Review

5 True/False questions Born 1340 in London, England Family was not nobles, but they were fairly well off Placed to work in the household of a son of King Edward III where he was taught the customs of the upper-class As a teenager, Chaucer joined the King’s Army to fight the 100 years war. He was appointed Knight of the shire and became a member of Parliament. Enjoyed many royal favors

The last two decades of Chaucer's life saw his finest literary achievements Masterpiece = The Canterbury Tales Verse and prose To join together – Chaucer pretended they are stories told by members of a group of travelers journeying from London to Canterbury The work was still unfinished at the time of his death He was among the first writers to show that English could be a respectable literary language (French was used before).

Died in October 25, 1400 He was the first commoner to be buried at London’s Westminster Abbey. The beginning of Westminster Abbey’s poet’s corner Now, many great British writers have been buried here. Chaucer narrates The Canterbury Tales and portrays himself as a short, plump, slightly foolish pilgrim who commands no great respect, which is very different from his actual personality.

5 True/False Questions 4 Multiple Choice Questions A collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century *video clip The tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral in Kent. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn on their return.

A frame tale is a larger story, inside of which there are many smaller stories The pilgrims represent types of people in the Medieval society in which Chaucer lived Chaucer wrote the tales in Middle English, even though he knew both French and Latin, which were the languages most literary writers used The fact that Chaucer wrote the tales in the common language used by everyday people suggests that the tales were written for them, not the ruling classes

5 Multiple Choice Questions Things to Know: How did Old English transition to Middle English? What is Feudalism? How and why did the feudal structure break down? Who is Thomas a Becket ?

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England. It was largely rebuilt in the Gothic style following a fire in 1174, with extensions to accommodate the flow of pilgrims visiting the shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170.

Know all pilgrims 1 st set = 3 matching (character groups) 2 nd set = 10 matching (character descriptions) 3 rd set = 5 matching (quotes from prologue) 4 th set = 4 multiple choice 5 th set = 5 true/false

Which pilgrims are part of the Feudal System? Which pilgrims are part of Religious Life? Which pilgrims are part of the Rising Middle Class?

1. King and Royal Court 2. Nobility 3. Church - Bishops - Friars - Parsons 4. Commoners - Guilds - Merchants - City Leaders and Professionals

Knight-represents honor, chivalry; a really good guy Squire-Knight’s son, good looking, pretty boy Yeoman-servant to the Knight and Squire, a proper forester, dressed in green, would look like Robin Hood Nun/Prioress-speaks bad French, attempts elegant behavior but fails, not very interested in religious life, likes animals Monk-a modern man, doesn’t follow rules of church, likes hunting, expensive habits Friar-supposed to earn money by hearing confessions, but instead he seduces women

Merchant-business man, appears prosperous, but actually in debt Oxford Cleric-scholar, dedicated to learning, spends all money on education Sergeant of Law-lawyer, uses money he makes to climb social ladder Franklin-a landowner, hosts many parties, has the best of food and wine Tradesmen (Haberdasher…)-represent rising middle class, they formed guilds or organizations, controlled quality and prices of goods they made, had power in community

Cook-pretty good cook, but has gross ulcer on leg Skipper-a sailor or shipman, very intimidating, a bad boy Doctor-uses astrology to help cure patients, good at what he does, but motivated by money Wife of Bath-successful weaver, widowed, married five times, physically large, defies stereotypes of women Parson-a really good and holy priest, poor Plowman-the Parson’s brother, a laborer, does dirty jobs, very holy, lives simple life Miller-works in grain mill, dishonest, disgusting appearance, a brute, likes wrestling

Manciple- in charge of buying food and supplies for an inn of the court, always ahead financially Reeve-manager of farm, steals from his lord Summoner-hired by church to order people who have sinned to come before the court, very ugly, bad breath, drunk, offers bribes to get out of going to court Pardoner-travels countryside selling pardons (slips of paper saying you are forgiven for sins), also sells “holy” relics and tries to profit from them Host-proposes storytelling contest for pilgrims, peace- keeper among pilgrims

Know about the church OR satire: Which characters are part of the church? How is the church represented? What is satire? Which characters does Chaucer use satire to describe? What is Chaucer criticizing or attempting to correct with his use of satire? Have an opinion: Are Chaucer’s characters timeless and universal? Be prepared with TEXTUAL EVIDENCE to support your responses.