4. Some of the pilgrims
• The Knight
• The Miller
• The Cook
• The Friar
• The Merchant
• The Squire
5. Chaucer
• Who? Geoffrey Chaucer
• What? Canterbury Tales
• When? Chaucer lived 1340-1400,
• Key dates
– Edward III 1327 - 1377
– Richard II 1377 - 1399
– Henry IV 1399 - 1413
– 1328 - Edward III claims throne, start of the Hundred Years War
– 1349 the Black Death reaches England
– late 1380s - Chaucer begins The Canterbury Tales
– October 1400 dies, buried in Westminster Abbey
6. Chaucer
• Chaucer served as a squire on several
military expeditions to France
• Captured near Rheims, his ransom paid by
the King himself
• 1369 - given an annual pension by the King
• 1372 - went on a trade mission to Italy for
the King
• Became affluent and important through the
patrongae of John of Gaunt, much of his
work was to do with Customs and Excise
7. Chaucer
• Framework of a pilgrimage from London to
Canterbury to the tomb of Thomas a Becket
• Start at the Tabard Inn, Southwark
• All to tell four stories, two there, two coming
back
• The Host of the Tabard agreed to be the judge
• Most told only one story, four of which are
unfinished
• General Prologue describes the pilgrims, most
individual stories have their own prologues
9. The Millere
• Look at the
description of the
Miller from the
General Prologue.
• Work with a partner to
read it aloud and try
to translate it.
• Pay special attention
to the physical
description of him -
you’ll need this later!
10. The Millere
• Look at the modern
English translation
and see how you did!
• Now use the points
you found about the
Miller’s description to
fill in the table about
him.
