{ The Canterbury Tales Historical and Cultural Context

 Born around 1340  knight of the shire (Kent)  Went on many diplomatic trips throughout Europe  learned much about the classes in feudal society  Died in October 1400 before he could finish his most famous work, The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer

 King had the divine right to rule, which is granted by God and passed down hereditarily  Lords were appointed by the King in order to keep peace over the lands ruled by the king  Knights were appointed by the Lords to protect the land, as well as the Lords and the King  Serfs or peasants worked the land Feudalism Feudal System Daily Life

 Members of the church had high political standing  Wielded power over people, as mostly everyone believed in God and his power  Church commanded many taxes from people (tithes) The Church

 30 pilgrims from varying stations in the feudal system  In the Prologue, the Host suggests that each pilgrim tell at least 4 tales, two on the way there and two on the way back The Canterbury Tales

Map of the Journey to Canterbury  would have taken at least four days to complete the trip, but Chaucer has his pilgrims do it in one day trip, but Chaucer has his pilgrims do it in one day

 use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity or vices  Estates Satire or “social satire”  Pilgrims are from 3 different estates: clergy, nobility and peasantry  used to show how they fall short of the ‘ideal’ member of that class =XNBP18nrRdw =XNBP18nrRdwSatire

 a story embedded into a story  Forrest Gump  starts with him on the park bench and towards the end he’s still on the bench (until he leaves) but he tells a series of stories about his life in between  Titanic, Princess Bride, Never Ending Story Frame Story/Tale