the canterbury tales background information on the middle ages
TRANSCRIPT
The Canterbury TalesBackground information on the Middle Ages
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
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
Common Satirical Targets Wealthy
Greed
Politics
Vanity
Writers
Stupidity
Vanity
Hypocrisy
Corruption
Arrogance
Pursuits of idle wealthy
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
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
Pilgrims
The narrator
Knight Squire Wife Of bath The Pardoner
The Miller The Prioress The monk The friar The Yeoman
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
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
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
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.
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)
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
Compare and Contrast
How was the society during the middle ages different from our modern-day society?
Religion Types of jobs politics
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
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
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.
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
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?