Canterbury Tales:
Introductory Notes 2
The Tales and The Prologue
The Canterbury Tales
(in general)
• Chaucer presents the world as he sees it
• Began to write it in 1387 (he had written a large
number of works prior to this)
• Incomplete (Chaucer died in 1400). “The General
Prologue” and only 22 tales completed; there were
supposed to be 120 total
• Shows a cross section of Medieval society
The Tales (cont)
• It has a frame story of the pilgrimage to
Canterbury (80 miles from London) to visit the
tomb of the martyr Thomas à Beckett (killed in
Canterbury Cathedral in 1170)
• pilgrimages to shrines were mass activities in the
Middle Ages, partly because they were as likely to
be vacations as religious observances
Canterbury Location
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http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=canterbury+england&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Canterbury,+United+Kingdom&gl=us&ei=faijTJ6LFIaKlwf8
95GXBA&ved=0CCgQ8gEwAA&ll=51.45743,0.576782&spn=1.745651,3.147583&z=8
Exterior/overview of cathedral
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://neatnik2009.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/canterbury-cathedralexterior.jpg%3Fw%3D562%26h%3D385&imgrefurl=http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/feast-of-lanfranc-ofcanterbury-may28/&h=385&w=562&sz=146&tbnid=ldlbH4vfwgqGEM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcanterbury%2Bcathedral&zo
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Cathedral at night
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.ippnw-students.org/OTT/canterbury.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ippnwstudents.org/OTT/route.html&h=768&w=1024&sz=138&tbnid=aerfxFTb_tEdJM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dc
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Images of Pilgrims
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://english.basd.k12.wi.us/mocarski/englishliterature/Lit1/lydgate.gif&imgrefurl=http://en
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&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcanterbury%2Btales&zoom=1&q=canterbury+tales&hl=en&usg=__zlFC7UiF9B7GQ6QSBqr
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http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.chaucertheatre.org/images/Canterbury_Tales_480.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ch
aucertheatre.org/html/GCT_Home.html&h=261&w=480&sz=32&tbnid=CeJCwFD8xhXcyM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=129&prev=/images%
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The Tales (cont)
• 26 pilgrims actually described; 29 referenced.
Chaucer is one of the pilgrims for total of 30.
• plan was to tell two tales each on the way to
Canterbury and two more tales on the way back
(30 pilgrims x 4 tales=120 total tales planned)
• a tale is often so well fitted to a pilgrim’s character
and opinion that the tale and teller illuminate each
other
• The Tales are distinguished from other similar
types of the period because of the realism of the
characters; they are more than types.
General Information
• Tabard Inn (leave from here)
• The owner is Harry Bailey (he is the host who
established the contest---winner gets a free dinner
paid for by other pilgrims)
• Harry will be the judge of the best tale
• The telling of the tales will help to pass the time
more quickly
The Writing of the Tales
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Narrative POV
narrator is actually a character (seems to approve)
creates multiple levels of irony
suspicions that author does not agree with narrator
written in iambic pentameter
lines rhyme in couplets
The Prologue
• Opening lines provide a setting and
motivation for the Canterbury pilgrimage
• Prologue contains all levels of English life
• The order of the introduction of each
pilgrim is important because it provides the
social standing of the different occupations;
it begins with the highest social rank and
descends in order.
The Prologue: Characters
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Highest rank is aristocracy or nobility
Knight and his household, including Squire (his
son)
Prioress
Monk
Friar (should be in lower class but begged so well
he is now in the company of nobles)
The Prologue: Characters
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Commercial Wealthy class
Merchant (illegally makes his money from selling
French coins)
Sergeant of Law (used knowledge of law to buy
up foreclosed property)
Clerk (good manners, knowledge of books)
Franklin (made enough money to be a country
gentleman and push for a place of nobility)
The Prologue: Characters
Guildsmen
similar to specialized unions of craftsmen or guilds
Haberdasher (makes men’s accessories)
Dyer (dyes fabric)
Carpenter (works with wood)
Weaver (makes fabric)
Tapestry-maker (makes rugs/carpets/wall hangings
none of them tells a tale
The Prologue: Characters
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Middle-class group
Cook (ranked too high, but he is master of his
trade and respected)
Shipman (knowledge of and travels in the world)
Physician (doctor of medicine[much less revered
in Middle Ages than today])
Wife of Bath (included here because of her
knowledge and deportment)
The Prologue: Characters
Virtuous poor or lower class
• Parson
• Plowman (very poor but represents all of
the Christian virtues)
The Prologue: Characters
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Immoral lower class
Manciple (profits from buying food for the
lawyers in the Inns of Court)
Miller (vulgar, steals from his customers)
Reeve (tells dirty stories and cheats his trusting
young master
Summoner (corrupt, takes bribes)
Pardoner (corrupt: sells fake pardons and fake
relics)