Transcript Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer
-Born between 1340-1343 in London
-Father was a middle-class wine
merchant
-Geoffrey became a page in the royal
household while still a teenager
-The position exposed him to the
speech, manners, and shortcomings of
high-born people of the day
Geoffrey Chaucer
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Voracious reader; Chaucer read in four
different languages
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English
Latin
French
Italian
Young Adulthood
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In his twenties, Chaucer became a court
official
Traveled on diplomatic missions—became
knowledgeable of both French and Italian
literature and culture
Life as a Writer
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Early poetry includes the Book of the
Duchess and the Romaunt of the Rose.
The last two decades of Chaucer’s life saw
his finest literary achievements
Chaucer started writing/planning The
Canterbury Tales in 1387
He never fully completed it at his death in
1400
Uncommon Honor
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Chaucer received an honor rare for a
commoner
He was buried in London’s Westminster
Abbey
This was the beginning of Westminster
Abbey’s famous Poets’ Corner, where
many other great English writers have
since been buried
The Canterbury Tales
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This is considered Chaucer’s masterpiece
for several reasons:
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It marks the beginning of a new tradition:
Chaucer was the first writer to use English in
a major literary work
It gives a picture of a cross-section of society
during the 1300s.
It is a detailed, lifelike, and engaging picture
of Medieval Life
Chaucer creates a realistic portrait of the way
particular people spoke and acted
I rehearse. . .
Their tales as told, for better or for worse,
For else I should be false to what occurred.
So if this tale had better not be heard,
Just turn the page and choose another sort;
Medieval Life
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For safety and for defense, people in the
Middle Ages formed small communities
around a central lord or master. Most
people lived on a manor, which consisted
of the castle, the church, the village, and
the surrounding farm land.
Feudal System
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The king awarded land grants or "fiefs" to
his most important nobles, his barons, and
his bishops, in return for their contribution
of soldiers for the king's armies
At the lowest echelon of society were the
peasants, also called "serfs" or "villeins."
Peasant Life
Peasant Life
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Peasants worked the land and produced the
goods that the lord and his manor needed.
They were heavily taxed and were required to
relinquish much of what they harvested.
The peasants did not even "belong to"
themselves, according to medieval law. The
lords, in close association with the church,
assumed the roles of judges in carrying out the
laws of the manor.
Religion
Religion
·The Catholic Church was the only church in
Europe during the Middle Ages
 Church leaders such as bishops and
archbishops sat on the king's council and
played leading roles in government.
 Bishops, who were often wealthy and
came from noble families, ruled over
groups of parishes called "diocese."
 Parish priests, on the other hand, came
from humbler backgrounds and often had
little education.
Pilgrimage
Pilgrimages
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Pilgrimages were an important part of
religious life in the Middle Ages.
Many people took journeys to visit holy
shrines such as the Church of St. James at
Santiago de Compostela in Spain, the
Canterbury cathedral in England, and sites
in Jerusalem and Rome.
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is a series of
stories told by 30 pilgrims as they traveled
to Canterbury.