The life and the times

Latin was the language of European

London
of Geoffrey Chaucer
1340->he born in
His family was in middle
class, with connections
in London’s high
commerce

French was the language of English

1357-> work for the court and nobility
wife of prince Lianel,
accompagning her in Middle english was the language of
trips In the houndred Years’ War common people
(England-France) he served
1359->he serve for the
both a soldier and diplomat
Houndred Years’ War;
because he speack In the same time there were
became a member of
French,Italian and Latin Black death (1348-1350),that
Royal Service
killed 30%-40% of population.
1366->Married Philippa
Roet, they have 3 or 4
children

1370-1373->he had After that there were the

diplomatic missions in Peasant’s Revolt against the
Italy and he could read King’s taxes for the war with
the works of France. They marched in
Dante,Petrarch and London and captured the
Boccaccio London tower. The Archibishop
of Canterbury and the king’s
1374->became
treasurer were killed; then the
Controller of customs in
G. Chaucer paesants returned under the
the Lodon port
control of their lord.
1387->after the death of
his wife he published
The Canterbury Tales

1400->He died and was

burried as the cleark of
king’s works

1566->he was moved in

the Poet’s area
 The prologue
The characters
The narrator begins by explaning that pilgrimges to
Canterbury were held in spring, and while he himself
was on a pilgrimage he met a group of 29 pilgrins , and
he continued his journey with them

The Yeoman
The Knight
A man of the forest, the only servant. He has a bow
A good man, he had been in 15 and arrows, an arm guard of leather and one side a
mortal battle. He is wise , his sward and a fine dagger too.
horse was good but his clothes
were those of the battle. On his chest there is St. Christopher.

Very short hair and a brown face

The Nun

Called madame Eglauntine. She

The Squire sang and spoke French, imitated
The Monk
court ways. She had a tender
The knight’s son. 20 y.o.; he were Handsome bone, a great heart. Her clothes were well
in France to fought and won horse rider and lover of made and had a rosary, on it
battles. His clothes were hunting, he didn’t worry was written “love conquers all”
embroidered. He played his flute, that hunters aren’t holy or
joust, dance and draw. Slim nose, eyes grey as glass,
that a monk should stay
small mouth soft and red
Quite tall, strong with perfect always in his monastery. He
curly hair had a fine coat and boots of
leather.

Bald, shiny with bright eyes The Clerk

From Oxford, he and his

horse were thin. He was a
philosopher and all the
money he received he spent
for book to learning He don’t
The Friar
speak a lot.
Well loved by rich people, he
gave penance easily and received The Merchant
many donations of silver. The Sergent of the Law
He gave his opinion
In the hood he had knives and pompously and was always He was a judge at court
clips for the pretty ladies. He sang trying to increase his own and with his reputation he
and play the violin; if necessary profit; he was worried about made a lot of money, but
he could extract money from the pirates.He was good at buying was moderate to spend it.
poorest. and exchanging money, in the He knew every case and
reality he has debts. judgement.
He wears clothes of quality.
Colourful clothes, hat from He had a simple style.
His name was Hubert.
Flanders and expensive boots
 The Physican
The Franklin
In medicine and surgery
there was no one like him. Very jolly, loved a little wine in the
He treated the patiens using morning. He believed that perfect
astrology, when he found the felicity was in pleasure. In his house at
problem he quickly found a all times of the day he had a large table
cure. fully prepared to entertain, important
guests. He was a warty gentleman.
He was dressed in red and
blue; he was moderated in White beard and bright red face
spending, he loved gold
more than anything else.

The Summoner

He loved to eat garlic and onions and

drank such strong red wine.

For a glass of wine, he would give a

man one of his concubines for a years.

The Wife of Bath He took advantage of his position

offering pardons in exange for money.
She was a little deaf, a good woman;
she had five husbands in her life. Bright red face covered with pimples,
The Pardoner small eyes, ugly black eyebrows and
She had been in pilgimages to thin badly cut beard
Jerusalem three times. Knew all He had come straight from
about love and its remedies. the court of Rome.

Attractive and red face He said that in his bag there

were the Virgin Mary’s veil
and there were false gems.

In one day, he corned more

money than a priest earned
in two months.

Yellow hair, fixed eyes, small

voice and no beard
 The
The Knight’s Tale is the story of Palamon and Arcite. They are captured by Theseus, the king of Thebes, and
imprisoned in a tower together. The tower has one window, which the knights spend their days looking out
of.
One day, they see Emily, the queen’s young sister, walking in her garden. Both Palamon and Arcite fall in
love with her instantly; while they fight over her at first, they soon realize there is no point in fighting, since
they’re both trapped in a tower and therefore equally unlikely ever to meet her, let alone marry her.
Several years later, however, Arcite managers to escape the tower with the help of a friend. He becomes a
page in Emily’s household, but does not confess his love to her. Meanwhile, Palamon spends several more
years in prison before escaping.
The two knights meet and fight over Emily, but the fight is broken up by Theseus, who insists that they hold
a proper tournament. Palamon and Arcite are each given one year to build an army and return to Thebes. The
tournament will be a fight to the death, and the winner of the tournament will receive Emily’s hand in
marriage.
The evening before the tournament, Palamon, Arcite, and Emily each visit one of the three shrines built into
the walls of the tournament arena. Arcite visits the shrine of the Roman god of war, Mars, where he prays to
win the tournament. Palamon visits the shrine of the Roman goddess of love, Venus, where he prays to win
Emily’s hand. Emily, meanwhile, visits the shrine of the Roman goddess of chastity, Diana. There, she prays
that Diana will allow her to remain unmarried, but she states she is willing to accept whatever Diana’s will is
for her.
The next day, the tournament begins. After much fighting, Arcite emerges as the winner of the tournament,
but he is thrown from his horse and suffers a fatal injury. On his deathbed, he announces his wish for
Palamon to marry Emily.

The
In Flanders, there were three rioters who did nothing but commit various sins all day, including drunkenness,

Pardoner
which the Pardoner preaches against at length. One night while getting drunk and playing dice in a tavern,
the three men glance outside to see a group of men carrying a corpse to its burial. They learn that the corpse
was an old man whose heart was broken in two by a secret thief called Death. The three rioters make a vow
amongst themselves to find Death and kill him.
Not far into their quest, the three men meet an old man at a turnstile and ask him why he is still alive. The
old man says he is still alive because he has not found any young men who will trade places with him, and
that although he has knocked on the earth to let him in, it won’t. One of the rioters asks, even more rudely,
where Death is, and the old man tells them they can find Death up the crooked way and underneath an oak
tree.
The three men go to the tree and find eight bushels of gold coins under it. The worst of the three argues that
the money is theirs because Fortune gave it to them, but that they can’t carry it back to town without being
branded as thieves. Therefore, he suggests they draw lots to see who runs back to town for bread and wine
while the other two guard the treasure. They draw lots, and the youngest of them is sent to town.
No sooner does he leave than the other two plot to kill the youngest on his return and split his share of the
gold between them. Meanwhile, the youngest reaches town, realizes he needs to protect himself against the
other two rioters, and buys some poison. He also buys three wine bottles. He poisons two of the wine bottles
and keeps the third for himself to drink from.
When the youngest returns, however, the other two drunkards set on him and kill him. They then sit down to
drink the wine, drink from the poisoned bottles, and die. The tale ends with a short sermon asking God to
forgive the sins of good men.
 Just then, the Pardoner “remembers” that he can issue pardons to the other pilgrims if they pay him, and he
asks them to kiss a “relic” he is carrying. The Host tells him it’s not a relic, but a dried turd painted to look
like one, which angers the Pardoner. The Knight steps in to make peace between the two men.

The Church
Pilgrims of C.T one travelling to Canterbury cathedral to 597 Pope in Rome want
visit the tomb of Thomas Becket revive Christianity in
Britain
Thomas Becket was assassinated inside the
Cathedral and his shrine become a place of
pilgrimages for more 350 years
The Franciscan Monk Augustine
arrive in Canterbury and found
the Church
After two century, to try and
He was move from the position of
improve the situation Gregory XI
chancellor to Archbishop of Canterbury Many cardinals elect a
took the papacy back to Rome,
and he fought for the Church’s rights rival pope, who
after 70 years in Avignon
against the king. Some knights against returned in Avignon:
kill him because he made the king very there where two pope.
hungry This causing the papal
scism

The autor shows the corruption of the There is a hidden message around the tavern-
Clergy through characters their keeper, The Host, wich could suggest that he
interests in food wine etc. one in represents the figure of Christ:
stritch contrast to Caucher’s
 Is the only who is not physically
description of the ideal Parson
described
 Welcomes then pilgrims and offers them
food and wine
 He appears in the beginning middle and
end of the tales
In cauchers time pilgrimages were very
common. It was similar a modern
holiday the oldest pilgrim route in
Europe is the via Francigena from Rome
to Canterbury. In Mediaval was the
most important pilgrim route, It takes 4
months to walk along so many people
prefer walk a short part
The Nun’s
A poor, elderly widow lives a simple life in a cottage with her two daughters. Her few possessions include
three sows, three cows, a sheep, and some chickens. One chicken, her rooster, is named Chanticleer, which
in French means “sings clearly.” True to his name, Chanticleer’s “cock-a-doodle-doo” makes him the master
of all roosters. He crows the hour more accurately than any church clock. His crest is redder than fine coral,
his beak is black as jet, his nails whiter than lilies, and his feathers shine like burnished gold.
Understandably, such an attractive cock would have to be the Don Juan of the barnyard. Chanticleer has
many hen-wives, but he loves most truly a hen named Pertelote. She is as lovely as Chanticleer is
magnificent.
As Chanticleer, Pertelote, and all of Chanticleer’s ancillary hen-wives are roosting one night, Chanticleer has
a terrible nightmare about an orange houndlike beast who threatens to kill him while he is in the yard.
Fearless Pertelote berates him for letting a dream get the better of him. She believes the dream to be the
result of some physical malady, and she promises him that she will find some purgative herbs. She urges him
once more not to dread something as fleeting and illusory as a dream. In order to convince her that his dream
was important, he tells the stories of men who dreamed of murder and then discovered it. His point in telling
these stories is to prove to Pertelote that “Mordre will out” (3052)—murder will reveal itself—even and
especially in dreams. Chanticleer cites textual examples of famous dream interpretations to further support
his thesis that dreams are portentous. He then praises Pertelote’s beauty and grace, and the aroused hero and
heroine make love in barnyard fashion: “He fethered Pertelote twenty tyme, / And trad hire eke as ofte, er it
was pryme [he clasped Pertelote with his wings twenty times, and copulated with her as often, before it was
6 a.m.” (3177–3178).
One day in May, Chanticleer has just declared his perfect happiness when a wave of sadness passes over
him. That very night, a hungry fox stalks Chanticleer and his wives, watching their every move. The next
day, Chanticleer notices the fox while watching a butterfly, and the fox confronts him with dissimulating
courtesy, telling the rooster not to be afraid. Chanticleer relishes the fox’s flattery of his singing. He beats his
wings with pride, stands on his toes, stretches his neck, closes his eyes, and crows loudly. The fox reaches
out and grabs Chanticleer by the throat, and then slinks away with him back toward the woods. No one is
around to witness what has happened. Once Pertelote finds out what has happened, she burns her feathers
with grief, and a great wail arises from the henhouse.
The widow and her daughters hear the screeching and spy the fox running away with the rooster. The dogs
follow, and pretty soon the whole barnyard joins in the hullabaloo. Chanticleer very cleverly suggests that
the fox turn and boast to his pursuers. The fox opens his mouth to do so, and Chanticleer flies out of the
fox’s mouth and into a high tree. The fox tries to flatter the bird into coming down, but Chanticleer has
learned his lesson. He tells the fox that flattery will work for him no more. The moral of the story, concludes
the Nun’s Priest, is never to trust a flatterer.

The wife of
In the days of King Arthur, the Wife of Bath begins, the isle of Britain was full of fairies and elves. Now,
those creatures are gone because their spots have been taken by the friars and other mendicants that seem to
fill every nook and cranny of the isle. And though the friars rape women, just as the incubi did in the days of
the fairies, the friars only cause women dishonor the nightmares always got them pregnant.
In Arthur’s court, however, a young, lusty knight comes across a beautiful young maiden one day. Overcome
by lust and his sense of his own power, he rapes her. The court is scandalized by the crime and decrees that
the knight should be put to death by decapitation. However, Arthur’s queen and other ladies of the court
intercede on his behalf and ask the king to give him one chance to save his own life. Arthur, wisely obedient
to wifely counsel, grants their request. The queen presents the knight with the following challenge: if, within
one year, he can discover what women want most in the world and report his findings back to the court, he
will keep his life. If he cannot find the answer to the queen’s question, or if his answer is wrong, he will lose
his head.
The knight sets forth in sorrow. He roams throughout the country, posing the question to every woman he
meets. To the knight’s dismay, nearly every one of them answers differently. Some claim that women love
money best, some honor, some jolliness, some looks, some sex, some remarriage, some flattery, and some
say that women most want to be free to do as they wish. Finally, says the Wife, some say that women most
want to be considered discreet and secretive, although she argues that such an answer is clearly untrue, since
no woman can keep a secret. As proof, she retells Ovid’s story of Midas. Midas had two ass’s ears growing
under his hair, which he concealed from everybody except his wife, whom he begged not to disclose his
secret. She swore she would not, but the secret burned so much inside her that she ran down to a marsh and
whispered her husband’s secret to the water. The Wife then says that if her listeners would like to hear how
the tale ends, they should read Ovid.
She returns to her story of the knight. When his day of judgment draws near, the knight sorrowfully heads for
home. As he rides near a forest, he sees a large group of women dancing and decides to approach them to ask
his question. But as he approaches, the group vanishes, and all he can see is an ugly old woman. The woman
asks if she can be of help, and the knight explains his predicament and promises to reward her if she can help
him. The woman tells the knight that he must pledge himself to her in return for her help, and the knight,
having no options left, gladly consents. She then guarantees that his life will be saved.
The knight and the old woman travel together to the court, where, in front of a large audience, the knight tells
the queen the answer with which the old woman supplied him: what women most desire is to be in charge of
their husbands and lovers. The women agree resoundingly that this is the answer, and the queen spares the
knight’s life. The old hag comes forth and publicly asks the knight to marry her. The knight cries out in
horror. He begs her to take his material possessions rather than his body, but she refuses to yield, and in the
end he is forced to consent. The two are married in a small, private wedding and go to bed together the same
night. Throughout the entire ordeal, the knight remains miserable.
While in bed, the loathsome hag asks the knight why he is so sad. He replies that he could hardly bear the
shame of having such an ugly, lowborn wife. She does not take offense at the insult, but calmly asks him
whether real “gentillesse,” or noble character, can be hereditary (1109). There have been sons of noble
fathers, she argues, who were shameful and villainous, though they shared the same blood. Her family may
be poor, but real poverty lies in covetousness, and real riches lie in having little and wanting nothing. She
offers the knight a choice: either he can have her be ugly but loyal and good, or he can have her young and
fair but also coquettish and unfaithful. The knight ponders in silence. Finally, he replies that he would rather
trust her judgment, and he asks her to choose whatever she thinks best. Because the knight’s answer gave the
woman what she most desired, the authority to choose for herself, she becomes both beautiful and good. The
two have a long, happy marriage, and the woman becomes completely obedient to her husband. The Wife of
Bath concludes with a plea that Jesus Christ send all women husbands who are young, meek, and fresh in
bed, and the grace to outlive their husbands.

The
A marquis named Walter lives a life of leisure in Salucia, beloved by his nobles and the people he rules. One
day, however, his nobles come to him with a request: they want him to marry and produce an heir. Although
Walter laments the loss of his freedom, he agrees to their request on the condition that he be able to choose
whomever he wishes. No matter whom he picks, he says, his nobles must honor her without complaint. They
agree, and Walter sets the date for his wedding.
As the date approaches, Walter's eye falls on a virtuous and beautiful young woman named Grisilde who
lives in poverty with her father, Janicula. Walter decides that he will marry her, and he orders his staff to
prepare for his bride. On the day of the wedding, he goes with his retinue to Janicula's house. He tells
Janicula and Grisilde that he wants to marry her. First, however, Grisilde must promise to yield to Walter's
authority in everything. She does so, marries Walter, and takes up a life of luxury in the palace, beloved by
Walter's nobles and the people.
A little while after Grisilde has borne him a daughter, Walter decides to test Grisilde's loyalty. He tells her
that since the birth of his daughter, his people have been complaining about how poor Grisilde is. He
proposes to solve the problem by killing his daughter, because that is totally the logical thing to do. Grisilde
responds only that Walter's will is hers, and she allows Walter's Sergeant to take the child from her. Walter
secretly sends the child to his sister in Bologna for fostering. He seems satisfied with Grisilde's obedience.
Four years pass, and Grisilde bears Walter a son. Again, Walter decides to test her loyalty and obedience. He
tells her that his people are again upset, this time because the blood of a poor family will rule them after his
death. He again proposes to kill his child, and again Grisilde consents to the plan without complaint,
allowing the Sergeant to take the child away to what she thinks is his death. This child, too, is secretly
fostering in Bologna.
Rumors begin to spread throughout Salucia that Walter has cruelly murdered his own children. To test
Grisilde again, Walter tells her that this discontent is the result of his people's unhappiness with her low-class
lineage. He produces a counterfeit bull from the Pope that appears to give him permission to dismiss Grisilde
and take a new wife. Grisilde agrees to Walter's order that she return to her father without protest, asking
only for a shift to wear home as recompense for the virginity she gave him.
Meanwhile, Walter has sent for his children in Bologna. He makes it widely known that he intends to marry
the maiden who's on her way to Salucia. On the day the children arrive, Walter sends for Grisilde. He tells
her that he wishes her to make the palace ready for his new wife, and Grisilde readily agrees. When the
children arrive, Walter asks Grisilde how she likes his new wife. Grisilde answers that she likes his wife very
much, but she begs Walter not to torment the girl as he tormented her, for she is noble-born and could not
withstand such suffering.
With this answer, Grisilde convinces Walter of her devotion and obedience to him. Walter reveals to Grisilde
that these are actually her children. So shocked is Grisilde that she faints several times, all the while
clutching the children to her, before she can be stripped and dressed in fancy clothing and re-instated as
Walter's wife. Walter and Grisilde live happily ever after, their daughter and son marrying well,
prosperously, and free of the torments their mother suffered.
The Clerk concludes the story by claiming that he does not mean for women to follow Grisilde's example;
instead, his tale is an allegory about the proper relationship of humankind to God. He also mentions that it's
difficult to find women of Grisilde's quality nowadays. Finally, in anticipation of the Wife of Bath's reaction
to his tale, he sings a song in which he counsels women not to obey their husbands, but to strive to get
mastery over them by any means possible.

The Italian
Between 1370 and 1373 Chaucer was sent on
missions to Italy. There he read works of Dante,
meet Boccaccio and Petrarch.

THE FRAME STORY

LANGUAGE The “frame” is a pilgrimage similar
to Dante’s Pilgrimages through
In the same way of Italian
Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Each
poets, Chaucer chose to write
character to tell four tales, he
in a language that was
probably inspired by Boccaccio’s
accessible to everyone:
Decameron. Heaven he never
Middle English
finished the work and instead of
120 tales he only wrote 24 of them
THE DREAM VISION

The dream visioni s a message or a wish

that the narrator not always can STORIES
communicate in the context of a story.
In this period was not unusual for authors to take
That allowed the authors to use stories from the past and rewrite or elaborate
metaphors and allegories. Chaucer use it them for example:
in the Book of the Duchess
 The Clerck of Oxford’s tale -> Petrarch
 The Kinight’s Tale-> Teslida

RHYME COURTLY LOVE

The Italian poets used 11-syllabe lines and Probably originated in Aquitaine in France, was
Chaucer probably copied this adding popular in The English court between the 13th and 15th
pauses and to adapt to English syllables. centuries. It was necessary to look for romance
He also created the iambic pentameter, it outside marriage, but also necessary to strictly
become the most common metre in observe the rule of Chasity and fidelity.
England.