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Chaucer Notes (ENGL 210)
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ENGL 210-0012022W1
Lecture 3: Canterbury Tales (General Prologue)
September 21st – 28th, 2022
Historical Background + Contexts
1066: Norman Conquest (importation into England the stories of knights)
● Achieves different things in Britain than it did in France
14th Century: Roman Catholic Church is divided (two Popes!)
● Lasted for most of the 14th Century.
1346 - 1353: Black Death (Bubonic Plague) – 30% of the human population is wiped out.
1381: The Peasants’ Revolt (revolt against increasing taxes)
Geoffrey Chaucer
Not only a poet but also the “Controller of Customs” (a civil service job for a number of Kings).
● Travelled in a manner that was quite unusual for the 14th century – he went to Italy,
Spain, France, etc. He is a more sophisticated character.
● Writing in the vernacular language (most literature was noble writing) – notable because
he is writing in the language that peasants spoke (limited education, only educated and
rich white men could read and write).
○ Only people in the Church or people with social authority could read and write.
○ The language itself was an indication of world sophistication – you wouldn’t
usually write in the vernacular (you would write in French or Latin).
○ The highly unusual nature of this endeavour has led many to suggest that one of
the things Chaucer is doing is bringing validity to English as a language.
■ This is an obscure, backward, and ignorant corner of Europe.
○ Even today, regional dialects and accents still exist (London versus Manchester)
■ Geoffrey Chaucer is from the southeast part of England – the language
that we speak is the dialect of London. London’s centrality in terms of the
language formation of the language we speak today cannot be overlooked.
Middle English Pronunciation
All consonants are sounded individually. This is prior to what is known by linguistic historians
as the “great vowel shift,” where the speaking sound of words actually changed.
● This shift has been analyzed through poetry (maybe these rhymes used to rhyme in a
different time. They might not rhyme anymore, but they did in the time of the text.)
● No standardized spelling – spelling is a function of certain degrees of invention and
consensus. There are certain ways of spelling things.
○ There’s no right or wrong answer to spelling things. It isn’t until the 18th century
that we agree on standardized spelling.
There are a lot of long vowel sounds – “oo” is pronounced “ou”
● Context clues! CONTEXT CLUES!
The Church and the English Culture
, ENGL 210-001
2022W1
The culture at this time is central exclusively to the Church (the Church is central to the narrative
– everyone is committed to the Church).
● He never criticizes the Church’s doctrine ever but does criticize the practices.
● Doctrine is not the target here in Chaucer’s satire. He is critiquing the people to purport
to speak for the Church and religion in the idea that it is corrupt.
Definitions
“Pilgrims” — a person who travels to a Holy, spiritual, and religious site.
● They are going to Canterbury which is the seat of the English Church. The Archbishop of
Canterbury is the head of the Church of England.
● The Pilgrimage ends with Mass and Communion in the Cathedral (you are consuming the
body and blood of Jesus Christ – you are maintaining your bodily and spiritual
connection to the Church and Jesus).
○ Transactional nature – in confessing your sins you are given a plenary indulgence
(it frees you from guilt and responsibility for your sins – they will no longer
contaminate you and interfere with your ability to get into Heaven)
■ Three possibilities for the Afterlife – (a) you got to Heaven, (b) you go to
Hell, (c) Purgatory, (c’) Limbo (unborn babies).
● Recognition of piety – your earnest belief
● The Church would sell indulgences to you (you can buy off your
sins! You can buy your way into Heaven!)
● It was precisely objecting to this practice that Martin Luther
protested, which began the Protestant Reformation
Worldview in The Canterbury Tales
Humans are predisposed to evil – we are all children of original sin.
● The concept of humans being corrupt and intrinsically drawn toward evil is central. The
only way to conquer this is to obtain divine grace by participating in the rituals of the
Church and by seeking a solution.
○ And yet, we see so many Pilgrims going on this Pilgrimage for reasons that are
more secular and complex than the story might lead us to believe.
Narrative Structure
The narrator is identified in the manuscript as Geoffrey Chaucer (but we don’t need to take that
entirely at face value – this is a fictional construct).
● How do we know it’s a fictional construct? He isn’t as naive as he makes himself appear.
○ The narrator is a far more sophisticated judge of human foibles than the narrator’s
voice would lead us to believe.
● He’s not as open-minded or transparent as he claims to be.
○ So much irony and sarcasm in The General Prologue – the irony is crucial – this
is a text absolutely driven by irony and the ironic.
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