The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

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The Canterbury Talesby Geoffrey Chaucer
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Background of these tales

• Geoffrey Chaucer wrote this story in the late
  1300s but never finished it.
• He wrote in the native language or vernacular of
  the Medieval period in Britain called Middle
  English.

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The Story

• Twenty nine people that represent all aspects of
  Medieval society go on a pilgrimage to the
  cathedral at Canterbury in southeast England.

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• The cathedral at Canterbury is the main cathedral
  of the Church of England. The shrine to the
  martyr Saint Thomas a Becket is located at this
  cathedral.

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The story format

• Chaucers characters are going to pay respects to
  this shrine as a part of a religious pilgrimage.
  They all meet at a tavern to begin their journey.

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• Saint Thomas a Becket was the archbishop of
  Canterbury, and in 1170 he was martyred by some
  knights of the king of England, Henry II, who
  was overheard complaining about Beckets loyalty
  to the church at Rome over his loyalty to his
  king.

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Some of the characters

• The host of the tavern or innkeeper is the man
  who suggests that the pilgrims each tell a story
  on the way to entertain the group. Chaucer
  intended for each to tell 2 stories, but he only
  got to write one apiece.

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The following characters are the wife of Bath and
the pardoner,
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The following characters are the priest and the
miller
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And two more familiar characters are the knight
and his squire
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Format of the poetry

• The Canterbury Tales are called a frame story,
  meaning that there are many stories framed in
  the larger story of the pilgrimage to Canterbury.
  

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1 Whan that aprill with his shoures soote 2
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
3 And bathed every veyne in swich licour 4 Of
which vertu engendred is 8 Hath in the ram his
halve cours yronne, 9 And smale foweles maken
melodye, 10 That slepen al the nyght with open
ye 11 (so priketh hem nature in hir corages)
12 Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
13 And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
14 To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes
15 And specially from every shires ende 16 Of
engelond to caunterbury they wende, 17 The
hooly blisful martir for to seke, 18 That hem
hath holpen whan that they were seeke. 19 Bifil
that in that seson on a day, 20 In southwerk at
the tabard as I lay 21 Redy to wenden on my
pilgrymage 22 To caunterbury with ful devout
corage, 23 At nyght was come into that
hostelrye 24 Wel nyne and twenty in a
compaignye, 25 Of sondry folk, by aventure
yfalle 26 In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were
they alle, 27 That toward caunterbury wolden
ryde.
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•         Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote 
                  When April with its
  sweet-smelling showers2         The droghte of
  March hath perced to the roote,           
       Has pierced the drought of March to the
  root,3         And bathed every veyne in swich
  licour                 And bathed every vein (of
  the plants) in such liquid4         Of which
  vertu engendred is the flour                 By
  which power the flower is created5         Whan
  Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth             
     When the West Wind also with its sweet
  breath,6         Inspired hath in every holt and
  heeth                 In every wood and field
  has breathed life into 7         The tendre
  croppes, and the yonge sonne                 The
  tender new leaves, and the young sun8        
  Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,         
         Has run half its course in Aries,9      
    And smale foweles maken melodye,             
     And small fowls make melody,10         That
  slepen al the nyght with open ye               
   Those that sleep all the night with open eyes11
          (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages), 
                 (So Nature incites them in their
  hearts),12         Thanne longen folk to goon on
  pilgrimages,                 Then folk long to
  go on pilgrimages,13         And palmeres for to
  seken straunge strondes,                 And
  professional pilgrims to seek foreign shores,14
          To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry
  londes                 To distant shrines,
  known in various lands15         And specially
  from every shires ende                 And
  specially from every shire's end16         Of
  Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,             
     Of England to Canterbury they travel,17      
    The hooly blisful martir for to seke,         
         To seek the holy blessed martyr,18      
    That hem hath holpen whan that they were
  seeke.                 Who helped them when they
  were sick.