Canterbury Tales
Webquest
Whanne that April with his shoures sote
The droughte of March hath perced to the rote.
Canterbury Tales. Prologue. Line 1.
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The Canterbury Tales is a collection of prose and verse stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the
14th century. Chaucer’s stories are embedded in a framework narrative told by pilgrims on their
way to Canterbury Cathedral to visit the burial place of St. Thomas à Becket.
The Quest
Today you are going to research background information about Geoffrey Chaucer and The
Canterbury Tales. Anything not completed in class should be finished for homework and may be
submitted to my website.
The ultimate goals of this WebQuest are to enrich your experience with The Canterbury
Tales, learn a little bit more about life in the Middle Ages, and help you begin to see that as much
as things change, they still remain pretty much the same. Chaucer’s tales could easily be told by
any of you in this day and age.
To complete this WebQuest, you will have to answer a series of questions and research a
few websites. Don’t worry; I’ve made sure the information is at your fingertips.
- Working alone or with one other person, use the links to answer the questions listed below. There are
other links at the bottom of the document if you need them.
- Please PARAPHRASE your answers rather than copying and pasting information.
You may type your answers directly into the document and print when finished OR submit to my
webpage. Don’t print this page though. 
Life in Medieval England
1. The people: describe the functions in society of the following people:
The King
The vassals
Knights
Noblewomen
Bishops
Priests
monks/nuns
friars
Serfs
merchants
2. Thomas à Beckett
a. Who was he?
b. Why was he killed?
c. Why did/do people visit Canterbury on pilgrimages?
3. The Chivalrous Code.
Visit some sites on the Chivalrous Code and answer the following questions:
a. What was the Chivalrous Code?
b. Why was it so important?
c. And to whom?
4. What were the “Three Estates” during the Middle Ages?
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl430/estates.html
Estate =
1st =
2nd =
3rd=
How were women categorized?
The “___________________ estates”
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5. What was the Black Death?
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ch/Chaucer.html
http://the-orb.net/textbooks/nelson/black_death.html
Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales
1. Geoffrey Chaucer
http://www.bartleby.com/65/ch/Chaucer.html
1. What were the years of his birth and death?
2. What was happening in Europe during this time?
3. Where was he from?
4. What were his links to royalty?
5. What roles did he fulfill in life?
6. What kind of writer was he?
7. What was his “masterpiece”?
http://www.webster.com (or other dictionary site)
2. What is a pilgrimage?
3. Define prologue.
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Canterbury,-England
http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/history/history.aspx
4. Where is Canterbury?
What famous event happened there?
What are the goals of the many people who travel there on pilgrimages?
5. When were The Canterbury Tales written? In what language were they written?
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/canttales/gp/
http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm
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What are they about?
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What is a frame tale?
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How does this technique of storytelling apply to The Canterbury Tales?
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What happens in the Prologue?
Handy Links
Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/
http://www.canterburytales.org/canterbury_tales.html
http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/canterbury/charlist.html
http://www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/canterbury/tale12.html
http://aspirations.english.cam.ac.uk/converse/chaucer/about.acds
Life in Medieval England
http://www.domesdaybook.co.uk/life.html - 1
http://www.chronique.com/Library/Chivalry/code.htm