UNIT THREE: THE CANTERBURY TALES AND MEDIEVAL SOCIETY
Essential Questions for Unit Three:
 What was the shape of this world?
 What was an individual’s relationship to God? To fate and free will?
 How did one live a good life? How should one view life on earth?
 Where did an individual’s loyalties lie?
 What motivated members of this society?
 How was the individual depicted in literature and art?
 What was the role of women in society?
 What were medieval views of reason and emotion (including love)? The mind
and the body? The relationship between religion and reason?
 How did one know what is real or true?
 What has survived/endured? What has been left behind?
Objectives for Unit Three: Content - students will be able to:
 Identify, describe, and explain major distinguishing PIES characteristics of
12th century medieval society and culture as expressed in art, architecture,
literature, historical documents
 Compare and contrast 12th century distinguishing characteristics to those of
14th century medieval society and culture and to 5th century B.C.E. Athenian
culture
Objectives for Unit Three: Skills - students will be able to:
 Practice disciplined inquiry of visual artifacts, primary documents, literature
 Present clear, informative oral presentations using VIBES
 Participate actively and respectfully in discussion
 Make meaningful connections among historical, artistic, and literary artifacts
 Practice disciplined research skills
 Create well-organized analytical paragraph/essay with clear topic/thesis
statement, evidence, analysis, and concluding statement
NOTE:
 No major assessments in these first three weeks – those all come after
Christmas break
 Recommend incorporating “do it now” knowledge checks throughout to
ensure student comprehension and analysis of quotations
Week One: 'N' Week of 12/2
This week’s essential questions:
What were the relationships between man and God?
What was sacred and why? With whom did one’s loyalties/allegiance lie?
SWBAT:
Practice disciplined inquiry of visual artifacts, primary documents, and literature
Make meaningful connections among them
Practice disciplined research skills
Read for literal meaning and inference
Identify, describe, explain, and compare/contrast religious beliefs (in 12th century,
of 12th century to 14th century, and to 5th century B.C.E. Athens)
Grammar focus: TBD
Monday, 12/1 – Travel Day
Tuesday, 12/2
In-class:
 Inquiry: Canterbury and Canterbury Cathedral (observe, question, and infer)
 Map of pilgrimage sites, including Chartres
 Comparisons across time and place (Parthenon and Romanesque cathedrals)
Homework:
30 min.: Student research on “Ancestors of Christ” stained glass windows (Getty)
30 min.: “Ladies Tumbler” and “Saint Guinefort.” Record observations and
questions
Teaching resources:
 http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/canterbury/stainedglass.html AND
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/arts/design/stained-glass-at-thecloisters.html?_r=0 AND
http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2014/canterbury-stained-glass
Wednesday, 12/3 AND Thursday, 12/4
In-class:
 Inquiry: "Ancestors of Christ" stained glass windows
 Compare to popular forms of devotion
 Connecting and comparing OT to NT
Homework:
30 min.: Edward Grim's "Life of St. Thomas"
30 min.: "The Miracles at Canterbury" (review and determine selections from
http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/the-miracles-at-canterbury)
Teaching resources:
 Find images on Canterbury of NT or use Chartres windows to draw in visual of
popular devotion
 Optional reading: “The Chronicle of Benedict”
Friday, 12/5
In-class:
 Stained glass windows of Becket: student-led discussion of readings
 In-class reading: “Prologue” from The Canterbury Tales (pp. 3 to top of 4)
 Discussion: Why are people coming here?
Homework:
30 min.: Marie de France’s “Prologue” plus start “Guigemar”?
30 min.: The Canterbury Tales, pp. 4-6 (stop at Nun)
Week Two: 'S’ Week of 12/8
This week’s essential questions:
What was the shape of this world? (PIES)
Where did one’s loyalties lie?
SWBAT:
Practice disciplined inquiry of visual artifacts, primary documents, and literature.
Make meaningful connections among them
Practice disciplined research skills
Identify, describe, explain, and compare/contrast, life on manors, in monasteries,
in towns (and life in 5th century B.C.E. Athens)
Grammar focus: TBD
Monday, 12/8
In-class:
 Discuss Marie de France
 Compare Marie de France with Chaucer
 Identify and discuss evidence for feudal duties and values
Homework:
30 min.: Finish Marie de France’s “Guigemar”
30 min.: “Medieval Feudal and Manorial Relationships by 1000 AD” (Lauren's
article) and student research on chivalry
Teaching Resources/Notes:
 Note Mari is going to introduce Chaucer in terms of biography and context
(including how his work was performed; Middle English; etc) prior to
Thanksgiving; if this is not the case for other teams, Intro could fit in here
Tuesday, 12/9
In-class:
 Discuss Marie de France
 Discuss and begin contextualizing Knight, Squire, and Yeoman in context of
feudalism and chivalry
 Begin to identify growing complexity and changes in PIES context
Homework:
30 min.: Prologue, 6-10 (start at Nun; stop at Merchant); also review 3-6?
30 min.: “Charter of Ipswich” and “Magna Carta”; also read in Prologue, 16-17
(stop at Plowman) AND 21 -23 (stop at Host)
Teaching Resources:
 Secondary sources on rise of towns; give some of this context in class and also
provide as a research resource for when they do the larger, final project
Thursday, 12/11
In-class:
 Discuss Prologue 6-10
 Identify and explain impact of rise of towns
 Continue to identify growing complexity and changes in PIES context
Homework:
30 min.: Prologue, pp. 10-15 (start at Merchant)
30 min.: Lauren's 2nd group of readings on church
Teaching Resources:
 Reconnect to p. 4 "To Canterbury, as you heard me say" -- identify town as
destination; cathedrals multiple uses; way in which pilgrimages created cultural
exchange
 Relate to Shifting 'E' and 'P'; practice making assertions that connect literature
with context
Friday, 12/12
In-class:
 Discuss p. 10-15
 Discuss and relate the portraits of Nun, Monk, Friar, and Parson
 Explore the Canterbury Cathedra as a monastery
 Recognize growing complexity and changes in ‘I’ (religion)
Homework:
30 min.: Prologue, 16 - 26
30 min.: Guild documents and guild windows from Chartres Cathedral
Week Three: 'N’ Week of 12/15
This week’s essential questions:
What were women’s lives like? What was expected of them?
What were medieval views of reason and emotion? The relationship between
religion and reason?
What were the sources of truth? How did one know what is real or true?
SWBAT:
Identify, describe, explain, and compare/contrast intellectual life
Identify, describe, explain, and compare/contrast social and economic relationships
based on class and gender
Grammar focus: TBD
Monday, 12/15
In-class:
 Discuss Prologue, 16 - 26
 Focus on shifting socio-economic landscape: signs of wealth and trade/exchange
as evident in text
 Establish context for comparisons between Knight, Squire, Yeoman, and
Merchant, Guildsman, and Wife of Bath
 Recognize growing complexity and changes in ‘E’
Homework:
30 min.: Nun's Priest's Tale, pp. 214-222
30 min.: Abelard’s “Sic et Non” and Aquinas’ “Five Proofs of the Existence of Gods”
(Lauren will cut readings and consider adding Roger Bacon)
Tuesday, 12/16
In-class:
 Discuss Nun's Priest's Tale
 Discuss Abelard and Aquinas: relate to changes in I (religion and education)
 Examine history of Kings School at the Cathedral and reconnect to portraits in
The Canterbury Tales
 Inquiry of liberal arts sculptures at Chartres Cathedral
 Recognize growing complexity and changes in ‘I’ (education)
Homework:
30 min.: Nun's Priest's Tale, pp. 223-231
30 min.: Prepare for an assessment on content thus far.
Teaching Resources:
 "During the Middle Ages, however, there was clearly a school attached to the
Cathedral and run as part of the monastic establishment." See link for more
history: http://www.kingsschool.co.uk/document_1.aspx?id=1:31887&id=1:31658&id=1:31637
 See secondary readings on rise of universities – consider adding these to
research options for kids have the break; use as background for setting up
Tuesday’s discussion
Wednesday, 12/17 AND Thursday, 12/18
In-class:
 Discuss Nun's Priest's Tale
 Assessment
Homework:
No homework
-- have a great break!
Friday, 12/19 -- Travel Day