Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales

http://literature11.pbworks.com/f/1255382006/1255382006/pilgrims_chaucer.jpg

Geoffrey Chaucer: 1343(?)-1400

• The exact date of Chaucer’s birth is unknown.• He was the son of a merchant.• Chaucer was captured in France while serving the English

army during the Hundred Year’s War.• The king, Edward III, paid a large ransom for his release.• He married Philippa Pan, a lady-in-waiting to the queen, in

1366.

The World As Chaucer Knew Ithttp://historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/tabula_rogeriana.jpg

Geoffrey Chaucer:A Man of Many Talents

• Chaucer had many careers: page in a noble house, soldier, diplomat, royal clerk.

• He began writing in his twenties.• He wrote about people from all walks of life.• Chaucer understood human nature.

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Poet

• Geoffrey Chaucer’s early works were based on the works of European poets.

• He wrote The Canterbury Tales later in his life.

• He completed only 24 of the 124 tales he planned.

Chaucer: The Father of English Poetry

• Geoffrey Chaucer was considered the greatest English poet in his own lifetime.

• His poems have never gone out of print.

• Geoffrey Chaucer is buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.

• Chaucer’s tomb is in Poet’s Corner, which was named in his honor.

Westminster Abbeyhttp://traveltounitedkingdom.net/LONDON.html

Historical Background:The Origin of the Pilgrimages to Canterbury

• Thomas Becket was an archbishop who would not side with Henry II against the church.

• He was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 by Henry’s knights.

• Thomas was made a saint by the church, and Henry ordered a shrine built in his honor.

Canterbury Cathedralhttp://www.coachhouse-canterbury.co.uk/images/visit_canterbury/canterbury_cathedral.jpg

The Canterbury Tales• The Canterbury Tales

reveals much about the people of fourteenth century England.

• The Tales contain excellent examples of medieval literature: romances and comedies, poetry and prose.

• The Tales include religious elements as well as crude humor.

Dorigen and Aurelius: “The Franklin’s Tale”http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Hawei%27s_Dorigen_.jpg

The Canterbury Tales:

The Prologue • The tale begins on

April 11, 1387.• The narrator joins a

party of 29 pilgrims who are traveling to the shrine at Canterbury.

• In The Prologue, Chaucer describes most of the pilgrims in great detail.

Chaucer serves as the narrator of the Tales.http://i.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01184/arts-graphics-2008_1184459a.jpg

The Contest

• A storytelling contest is sponsored by the host, Harry Bailey, of Bailey’s Tavern.

• The pilgrims are supposed to tell two stories on the way to Canterbury and two on the way back.

• The host will judge the contest.

• The prize is a free dinner. The host proposes a contest.http://logicophilosophicus.org/cigar_news/images/Canterbury_Tales.png

The Pilgrims• See your chart with the list of attendees on the trip.

• How were they viewed for level of respect?

• How many were from the religious sect?

References

• http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/103288-women_want.jpg• http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/g/e/o/geoffrey-chaucer/i/

014.jpg• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Hawei

%27s_Dorigen_.jpg• http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZc7gUUMY0c/SUjDx5RiJrI/

AAAAAAAABEM/SC-Uxsz4Yc0/s400/14pardoner2a.jpg

http://image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/topicimages/j/jo/john_of_gaunt,_1st_duke_of_lancaster.gif

• http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HZc7gUUMY0c/SUjDx5RiJrI/AAAAAAAABEM/SC-Uxsz4Yc0/s400/14pardoner2a.jpg

• http://theplaymaker.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/canterburytales.jpg

References (continued)

• http://historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/tabula_rogeriana.jpg

• http://jeriwesterson.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c98c253ef00e55293ceb78834-320pi

• http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/images/chaucer/H409_0057vwf.jpg