An Introduction to The Canterbury Tales and
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer1340? - 1400 Father: wealthy wine
merchant (makes C. associated with rising middle class)
C. worked for royal household almost all of life
– Page to Elizabeth, wife of prince
– Envoy to king -- went to France (influ. by Fr. lit)
– Also to Italy (influ. by Dante and Petrarch)
Chaucer, cont. 1374- returns to London,
becomes customs official Lives above city gate -
watches colorful crowd pass through
1386 - left job and goes home.
1387 - Begins CT 1389 - returns to London to
serve king 1400 - dies; is buried in
Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey
Chaucer’s Tomb in Westminster Abbey
The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer used life experiences to write CT
Prologue is source book of information on 14th century England
Tales show C’s wide knowledge of literature from classics, medieval European lit., and Asian lit.
Purpose for Pilgrimage
King Henry I was in a power struggle with the church
Thomas a Becket, priest, was originally friend of King Henry I, so Henry named him Archbishop of Canterbury -- most powerful prelate in England. He expected Becket to do whatever he wanted.
Purpose, cont.
Becket refused; Henry, irate, yells, “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest!!”
Four of Henry’s knights ride to Canterbury and murder Becket at prayers in the church.
A contrite Henry makes a pilgrimage to Canterbury and thus starts the tradition of the annual pilgrimage.
Shrine at the site of Beckett’s murder
Structure of Canterbury Tales
Harry Bailey, host of the Tabard Inn, challenged each pilgrim to entertain the group by telling a tale on the way to Canterbury and a tale on the way back to London.
[Chaucer originally planned 120 tales, but he only completed 1/5 of them before he died.]
At the end of the trip, the group would vote on the best story, and then would buy dinner for the winner.
Chaucer’s attitudes, opinions, and legacy
Uses pilgrims to comment on social problems of time
Sees life unusually clearly and wholly Uses wisdom of his years to write CT Native tolerance and sense of humor helped
him understand man and the forces that motivate him
Realizes that disorders and confusions of age marked decline of the Age of Chivalry
Attitudes, opinions, legacy, cont.
Saw beginnings of new age in which:– The lot of the common man improving– Merchant class prospering– Parliament functioning– Saw new order as good– C’s optimism colors mood of the pilgrims
as they set forth on their journey
Chaucer’s Place in History
Is considered one of English literature’s three greats, along with Shakespeare and Milton.
Canterbury Tales is regarded as an accurate and fascinating look at the life of the later middle ages.
