Geoffrey Chaucer 1383(?)-1400

• Geoffrey Chaucer

o Bibliography

• o Bibliography
• o The Canterbury tales
• o The Parliament of Birds

Geoffrey Chaucer

• The Canterbury Tales

• http://literature11.pbworks.com/f/1255382006/1255382006/pilgrims_chaucer.jpg

Geoffrey Chaucer: 1343(?)-1400

• The exact date of Chaucer’s birth is unknown.
• He was the son of a merchant.
• Chaucer was captured in France while serving the English army during the Hundred Year’s War.
• The king, Edward III, paid a large ransom for his release.
• He married Philippa Pan, a lady-in-waiting to the queen, in 1366.

• The World As Chaucer Knew It
• http://historyofscience.com/G2I/timeline/images/tabula_rogeriana.jpg

Geoffrey Chaucer: A Man of Many Talents

• Chaucer had many careers: page in a noble house, soldier, diplomat, royal clerk.
• He began writing in his twenties.
• He wrote about people from all walks of life.
• Chaucer understood human nature.

Geoffrey Chaucer: The Poet

• Geoffrey Chaucer’s early works were based on the works of European poets.
• He wrote The Canterbury Tales later in his life.
• He completed only 24 of the 124 tales he planned.

Chaucer: The Father of English Poetry

• Geoffrey Chaucer was considered the greatest English poet in his own lifetime.
• His poems have never gone out of print.
• Geoffrey Chaucer is buried at Westminster Abbey in London, England.
• Chaucer’s tomb is in Poet’s Corner, which was named in his honor.

• Westminster Abbey
• http://traveltounitedkingdom.net/LONDON.html

Historical Background: The Origin of the Pilgrimages to Canterbury

• Thomas Becket was an archbishop who would not side with Henry II against the church.
• He was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 by Henry’s knights.
• Thomas was made a saint by the church, and Henry ordered a shrine built in his honor.

• Canterbury Cathedral
• http://www.coachhouse-canterbury.co.uk/images/visit_canterbury/canterbury_cathedral.jpg

• The Canterbury Tales

• The Canterbury Tales reveals much about the people of fourteenth century England.
• The Tales contain excellent examples of medieval literature: romances and comedies, poetry and prose.
• The Tales include religious elements as well as crude humor.

• Dorigen and Aurelius: “The Franklin’s Tale”
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Hawei%27s_Dorigen_.jpg