
“The King is also enthusiastic about Saint Thomas
Becket - enthusiastic about giving him his come
uppance for treasonably challenging the God given
authority of an English King. So Becket's bones are
disinterred, tried in a court of law, found guilty,
decanonised and burned. The King also orders the
destruction of all Becket memorabilia and
"portraits" in England.”
Source:
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/UK/Britain_South_and_W
est/Canterbury_Cathedral/Canterbury.htm
The Shrine of Saint Thomas
Since the shrine was
destroyed, we don’t
know exactly what it
looked like. But, we
do think it may have
looking similar to
this recreation of the
Shrine of Saint
Alban.
The Shrine of Saint Thomas
The remains of the Shrine of Saint
Thomas:
The Memorial to Saint Thomas
A memorial now
stands where Saint
Thomas was cut
down and murdered
in Canterbury
Cathedral.
Middle English
versus
Modern English
A Comparison
Middle English
• On the following slides are examples
from the Canterbury Tales in Middle
English and then in Modern English.
Middle English
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Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open eye(So priketh hem Nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
Modern English
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When in April the sweet showers fall
That pierce March's drought to the root and all
And bathed every vein in liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
When Zephyr also has with his sweet breath,
Filled again, in every holt and heath,
The tender shoots and leaves, and the young sun
His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run,
And many little birds make melody
That sleep through all the night with open eye
(So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)
Then folk do long to go on pilgrimage,
And palmers to go seeking out strange strands,
To distant shrines well known in distant lands.