THE CANTERBURY TALES

XIV-XV centuries (middle Ages)

Transformations in society:

1. Economy
2. Religious
3. Philosophical transformation
4. Political crisis

1. Economy: based on agriculture, begins to change with the 14th century

Why?

1.1.Social crisis:- in the class division of the classes

- the slowest process, throughout time the social division (aristocracy

who live with privileges, the clergy) 
this begins to be questioned

-Peasant revolution (revoluciones campesinas)

1.2. Demographic crisis: provoked by population, wars, starvation (hambre), poverty,

plague (la peste)

1.3. Emergence (aparición) of middle class/bourgeoisie:

- Will replace the old aristocracy

-Most revolutionary event of his period

-Professors, lawyers, doctorsbecame a class, they make a salary; they are between
aristocracy and working classes

-They become a class by the money, they earn and because the family you born

-Class is based on economic criteria

2. Religion NOT church:

-Crisis in the religionChristian theology, the vision of suffering for gaining a place to
heaven (Calvinistic)

Is criticized, people don´t accept it

-Philosophers and people look for a more forgiven religion

-Theologians try to find rational bases for Christianism, a common ground between
religion and science

-Age of mathematics, how to explain the world, not only religiously but also scientifically
-The religious explanations is no contradictory with science

-Religion: loses influence on the people

-Science is not there to refute religious explanations

-God created the worldit is assumed as true

3. Philosophical change: Philosophy as an independent discipline, separated from

Theology
Why?

Rationalism ¨Man is the measure of all things¨ (El hombre es la medida de

todas las cosas)

-Man without religion using their intellect, can study, explain, and understand
everything that
happens in the word

-Philosophers look for an explanation for the world

-We can study using our ability to reason in order to explain things related to human
nature, not because God said that

-Substitute fate by reason, common sense

-Religious is replaced by more rational disciplines: theology and philosophy, this

doesn’t imply to be Christian, a believer

-You study the Bible and explain the meaning

4. Political crisis: political changeEmergence of political nationalism

-Try to find what is unique about each country

-Political culture and literary culture

-Latin is considered a more prestigious language; people look for the sophistication in
their own language

-Nationalism means two things:

-They defend their tradition and their own language

-Countries try to fight for the prestige of their language and literature; there is a rivalry
between countries, competition between countries

-Promotion of English literature and competition

XIV-XV Transition

DESACRALIZATION of literature (important)

Christianity is very important, for 6 centuries literature based basically in the

Christianity, religion. Many times literature was instrument of intention of religion, to
convert, to transform English society (literature in these century wasn’t used in artistic
or aesthetic proposes). In the text there is one object that it isn’t literary.

Between the XIV-XV this situation changes because appear people who write for the
pleasure of writing (for these writers politic, religion is external from literature).

They do DESACRALIZATION what means separating literature and religion but it is not
mean that religion is not important, it only separate each other.

In this book Chaucer makes fun of the church not of the Christianity. Before that it was
basically forbidden uses of literature for criticize. In that time Chaucer was criticized.
One of the most scandalous stories/plays was the Dr. Faustus (the story about the man
who sold his soul to Devil for knowledge, finally he is repentant but it was too late).

XIV-XV FREEDOM

It is a moment when they could create with more freedom. “The Canterbury tales” was
impossible write only one or two centuries before. It is also period of nationalism.

DESACRALIZATION

Topics: 1) in this period a number of topics increase; 2) social criticism is one of new
topics which appear in “The Canterbury tales”; 3) other important topic is “love” not for
God, but for woman physical love.

Genres: new forms of writing, like: tales, travel writings…

Chaucer was defending the use of English in Literature.

It is a period of transformation and creation, also “experimentation” with new forms of

writings.

G Chaucer not finished his “C.T”, but it was originally conserved; it seems to thousand
and one night.

Although people like Chaucer defined the value of English; there is a great
interconnection between different countries (through literature).
In “The Canterbury tales” we have a traditional short tales, written in national language,
adapted to the English language; classical model from Arabic language to English. It is
mean that you can defend your language but also you can use or defend other
language.

IRONY- is a basic element of “The C.T.”

IRONY CHAUCERIAN

Chaucer never values/ critic/ judge these characters; he is only say what they do; his
description and it is objective, he didn’t say his opinion about them; so we (a readers)
have to thought and judge these characters.

The general prologue is about description of middle class. The prologue opens
describing the entire book. These characters met in the town, and they go to the
Canterbury to tell two stories each other.

According to the beginning it is spring time, is very symbolic because it when nature
born it self.

There are 29 characters that meet in the place called the TABARD. Chaucer is one of
these characters; he is going to describe us these people.

Nº3- he is going to describe these people in there SORT and CONDITION.

SORT: means physical description.

CONDITIONS: means social description.

He begins describe these 29 characters; basically we have two classes of characters.

On the hand, religion characters, belonged to the church. On the other hand, people
who aren’t religion characters.

He is more objective with other characters and more ironic with people who belong to
the church; especially critical and ironic with MONK FRIAR.

The two first characters are very important and symbolic; they are KNIGTS the father
and son. He has very clear intention with these two characters because he wants
establish the difference between the past and the present. The older is someone who
likes his “job” to fight, this is the man who has travelled, who fight for the Christian land.
The son is 20 years old and he is the opposite, he is representing the new version. He
is physically powerful; he is clothing with flowers and not wear a typical clothe of
knights. He also writes, dances, and draws… things that we aren’t associated with
traditional knights.

The 1st knight is the only one who represents the past, others represent present.

The 3rd character YEOMAN is a new social class. Is a man who has possession, but
not because he belongs to the aristocracy, possession like territory. It is something that
was impossible 2 centuries before.

Is someone who is very well dress; someone who likes show what he has BOW (arco)
is a symbol of power of YEOMAN.

These 3 characters in which Chaucer spend many lines to describe them, because
they are very important for him and for society…

NUN, MONK, FRIAR these characters appear very soon in the story. Chaucer’s irony
increases with each one of them; because each one of them is different. Their position
in the hierarchy, they suppose to be very poor; for example Friar suppose to lives of the
charity of the other.

The nun: is the character with whom Chaucer treats in the best way; he is more
sympathetic with her. This is a woman who has travelled, she is educated. The only
irony that Chaucer said about her is that she was so charity that if she saw a dead
mouse she would cry.

The monk: is one of characters with which Chaucer isn’t so neutral; to be a monk
means to be poor, to not have possession. But this one has horses, stable, he is a
modern monk, he is enjoy haunting even thought only the fact, s a “forbidden” to the
monks, but he does not care it. He does not pay attention of doctrine; he is a person
who stays in church because of material things, he not shows respect of the church
and institution. (He eats and drinks very well).

The friar: “Beginning Friar” someone who is very poor, he couldn’t posses anything.
This one more intelligent, he convince (flattering) other people. He had good
relationship with people who had territory and with rich woman. Friar can’t have
relationship with rich people; he must not have anything and lives in poor. According to
this Friar, confessions are fine but pay and confession is better. Friar supposes to not
get money for anything, is a crime. He spends more time in the taverns that with
people; takes care of poor people… This is character one of the most separated from
what we thing and how really he should be.
27.04.2012

The second part of the general prologue; there are (others) four important characters:

SCHOLAR (professor)

FRANKLIN (yeoman)

DOCTOR (medic)

WIFE OF BATH (female character)

With these four characters, Chaucer is not particularly humorous/ ironic with exception
of Doctor.

They are strake us especially by the class to which they belongs to, but they not
intended to criticism or make fun. The image that we have of them, it is not necessary
mean criticize of their class.

SHOLAR is a character that provokes sympathy (a pity), his situation provokes a pity.

It is a man physically appears hungry, very poor. The only possession of this man is his
books; this man is who has OLECORUM (Latin word), what means a man of silence,
philosophy, logic… He physically appears very poor, weak, appears to belong to the
poor class, who cares of knowledge; society isn’t important to people like a
SCHOLAR.

The FRIAR should be poor and SCHOLAR should be rich but in this story is all
opposite. It is irony by contract between characters (for example: FRIAR and
SCHOLAR).

FRANKLIN: yeoman, he is interesting in the same way/things such as a second knight

(the son), because he is very original character; he represents new way of thinking in
XIV-XV symbolise EPICUREAN vision of life (it means enjoying of life) don’t be worried
about the past, enjoy only the present- “CARPE DIEM”. Epicurean vision many times
was seen like the opposite to religion.

SENSUALITY means the material pleasure, enjoy the every day pleasure, very
important eat and drink. That isn’t mean that is against religion, it only establish the
preference about present and enjoying.

DOCTOR: again an ironic one (like MONK and FRIAR), he is ironic in his self, in things
what he does. He has the fame like the BEST DOCTOR; he looks the stars to help
people, the irony is that man looks suppositious because he was also astrology. He
cures patients with talismans, he wasn’t racial doctor, and he looks more like magic.
This man who has read the most important medical books, and he has medical
education and he still used other types of cures, the opposite. There isn’t intention of
being critical with medicine, it is particularly describes this doctor (with talismans,
astrology as medical instrument).

WIFE OF BATH: the idea of woman, that not represent social class; only a woman with
new image, she is opposite of the medieval vision of woman; medieval vision of woman
was only for domestic life, relationship, family… Chaucer refers to her like business
woman, someone who has money, her ability to make clothe, of very good quality
makes her very respectable; married 5 times by the church, she also talks about her
loves from her young ages; she is not typical image of woman for these centuries, the
social norm was that the woman who loose his husband she stays for all life like widow.
The character break the social convention, this character the most SUBVERSIVE
character of the general prologue, offering a new vision, less obscure about the
woman; it is ideal represents of the woman that not have in that time (freedom,
progress…)

He said that he only describe these characters, but there are critical elements, irony the
characters and to the social class.

At least in the general prologue he is put elements that criticize these people. He
represents his satisfaction of the society.