Transcript Chaucer Background Revised

Geoffrey Chaucer
By Geoffrey Chaucer
Feudalism: A System of
Allegiance
• Powerful and independent aristocrats ruled
local areas by a system called feudalism.
• Feudalism was an economic, social and
military system in which vassals, or tenants,
pledged their loyalty to a lord, exchanging
work on his land, or service in his military in
return for his protection.
The Late Middle Ages
• The late Middle ages, from 1300 to 1500, was a time of
upheaval that dealt severe blows to the feudal system
and the Church.
• The Crusades (1096-1270) were attempts to regain the
Holy Land from the Muslims had cost many European
lives, but had also opened trade routes to the East.
• These routes allowed an influx of new goods and ideas
that enhanced the financial status or the merchant class
and accelerated the development of towns and cities.
The Late Middle Ages
• Some cities founded universities that
were opened for the new middle
class.
• A dramatic climate change in the
1300’s and the Black Death
(bubonic plague) wiped out entire
European villages. The few
remaining serfs demanded more
freedoms.
• The demanding serfs and the advent
of gunpowder led to the collapse of
feudalism.
The Late Middle Ages
• The power of the Church was also being
challenged by charges of corruption and internal
arguments, or schisms.
• As more people learned to read, the Church’s role
as biblical interpreter was undermined.
• As more people could read, literature appeared in
the vernacular and was therefore more accessible
by the population.
• The advent of the printing press contributed to
mass increases in literate populations.
The Late Middle Ages
• The use of
vernacular in works
such as Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales
established
vernacular as
acceptable.
Dante’s Inferno
Monarch of Importance: Henry II
• Comes to power in 1154
• Church is quite powerful at this time and
Henry doesn’t like it!
• Appoints his “friend” Thomas Becket as the
Archbishop of Canterbury Cathedral
expecting him to follow royal policy rather
than Church policy.
Thomas Becket--Murder Most
Foul!
• Thomas Becket goes
• Four Knights, wishing
against Henry II’s
to impress the king
wishes and states that
ride out to Canterbury
he will only answer to
Cathedral and murder
the Pope!
Thomas Becket on the
• In a fit of rage, Henry
steps of the cathedral!
openly states that he
wished someone would
rid him of the
annoying priest!
The Effects of the Murder
• Henry II looks pretty bad right now.
• Begins to make up for this deed by making a
pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral where he
fasts and prays at a shrine to Thomas Becket
• Thomas Becket becomes a martyr for the
church and a saint as well.
Canterbury Cathedral
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More Important Monarchs: The Plantagenets
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Execution of people was rampant
disemboweling and decapitation the
favorite types.
The spread of Bubonic plague 13471351 resulted in the Black Death
causing a loss of over a 3rd of England's
population.
100 years war between England and
France.
Peasants revolt due to poll tax in 1381
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Edward I-helped to spread the influence
and power of the Model Parliament
Edward II- was deposed and executed
by his wife and Roger Mortimer
Edward III- 100 yrs war with France
which led to the War of the Roses.
Feuding over the crown by two families
Lancastrian and the Yorkist.
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Geoffrey Chaucer
• Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400)
• Chaucer’s various experiences throughout his life helped to pave the way for the
writing of The Canterbury Tale
• began writing as a poet in his twenties, his earliest works being translations of
other European poets.
• The Canterbury Tales, arguably his most famous work, was believed to be
written as an inspiration from his pilgrimage to Canterbury, as he was able to
observe a diverse group of people, including
• Only 24 out of 120 stories were told, all composed of various genres of
medieval literature: ballads, romances, allegories, and moral tales.
• deemed “The Father of English Poetry” as he was recognized as the greatest
English poet of his time
• His cause of death is not quite known, as his tomb was built over one-hundred
years following his death and there is little historical record to affirm any distinct
cause. He was the first of many authors to be buried in the Poet’s Corner in
Westminster Abbey.
Chaucer’s Style
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• Imagery and Figurative Language: uses sparse but vivid
imagery and figurative language to describe his
characters’ physical appearance.
• Irony: Chaucer, an ironist, writes with tongue in cheek,
emphasizing his characters’ faults but also calling
attention to their essential humanity.
• Characterization: Chaucer develops his characters by
describing their physical appearance, making direct
statements about them, and allowing them to express
their personalities through the stories they tell.
The Frame Tale
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• The Canterbury Tales is
one of the most famous
examples of the frame
story.
• The plot of the frame
involves pilgrims on a
pilgrimage who are
challenged to compete in
telling the best tale.
• Chaucer reveals the
pilgrim’s personality
through their interactions
between the tales and
through the tales they tell.
The Pilgrimage from Southwark
to Canterbury
• 59.4 miles away.
• It would have taken at least 4 days to travel this distance back for
most people, but Chaucer has his pilgrims do it in 1 day.
• Riding on horseback, they left Southwark in the morning and
arrived in Canterbury as the sun was setting.
• For Medieval men, a pilgrimage was a symbolic journey that
represented the course of human life, from one's home on earth
to one's true home.
The Tabard Inn
• The Tabard was an inn
established in 1307 by abbot of
Hyde, the head of a Benedictine
Monastery just outside of
England.
• It was established to provide a
hostile for him when he traveled
to England and to accommodate
all of the pilgrims heading to
England.
• These pilgrims traveled to
England to see the Shrine of
Thomas Beckett in Canterbury
Cathedral.
• The Tabard was located on the
East Side of Borough High
street in Southwark, an area on
the east- side of London.
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Chaucer’s England
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• Chaucer’s pilgrims would have gratefully
welcomed spring and traveled to thank St.
Thomas a Beckett for rescuing them from
sickness.Winter in the 14th-century was
dark, cold, and brutal.
• The earth’s climate was going through a
long, cold period known as “the Little Ice
Age.”
• The Black Death was a recent memory
and a constant worry.
• Misery=food shortages, primitive
medicine, Hundred Year’s War with
France, and the Peasant’s Revolt.
• The pilgrims had good cause to hope that
their prayers to St. Thomas would be
heard and answered.
The Prologue
• In “The Prologue” of The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer
introduces the 29 “sundry folk” who will spend the night at
The Tabard Inn telling their tales ---24 in all.
• The pilgrims are made up of all 3 divisions of class in
medieval society:
-Feudal class
-The Church
-Merchant class
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A Brief Chronology of the Catholic Church/The
Church of England/Canterbury Cathedral
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Christ’s Apostles led by Paul create a Reform Movement known as Christianity.
70 A.D. – Fall of Jerusalem – Rise of Christianity as the dominant religion
313 – Roman Empire recognized Pauline Christianity as a valid religion and for the next
1,000 years, Roman Catholics were the only people recognized as Christians.
1054 – Formal split between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churchs
597 – Pope Gregory, the Great sent Augustine to England to convert the English to
Christianity. – Established Canterbury Cathedral, the seat of English Christianity and
oldest surviving Cathedral today; though it now falls under the auspices of the Church of
England.
1517 – Martin Luther – 95 Theses – Protests against corruption of Roman Catholic
Church (e.g. indulgences) – Established the Lutheran denomination of Christianity
1530 – John Calvin – Broke with the Catholic Church and established Calvinism.
1534 – Henry VIII – Breaks with papal power and declared himself supreme head of the
Church of England.
The Narrator of The Prologue to
The Canterbury Tales
• The Narrator - The narrator makes it quite clear that he is
also a character in his book. Although he is called Chaucer,
we should be wary of accepting his words and opinions as
Chaucer’s own.
• He is an invention known as Chaucer, the pilgrim
• He is a first-person narrator who appears to be taken in by
the deceptive characters, yet he offers insights a limited
narrator would not have. His point of view limits readers’
knowledge while providing insights that the characters
themselves would not want known.
Satire
• Satire is primarily a literary genre or form.
• In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings
are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of
shaming individuals, and society itself, into
improvement. Although satire is usually meant to
be funny, its greater purpose is constructive social
criticism, using wit as a weapon.
• A common feature of satire is strong irony or
sarcasm.