Review

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The Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer

• Review

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Part 1 Chaucer

• 5 True/False questions
• Born 1340 in London, England
• Family was not nobles, but they were fairly well
  off
• Placed to work in the household of a son of King
  Edward III where he was taught the customs of the
  upper-class
• As a teenager, Chaucer joined the Kings Army to
  fight the 100 years war.
• He was appointed Knight of the shire and became a
  member of Parliament.
• Enjoyed many royal favors

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Part 1 Chaucer

• The last two decades of Chaucer's life saw his
  finest literary achievements
• Masterpiece The Canterbury Tales
• Verse and prose
• To join together Chaucer pretended they are
  stories told by members of a group of travelers
  journeying from London to Canterbury
• The work was still unfinished at the time of his
  death
• He was among the first writers to show that
  English could be a respectable literary language
  (French was used before).

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Part 1 Chaucer

• Died in October 25, 1400
• He was the first commoner to be buried at
  Londons Westminster Abbey.
• The beginning of Westminster Abbeys poets
  corner
• Now, many great British writers have been buried
  here.
• Chaucer narrates The Canterbury Tales and
  portrays himself as a short, plump, slightly
  foolish pilgrim who commands no great respect,
  which is very different from his actual
  personality.

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Part 2 The Tales

• 5 True/False Questions
• 4 Multiple Choice Questions
• A collection of stories written in
• Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer
• at the end of the 14th century video
  clip
• The tales are presented as part of a
  story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as
  they travel together on a journey to the shrine
  of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral in
  Kent.
• The prize for this contest is a free meal at the
  Tabard Inn on their return.

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Part 2 The Tales

• A frame tale is a larger story, inside of which
  there are many smaller stories
• The pilgrims represent types of people in the
  Medieval society in which Chaucer lived
• Chaucer wrote the tales in Middle English, even
  though he knew both French and Latin, which were
  the languages most literary writers used
• The fact that Chaucer wrote the tales in the
  common language used by everyday people suggests
  that the tales were written for them, not the
  ruling classes

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Part 3 The Medieval Period

• 5 Multiple Choice Questions
• Things to Know
• How did Old English transition to Middle English?
• What is Feudalism?
• How and why did the feudal structure break down?
• Who is Thomas a Becket ?

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Part 3 The Medieval Period

• Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one
  of the oldest and most famous Christian
  structures in England. It is the cathedral of the
  Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of
  England.
• It was largely rebuilt in the Gothic style
  following a fire in 1174 , with extensions to
  accommodate the flow of pilgrims visiting the
  shrine of Thomas Becket, the archbishop who was
  murdered in the cathedral in 1170.

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Part 4 Pilgrims

• Know all pilgrims
• 1st set 3 matching (character groups)
• 2nd set 10 matching (character descriptions)
• 3rd set 5 matching (quotes from prologue)
• 4th set 4 multiple choice
• 5th set 5 true/false

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Part 4 Pilgrims

• Which pilgrims are part of the Feudal System?
• Which pilgrims are part of Religious Life?
• Which pilgrims are part of the Rising Middle
  Class?

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Medieval Social Classes

• King and Royal Court
• Nobility
• Church
• - Bishops
• - Friars
• - Parsons
• Commoners
• - Guilds
• - Merchants
• - City Leaders and Professionals

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Part 4 Pilgrims

• Knight-represents honor, chivalry a really good
  guy
• Squire-Knights son, good looking, pretty boy
• Yeoman-servant to the Knight and Squire, a proper
  forester, dressed in green, would look like Robin
  Hood
• Nun/Prioress-speaks bad French, attempts elegant
  behavior but fails, not very interested in
  religious life, likes animals
• Monk-a modern man, doesnt follow rules of
  church, likes hunting, expensive habits
• Friar-supposed to earn money by hearing
  confessions, but instead he seduces women

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Part 4 Pilgrims

• Merchant-business man, appears prosperous, but
  actually in debt
• Oxford Cleric-scholar, dedicated to learning,
  spends all money on education
• Sergeant of Law-lawyer, uses money he makes to
  climb social ladder
• Franklin-a landowner, hosts many parties, has the
  best of food and wine
• Tradesmen (Haberdasher)-represent rising middle
  class, they formed guilds or organizations,
  controlled quality and prices of goods they made,
  had power in community

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Part 4 Pilgrims

• Cook-pretty good cook, but has gross ulcer on leg
• Skipper-a sailor or shipman, very intimidating, a
  bad boy
• Doctor-uses astrology to help cure patients, good
  at what he does, but motivated by money
• Wife of Bath-successful weaver, widowed, married
  five times, physically large, defies stereotypes
  of women
• Parson-a really good and holy priest, poor
• Plowman-the Parsons brother, a laborer, does
  dirty jobs, very holy, lives simple life
• Miller-works in grain mill, dishonest, disgusting
  appearance, a brute, likes wrestling

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Part 4 Pilgrims

• Manciple- in charge of buying food and supplies
  for an inn of the court, always ahead financially
• Reeve-manager of farm, steals from his lord
• Summoner-hired by church to order people who have
  sinned to come before the court, very ugly, bad
  breath, drunk, offers bribes to get out of going
  to court
• Pardoner-travels countryside selling pardons
  (slips of paper saying you are forgiven for
  sins), also sells holy relics and tries to
  profit from them
• Host-proposes storytelling contest for pilgrims,
  peace-keeper among pilgrims

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Part 5 Constructed Response

• Know about the church OR satire
• Which characters are part of the church?
• How is the church represented?
• What is satire?
• Which characters does Chaucer use satire to
  describe?
• What is Chaucer criticizing or attempting to
  correct with his use of satire?
• Have an opinion
• Are Chaucers characters timeless and universal?
• Be prepared with TEXTUAL EVIDENCE to support your
  responses.