1. Background Introduction
Canterbury Tales
Background Introduction

2. England in the Middle Ages
Feudalism replaced the Nordic social system.
The primary duty of males above the serf class was to serve in the military—Knighthood.
Women had no political rights.
Chivalry and courtly love served as the system of social codes

3. Feudal System Included aristocrats and commoners
King owned all the land in the country
King granted land holdings to aristocratic tenants in exchange for military support
Aristocrats would grant land holdings to commoners in exchange for labor services that would allow the lord to cultivate and maintain the land

4. Chivalry
Chivalry- system of ideals and behavior that governed both knight and gentleman
Included things such as:
- oath of loyalty to overlord
- rules of warfare
-adoration of a particular lady (not necessarily one’s wife)
- Courtly Love- Belief that acting in the name of a lady would help a knight be more brave and successful

5. Role of Women Peasant Women- clean, bear children, field work
Higher Station- supervise housework
A woman was always expected to be subservient to a male - regardless of relation
No political rights

6. England in the Middle Ages
William the Conqueror: kills Harold in 1066 for the English throne after Edward dies, childless; first Norman King of England
Domesday Book: survey of who owned what in 1086 (for tax purposes)
The Magna-Carta (1215) defeats papal central power (first document a king is forced to sign by his subjects; it limits the king’s powers by laws and protects the privileges of the subjects)
The Hundred Years’ War ( ) was the first national war waged by England (was between England and France over who was the rightful heir to the French throne).

7. Crusades Occurred from 1095-1270
A series of military campaigns called by the Pope
GOAL of the crusades: to restore Christian control of the Holy Land
Crusades had an enormous influence in Europe during the Middle Ages (brought contact with Eastern mathematics, astronomy, architecture, and crafts)

8. England in the Middle Ages
The Black Death ( ) brought the end of the Middle Ages.
1348 – Black Plague reached England and wiped out 1/3 of the population (3.75 million to 2.25 million)
The sudden collapse of the population sent prices skyrocketing (increased the price of labor while decreasing the price of land)
The overall effect of the Plague was to hasten the collapse of feudalism by creating intense competition for labor and tenants
Creates the middle class

9. Chaucer’s England Social Structure
Society was divided into 3 states: clergy, aristocracy, and the commons
Positions in the hierarchy were well defined
Clergy-responsible for people’s spiritual well-being
Aristocracy- responsible for defending the nation through military might.
Commons- laborers and producers

10. Clergy (1.5 %) No one was born into the clergy
Aristocrats (upper levels) or commoners (lower levels)
Regular clergy: (monks and friars) the regular clergy were male and were sworn to a life of celibacy and poverty
Secular clergy- parish priests (parsons) and clerics.
Nuns didn’t have the same rights as the male clergy

11. Clergy The clergy were expected to take vows of: Poverty Chastity
Obedience

12. Aristocracy (1%)
Warrior class or those descended from the warrior class.
Titled nobility: dukes, counts, barons
Knights- lacked hereditary titles. Less than 1,000 in Chaucer’s England. A burdensome rank.
Squires: the backbone of the English and French armies. Moderate landowners and men of gentle birth who were not knighted.

13. The Commons (97%)
Most of England’s Population lived in the country side
People in the commons were loosely ranked according to how much land they had
1) Franklins/Yeoman ( freemen who had more then 50 acres)
2) Husbandmen/Cotters (free or servile men who held 10 to 40 acres)
At the bottom of rural society were those who held no land and were dependent upon their earnings as laborers (plowmen, herdsmen, etc)

14. Religion
Being apart of society in the middle ages meant being apart of the church
Catholic Church- official church
All Christians in that part of the World were under the authority of the pope

15. The Journey Begins . . .
Chaucer uses a religious pilgrimage to display all segments of medieval England.
The Canterbury Tales begins with a Prologue,
Narrator, presumably Chaucer himself, meets 29 other pilgrims at the Tabard Inn in Spring, located in a suburb of London.
As the pilgrims prepare for their journey to the shrine of Thomas Becket, the host of the Inn, Harry Bailey, sets a challenge:
Each pilgrim will tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two stories on the return trip. The person who tells the best tale will be treated to a feast hosted by the other pilgrims.

16. Thomas Becket Appointed archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry II
King Henry hoped that Thomas would side with him over the pope
The King’s plan backfired and Thomas ended up taking the side of the Church/Pope over the King

17. Thomas Becket
Murdered in 1170 (Assassinated by followers of the King Henry in Canterbury Cathedral)
Was canonized as both Saint and martyr following his murder
The Shrine of Saint Thomas of Beckett became a popular destination for religious pilgrimages during the Middle Ages

18. The Journey Begins . . .
The Canterbury Tales is actually a story about stories, twenty-four different tales set within the overarching tale of the pilgrimage.
Definition:
Frame Story – a story within a story
The Outer Frame Story is about the pilgrims meeting at the Tabard Inn preparing for a journey to Canterbury.
The Inner Frame Story would be all the stories told by the assembled pilgrims along their journey to and from Canterbury.

19. Snapshots of an Era. . .
In the Prologue, Chaucer sketches a brief but vivid portrait of each pilgrim, creating a lively sense of medieval life.
The description may literally describe an article of clothing, but figuratively imply something about that character.
Definition: Satire - a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
Like sarcasm He says one thing, but means another.
Our job is to read and comprehend the literal description of each pilgrim, and then, we must figuratively interpret what Chaucer is trying to imply about that pilgrim’s character.

20. Snapshots of an Era. . . Satire (continued . . . ):
Also, so that we might better understand his satirical characterization, Chaucer creates SATIRIC NORMS.
A SATIRIC NORM is a character that represents the perfect ideal.
We can then see how BAD everyone else is by comparing them to this Satiric Norm.

21. Snapshots of an Era. . .
In the Prologue, Chaucer examines three segments of Medieval England:
1. The Old Feudal order – these are all of the pilgrims associated with the feudal class system.
Knight, Squire, Yeoman, Plowman . . .
2. The Merchant Class – this was the rising middle class of the time; towns and cities were emerging and therefore necessitated the need for skilled services:
Merchant, Man of Law, Guildsmen, Cook . . .
3. The Ecclesiastical (Church) Class – these were all of the members of the church. Chaucer is most critical of this segment of his society.
Prioress, Monk, Friar, Pardoner . . .

22. A Literary Tour. . .
Chaucer uses the popular genres of his time when he creates the inner stories of the various pilgrims:
Romances (tales of chivalry)
The Wife of Bath’s Tale
Fabliaux (short, bawdy, humorous stories)
The Miller’s Tale
The stories of saint’s lives, sermons
The Parson’s Tale
Allegories (narratives in which characters represent abstractions such as Pride or Honor).
The Pardoner’s Tale
Beast Fable (a short story where animals are the main characters, who exhibit human qualities, and their activities underscore a universal truth).
The Nun’s Priest’s Tale
Chaucer wrote much of the Tales using his own form, the heroic couplet, a pair of rhyming lines with five stressed syllables each.

23. Literary Analysis
Each character in The Canterbury Tales represents a different segment of society in Chaucer’s time. By noting the virtues and faults of each, Chaucer provides social commentary, writing that offers insight into society, its values, and its customs. While reading, draw conclusions from the characters about Chaucer’s views on English society.

24. Irony
Verbal and situational irony are often used for emphasis in the assertion of a truth.
Situational- character/reader expects one thing, but something else happens
Verbal- when a writer/character expects one thing, but means another
TECHNIQUES: hyperbole, understatement, sarcasm

25. Canterbury Tales
Wanted to educate the masses on the corruption in the Church
Story begins in the Spring at Tabard Inn
Pilgrims on a voyage to the Shrine of Thomas Becket (martyr)

26. Pilgrims The narrator Knight Squire Wife Of Bath The Miller
The Prioress
The Monk
The Friar
The Summoner
The Pardoner

27. Geoffrey Chaucer c. 1343-1400 Considered the father of English poetry
Wrote in the vernacular – common language of the people (English)
Served as a soldier, government servant, and member of Parliament
Introduced iambic pentameter
First writer buried in Westminster Abbey

28. Language Aristocracy- French Clergy-Latin
Commoners: English (Middle English)

29. Middle English