1. Background information on the Middle Ages
The Canterbury Tales
Background information on the Middle Ages

2. Canterbury Tales Written by Geoffrey Chaucer (born about 1342)
Insight into all walks of life during the Middle Ages
Wanted to educate the masses on the corruption in the Church
Frame (story within a story) Tale
Usually satirical

3. Satire
Literary technique in which behaviors or institutions are ridiculed for the purpose of improving society.
What sets satire apart from other forms of social and political protest is HUMOR.
Satirists use irony and exaggeration to poke fun at human faults and foolishness in order to correct human behavior
Can you guess at what might be some satirical targets

4. Common Satirical Targets
Wealthy
Greed
Politics
Vanity
Writers
Stupidity
Vanity
Hypocrisy
Corruption
Arrogance
Pursuits of idle wealthy

5. 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

6. Canterbury Tales Story begins in the Spring at Tabard Inn
Pilgrims on a voyage to the Shrine of Thomas Becket (martyr)
Each pilgrims tells 2 tales on the way and two tales back
Host will judge stories

7. Pilgrims The narrator The Miller Knight The Prioress Squire The monk
Wife Of bath
The Pardoner
The Miller
The Prioress
The monk
The friar
The Yeoman

8. 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

9. 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

10. Clergy (1.5 %) No one was born into the clergy
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
The clergy were expected to take vows of:
Poverty
Chastity
Obedience

11. 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.

12. 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
Franklins/Yeoman (freemen who had more then 50 acres)
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)

13. 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

14. Compare and Contrast
How was the society during the middle ages different from our modern-day society?
Religion
Types of jobs
politics

15. Thomas Beckett 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
Murdered in 1170
Was idolized as both Saint and martyr
The Shrine of Saint Thomas of Beckett became a popular destination for religious pilgrimages during the Middle Ages

16. Crusades Occurred during the the 11th,12th, and 13th centuries
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

17. Effects of Crusades Political: helped undermine feudalism
Social: allowed for romantic adventure (Chivalry)
Commerce/trade: opened up trade throughout Europe and created a constants demand for the transportation of both men and supplies
Catholic Church: increased the wealth of the Catholic church and the power of the Papacy.

18. Chivalry
Chivalry- system of ideals and behavior that governed both knight and gentleman
Included things such as:
oath of loyalty to overlord
rules of 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

19. Review What was Chaucer’s purpose for writing the Canterbury Tales?
Which LITERARY device does Chaucer primarily use to get his point across?
What makes satire different from other forms of political or social protest?
Who was more powerful, the king or the pope?
Where are the pilgrims going?
Why was St. Thomas of Beckett murdered?