The Medieval Period1066-1485

King = William the Conqueror Development of Feudalism King owned all the land William divided it :

~ ¼ for himself

~ ¼ for the church

~ ½ divided among the nobles Social classes in society

Henry I – elected king in 1100

he dies in 1135 His grandson took throne as Henry II

King = Henry II Establishes the judge & jury system. Hoping to influence the church, Henry II

appointed his friend, Thomas a Becket, as archbishop of Canterbury in hopes he would side w/royal policy.

Henry felt the church had powers that should belong to the king.

When Becket began favoring the church interests over the crown disputes ensued between them: Henry II & Becket.

Henry’s continual complaints prompted 4 knights to go to Canterbury & stabbed Becket at prayer (1170).

Henry II proclaimed his innocence. He reconciled w/the church. Becket was declared a saint ~ his shrine

@ Canterbury became a popular destination for Christian Pilgrimages.

Pilgrimages Long trips to holy places They (pilgrims) would travel great distances

– Rome, the Holy Land, to tombs of saints and other shrines.

They come to ask for divine intervention – miraculous cures or to give thanks or to show devotion.

Geoffrey Chaucer One of the 3 most important poets of the

English language (Shakespeare & John Milton)

Born in Kent around 1343-44 (no exact date known)

Family made $ in wine & leather trade. As a young boy, served as a page to the

King of England

Married one of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting: Phillippa.

The king’s emissary to France & Italy; controller of customs; justice of the peace; member of Parliament; clerk of king’s works; deputy forester for a royal forest.

He dies in 1400 given an honor rare to a commoner ~

buried in London’s Westminster Abbey. In 1566 an elaborate marble tomb was

erected by an admirer for his remains. His place of burial became known as

Westminster Abbey’s famous Poet’s Corner (many of the great English writers have since been buried here).

Chaucer’s Poetry Chaucer’s works are in Middle English, the

English of London in the 1300’s. His 1st major writing effort was The Romance of

the Rose (French period) 1st published piece & original, important work ~

The Book of the Duchess (a long narrative – 1,300 lines – paying tribute to Blanche, John of Gaunt’s wife, who died of the plague in 1369)

First of his 2 masterpieces was Troilus and Criseyde (Italian period)**the idea was taken from Boccaccio’s Filostrato --- an 8,000 line poem that recounts the love story of Troilus, son of the Trojan king Priam, & Criseyde, widowed daughter of the deserter priest Calkas, against the background of the Trojan War.

Chaucer wrote realistically of real people of London & it’s troubles

Chaucer’s poetry is divided into 3 periods: French: artificial manner – dream visions

& allegories. Italian: began w/his first trip to Italy as an

emissary – greatly influenced by Petrarch, Dante, & mostly Boccaccio.

English: realized his own style in his native tongue (Canterbury Tales)

The Canterbury Tales long poem made up of a general intro (“The

Prologue”) and 24 stories.

~told in verse (iambic pentameter) by a cross section of English men & women.

Individual stories: religious stories, legends, fables (a myth/legend usu. about animals, meant to teach a moral), fairy tales, sermons, & courtly romances.

A satire on man. Chaucer shows man’s faults, but is not bitter about it.

He chose a pilgrimage b/c it allowed all classes of society to come together – they otherwise would never mingle, they were not social equals. It is with this device he was able to show the cross-section of Medieval England to the reader. He shows these folks through the eyes of Chaucer the pilgrim who does not judge his fellow travelers.

2 major themes throughout the tales: ideas of the unfaithful wife; patient & suffering woman, who is exalted for her steadfast behavior.

Chaucer exploits the division between the female saint & the whore throughout the C.T.

3 Groups of Pilgrims Feudal group Church group City group

The PilgrimsFeudal GroupKnightSquireYeomanFranklinReeveMancipleSgt @ Law

City GroupMerchantLawyerGuild (4 men)CookSkipper DoctorWife of BathPlowmanMillerHost*Narrator (Chaucer)

Church GroupPardonerSummonerParsonOxford ClericFriar MonkNun

The pilgrimage (a journey to a shrine or holy place) starts at the Tabard Inn in Southwark on April 17th.

London to Canterbury = 55 miles The pilgrimage will take them to

Canterbury Cathedral: the site where Thomas a Becket had been murdered by the order of King Henry II.

The Shrine of Becket was thought to have healing powers. Thus, some of the pilgrims undoubtedly went for health rather than religious reasons.

Becket became one of England’s favorite martyrs.

The General Prologue dates 1387 - 1388