1. The Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer
Background Information Notes

2. Chaucer - England’s First Great Writer
Among the first writers to show that English could be a respectable literary language (French was used before).
The Canterbury Tales is known as a cornerstone of English Literature

3. Befriended By Royals Born between 1340-1334, London
Family was not nobles, but they were fairly well off.
Places in the household of a son of King Edward III where he was taught the customs of the upper-class
He met John of Gaunt, who would become his patron
As a teenager, Chaucer joined the King’s Army to fight the 100 years war

4. Early Inspirations French and Italian literature
Dante
Petrarch
Boccaccio
First major effort: an English translation of The Romance of the Rose
First original work: The Book of Duchess (a long, narrative poem about the wife of John of Gaunt)

5. Turbulent Times
Chaucer continues to enjoy royal favor through the turbulent reign of Richard II
He was appointed Knight of the shire and became a member of Parliament
Enjoyed many royal favors – John of Gaunt’s son became King, eventually, although Chaucer could not take advantage of this since he died a year after Henry IV came to the throne

6. Fruitful Years
The last two decades of Chaucer's life saw his finest literary achievements
Troilus and Criseyde
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

7. Uncommon Honor
Died in 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
In The Canterbury Tales he portrayed himself as a short, plump, slightly foolish pilgrim who commands no great respect (Very different from his actual personality)

8. The Shrine of Canterbury
The travelers in The Canterbury Tales make a pilgrimage to Canterbury to see the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket
Becket was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry II, but after arguments with Henry, he was murdered in his own cathedral in 1190.
Three years later, he was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

9. Satire
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

10. Thomas a Becket
Becket was a 12th century chancellor and archbishop of Canterbury whose murder resulted in his canonisation.
Becket was made a saint in 1173 and his shrine in Canterbury Cathedral became an important focus for pilgrimage.

11. Geoffrey Chaucer
Poet who was born in 1340 in London, England. The Canterbury Tales became his best known and most acclaimed work. He died October 25, 1400 of in London, England and was the first to be buried in Westminster Abbey’s Poet’s Corner.

12. Canterbury Cathedral
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.

13. The Crusades A series of holy wars fought between 1095 and 1291
The military expeditions undertaken in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries by the Christian powers of Europe to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims

14. Medieval Social Classes
King and Royal Court
Nobility
Church
- Bishops
- Friars
- Parsons
Commoners
- Guilds
- Merchants
- City Leaders and Professionals

15. The Black Plague
The Black Plague was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350, and killing between 75 million and 200 million people.
Although there were several competing theories as to the cause of the Black Death, recent analysis of DNA from victims in northern and southern Europe indicates that a bacteria was responsible.

16. Pilgrimages
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance.

17. The Canterbury Tales
A collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century.
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.
The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn on their return.