1. Chaucer and Canterbury
An Introduction to The Canterbury Tales
Prepared by Professor Garry Walton
06/05/12
Meredith College
waltong@meredith.edu
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2. Beginnings
If English 201 really began at the beginning
of literature created in England, we would
start with works in Latin or Old English,
rather than with the Middle English of
Geoffrey Chaucer.
For England in general and Canterbury in
particular had important settlements by the
Romans and the Saxons long before Chaucer
created The Canterbury Tales in Middle
English toward the end of the Middle Ages.
06/05/12
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3. Roman Canterbury
The Roman city of
Durovernaum arose at
the ford of the Stour
River. The chief
feature of this walled
city was the largest
amphitheatre in
Roman Britain,
remains of which
survive today.
06/05/12
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4. Early Medieval Canterbury
After its period
of Roman rule,
Canterbury
remained an
important town.
It was the
Saxon capital
when St.
Augustine
arrived from
Rome to found a
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monastery and
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cathedral in 597.
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5. Medieval Canterbury
Like many
medieval
cities,
Canterbury
was walled. It
was entered
via narrow
roads which
passed
through gated
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openings in its
city walls.
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6. Canterbury Cathedral
06/05/12
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7. Church at Faversham
For pilgrims used to
worshipping at local
parish churches the
size of this one at
Faversham, or even
smaller, the grand
cathedral at Canterbury
must have seemed
tremendously
impressive, inspiring,
and ornate.
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8. Canterbury Cathedral
This early
map of the
city shows
the
cathedral’s
geographical
dominance in
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the town.
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9. Canterbury Cathedral
This
painting
shows even
better how
the cathedral
dominated
Canterbury
in Chaucer’s
06/05/12 lifetime.
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10. Canterbury Cathedral
A hundred years
after Chaucer’s
death the towers
and porch depicted
here were built.
This is the
southwest
entrance, the main
doorway into the
cathedral.
06/05/12
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11. Canterbury Cathedral
Like many medieval cathedrals, Canterbury was
designed in the form of a cross (as seen from
heaven) and typically entered from the foot of
06/05/12 the cross (the bottom left of the picture).
Meredith College
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12. The holy blissful martyr
Thousands of pilgrims came to Canterbury Cathedral
each year to visit the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket.
Becket, a political ally of Henry 2 in the king’s fight with
the church, was named head of the Church of England
after serving as Henry’s Chancellor. But the newly
ordained Archbishop of Canterbury surprised and
infuriated his king by becoming a staunch proponent of
the church. After years of quarreling with Henry, Becket
returned to Canterbury in 1170 after six years of exile,
only to be murdered within his own cathedral by four
knights responding to King Henry’s angry demand,
06/05/12 “Who will rid me of this low-born priest?”
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13. Shrine to the martyr
Inside the
cathedral is
the present
shrine to St.
Thomas a
Becket,
murdered at
the suggestion
of his former
ally King
Henry 2 in
06/05/12
1170.
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14. Cloister path to Becket shrine
At the end
of this long
cloister is
the entrance
through
which
Becket
would have
passed on
his way to
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martyrdom.
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15. The Crypt
Becket’s tomb
in the crypt
under the main
cathedral
became a shrine
almost from the
moment of his
death in 1170
until 1220,
when it was
relocated.
06/05/12
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16. Trinity Chapel
In 1220 the shrine to
St. Thomas was
moved to the main
level of the
cathedral, in Trinity
Chapel, at the far
end of the enormous
and beautiful span
of the cathedral.
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17. Trinity Chapel
There it continued to
draw thousands of
pilgrims each year
until its destruction
in 1538, when King
Henry 8 allowed the
plundering of
England’s cathedrals
and monasteries.
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18. Pilgrim steps
Generations of
pilgrim feet have
worn down the
stone steps
leading up from
the main floor of
the cathedral to
the chapel where
the Becket shrine
was located.
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19. Becket in stained glass
Early stained
glass
windows in
Canterbury
Cathedral,
like this one,
depict St.
Thomas.
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20. St. Thomas heals
This window
in Canterbury
Cathedral
depicts one of
the miracles
attributed to
St. Thomas,
as he appears
to a leper and
heals him.
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21. Becket memorialized in
cathedral window
Becket’s life story
is told in a wall of
stained glass
windows -- Becket
and King Henry 2
are momentarily
reconciled (top);
Becket prays as the
king’s men attack
(bottom); a pilgrim
visits the shrine
06/05/12
after Thomas’
death (middle).
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22. Chaucer’s memorial to Becket
Millions of people who have never been to
Canterbury nevertheless know about its
shrine to St. Thomas because of Geoffrey
Chaucer, who in the late 14th century
crafted a collection of tales supposedly told
by a “company of sundry folk” on
pilgrimage to England’s most famous holy
site. Generations of scribes recopied and
even illustrated this not entirely holy
manuscript, keeping it alive until the
printing press and the Internet made it
06/05/12
easier and cheaper to share.
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23. The Ellesmere manuscript
s Probably the most
famous copy of The
Canterbury Tales is
contained in the 464-
page Ellesmere
manuscript -- notable
in part because of its
beautiful marginal
illustrations completed
around 1410 by an
06/05/12 unknown artist.
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24. Early portrait of Chaucer
s This tinted woodcut
is based on an
illustration in the
margin of the
famous Ellesmere
copy of The
Canterbury Tales.
Early scribes not
only hand-copied
the Tales but
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illustrated them.
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25. The Knight
Chaucer begins the
introduction of
pilgrims in The
Canterbury Tales
with the highest
ranking traveler, the
Knight. Note his
ramrod posture on his
sturdy mount, his
medals, his tarnished
06/05/12
chain-mail armor.
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26. The Squire
s The Squire, son of
the Knight, has
neither his horse nor
himself under tight
control. Compare
his clothing and face
to his father’s. Note
especially the curly
hair and fancy
embroidered gown
06/05/12
of this young lover.
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27. The Yeoman
A medieval yeoman was a
freeholder -- an
independent farmer who
owned a bit of land. The
term also means an
attendant or retainer to a
wealthy or powerful lord.
The yeoman in Chaucer’s
Tales serves the knight as
a forester: note his tanned
complexion, wardrobe all
06/05/12 in green, and his care for
his bow, arrows, and
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28. The Prioress
Dainty, elegant
Madame Eglantine
seems more like a
medieval lady than a
nun. As head of a
nunnery she is
described less in
moral than in courtly
terms, as beautiful,
well mannered, tender
hearted, and well
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accessorized with rich
religious jewelry.
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29. The Second Nun
The General Prologue
says almost nothing
about those
accompanying the
Prioress. In keeping
with her rank and
reputation, the
Prioress does not
travel alone but with
another nun, her
06/05/12 “chaplain” or
secretarial assistant.
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30. The Nun’s Priest
Along with the second
nun, the Prioress is said to
have been accompanied by
three priests. But only one
appears in the remainder
of The Canterbury Tales.
Though we learn nothing
of him from the general
prologue, he tells a most
interesting tale that may
06/05/12
reveal his attitude toward
the Prioress.
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31. The Monk
Like the Prioress, the Monk is
highly placed in his order --
ready to take over as the
abbot. He is “a manly man”
who spends little time cooped
up in the monastery. He loves
to ride out to take care of the
monastic lands -- and also to
hunt, as shown by his fat belly
and fur-trimmed sleeves. His
worship music is not the bells
06/05/12 of the monastic chapel, but his
horse’s jangling bridle .
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32. The Friar
Brother Huberd is
licensed to beg for
donations for the poor
in a particular area.
But he prefers
ministering to young
women, rich
landowners, and
tavernkeepers rather
than to the poor or
sick. He sings well
06/05/12
and dresses very well
for a man of his
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33. The Merchant
With his forked
beard and secretive
ways, as well as his
profession of
profiting by trade
and money-
changing, this
Merchant fits the
medieval
stereotype of a
06/05/12 middle-class Jew.
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34. The Clerk
The Oxford clerk is as lean
as his swaybacked horse.
He does not seek to profit
from his vast learning and
has no interest in fine
clothes or music. All his
money goes for books,
each of which was
handcopied and might cost
about as much as a small
06/05/12
house. He is quiet,
thoughtful, philosophical.
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35. The Sergeant of Laws
This wealthy pilgrim is not
only a lawyer but a high-
ranking justice or judge.
As his garb reveals, he is
sometimes paid in rich
robes, though he is careful
not to appear too flashy or
too idle. Then as now, a
lawyer could sometimes
seem busier than he really
was. This pilgrim could
06/05/12
recite relevant cases from
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memory.
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36. The Franklin
This is Chaucer’s Santa
Claus figure -- red cheeks,
white beard, ample belly,
and jovial personality (as
sanguine as the Reeve is
choleric). This rich
country landowner is
generous with his wealth,
regularly entertaining and
feasting. He holds
powerful positions as
06/05/12 justice of the peace and
Member of Parliament.
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37. The guildsmen
Chaucer depicts five
tradesmen traveling
together as members of
professional guilds. All
have occupations
somehow related to
England’s dominant
“industry” -- textiles.
They are a weaver, a dyer,
a tapestry-maker (pictured
here), a carpenter, and a
06/05/12 haberdasher.
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38. The Cook
The five guildsmen
were well off enough to
travel with their own
cook. He was clearly
very talented in the
kitchen, but note the
careful attention both
Chaucer and the
Ellesmere illustrator
pay to the pus-oozing
06/05/12 sore on his leg.
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39. The Shipman
Chaucer’s Shipman does not
build boats; he sails them.
No one knows more about
ports, tides, and shipping
lanes than he. He keeps
careful watch on his cargo
and often helps himself to it.
He sends his enemies home
“by water” and wears his
dagger prominently. Can
06/05/12
you think of another name
for this dark, dangerous
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40. The Doctor of Physic
Like the Manciple, this pilgrim
is depicted as carrying
something valuable in his hands.
In this case, it seems to be a
golden potion (drugs were
expensive then as now, but in
those days some medicines
actually contained gold!). No
wonder folks suspected that
doctors and druggists were in
cahoots. The doctor dresses very
well, in blood red. He has great
06/05/12
knowledge of astrology and
medicine but little of the Bible.
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41. The Wife of Bath
Perhaps the most famous
pilgrim, this weaver is
known by her town of
residence, Bath, and her
frequent marriages (five!).
Also notable are her looks --
red face, gap teeth, wide hips
-- all signs of her lusty
nature. The illustrator also
shows her hat as big as a
shield and her spurs -- and
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adds a whip. She is a veteran
of many pilgrimages.
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42. The Wife of Bath
This is one of the few
surviving illustrations of
the pilgrims in the
Cambridge manuscript
(Gg.4.27) of The
Canterbury Tales. Even
then readers saw the
independent-minded Wife
as a “man tamer,” complete
with whip -- but still
06/05/12
wearing big hats!
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43. The Parson
The Parson is poor
financially, but rich in
holy thought and work.
(Note his devout posture
and golden halo-crown.)
He ministers to a far-flung
parish, whatever the
weather or the wealth or
rank of the parishioner. He
epitomizes the perfect
local minister, striving
06/05/12 always to set a good
example to his flock.
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44. The Plowman
It is not clear whether Chaucer means that the Plowman
is literally the brother of the Parson, but they are clearly
spiritual twins. This pilgrim does the hard manual labor
of agriculture without complaint, and helps his
neighbors without thought of profit.
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45. The Miller
Who could forget the
noisy Miller? With his
brawny, “no-neck” build,
his blue hood and “golden
thumb” to mark his
profitable profession, his
foul mouth full of off-
color stories, and the
blaring bagpipes with
which he led the pilgrims
06/05/12
out of town, he makes an
indelible impression.
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46. The Manciple
A Manciple is a
steward or purchaser
for an institution like a
school. This one is the
business manager for a
community of lawyers.
Note the resemblance
of this picture of the
Manciple to the
illustration of the
06/05/12 Doctor of Physic.
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47. The Reeve
Chaucer depicts the Reeve
(farm overseer) as slender
and choleric (ill-
tempered, because his
dominant “humour” is
choler, or yellow bile).
He is clever at managing
his lord’s estate and
profiting for himself. His
horse is dapple gray, his
06/05/12 blade rusty ( a sign of his
age?); he rides at the rear
waltong@meredith.edu of the group.
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48. The Summoner
One of Chaucer’s least favorite pilgrims is the employee of the
church who summons to court those suspected of civil crimes.
Summoners in
Chaucer’s day had
worse reputations than
today’s police or private
detectives. This one
seems guilty of
blackmail, drunkenness
-- and fornication,
despite his red, scabby
06/05/12 face and garlic breath.
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49. The Pardoner
Just as the Miller and Reeve
make a humorous pair -- short
and tall, loud and quiet -- so
do the foul Summoner and the
beautiful Pardoner, both
corrupt church employees.
The Pardoner sports long
blond hair, a smooth
beardless face, and a high
voice -- not like the manly
Monk. He carries a jeweled
cross and a heap of fake relics
06/05/12
with which to win
waltong@meredith.edu contributions.
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50. Chaucer
This is probably the most famous
illustration of England’s first
great poet. The unknown artist
responsible for the Ellesmere
manuscript offers this picture of
Chaucer. Though the son of a
wealthy middle-class wine
merchant, the poet served three
English kings as soldier,
ambassador, Justice of the Peace,
Member of Parliament,
06/05/12
Controller of the port of London,
and Clerk of the King’s Works.
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51. Chaucer
His early influences were
Latin and French. Perhaps it
was while traveling in Italy
that Chaucer encountered the
works of his Italian
contemporaries Petrarch and
Boccaccio, who proved such
major influences on his work.
Nevertheless, Chaucer’s
greatest achievement was to
06/05/12 write energetically in English.
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