English: The Canterbury Tales Flashcards
And everything Canterbury
Author of the Canterbury Tales
(And the lesser known work The Romaunt of the Rose)
Geoffrey Chaucer
Year the Canterbury Tales was written
1387 - 1400 AD
This real inn was the location where the 29 pilgrims first meet for their pilgrimage in The Canterbury Tales
The Tabard Inn
T’was destroyed almost 300 years later in a fire and renamed The Talbot.
This is the shrine to a martyr and final destination of the pilgrims in The Canterbury tales.
Shrine of St. Thomas a Becket
Thousands of pilgrims in the Middle Ages visited every year.
In the Canterbury Tales,
“The Friar’s Tale” is a nasty response to “The Summoner’s Tale.” “The Reeve’s Tale” is a nasty response to this pilgrim’s tale.
The Miller
The Miller makes fun of carpenters in his tale, so the Reeve, a
Carpenter, makes fun of millers in his tale.
This is the literary name for a “story within a story”, or a larger, overarching story that sets the stage for another.
Frame story
(Eg: Wuthering Heights, The Decameron, Canterbury Tales, 1001 Nights)
This king sent assassin knights to kill St. Thomas Becket at his cathedral in Canterbury in 1170.
King Henry II of England
Thomas’ last words: “I am ready to embrace death.”
The Miller’s Tale can be described in tone as:
1. Ribald | 2. Naive | 3. Pristine | 4. Grandiose
Ribald
Meaning: Coarse, lewd, vulgar, inappropriate
To which pilgrim does this quote refer?
“And French she spoke farily and elegantly,
After the school of Stratford at the Bowe-French
in Paris style she did not know.”
Translation: This pilgrim pretends to speak French.
The Prioress
Also accept: The Nun
To which pilgrim does this quote refer?
On the right of his nose he had
A wart, and thereon stood a tuft of hairs,
Red as the bristles of a sow’s ears.
Translation: This pilgrim has a wart and red hair.
The Miller
He drunkenly insists on telling his story second, messing up the order.
To which pilgrim does this quote refer?
“This man had hair as yellow as wax,
Smoothly hanging down like a hank of flax;
By their strands they fell one by one.”
“He had the same small voice a goat has got. His chin no beard had harboured, nor would harbour, Smoother than ever chin was left by barber.””
This man has long, greasy blonde hair, no beard, quiet voice.
The Pardoner
The Pardoner is a fraud, selling fake relics like Mary’s veil.
To which pilgrim does this quote refer?
”. . . a most distinguished man, Who from the day on which he first began To ride abroad had followed chivalry, Truth, honor, generousness, and courtesy.”
The Knight
The Knight is the first Pilgrim mentioned. He’s brave and courageous.
Identify the pilgrim created by Geoffrey Chaucer whose life is devoted to chivalry, truth, and justice and has fought in numerous wars for his king.
The Knight
But his son, The Squire, is curly-haired prettyboy.
This person was the first Protestant archbishop of Canterbury and advisor to kings Henry VIII (8) and Edward VI (6).
Canterbury History - not Canterbury Tales
Thomas Cranmer
Look at his lil’ book.
To which pilgrim does this quote refer?
“A worthy woman all her life, what’s more she’d had five husbands, all at the church door.”
The Wife of Bath
Bath refers to the town she’s from - she’s everyone’s wife.
This pilgrim tells a tale of three rioters overcome by greed. They find treasure and murder eachother arguing over it.
The Pardoner
The Pardoner believes that “greed is the root of all evil.”
This pilgrim likes to make clothes, give advice about love, and tells a story about what women most desire.
Wife of Bath
Professionally, she’s a seamstress. She just loves love, okay?
This pilgrim tells a polite tale of a miracle, pretends to speak French, sings through her nose, has pet dogs, great table manners, and wears a pendant that says “Amor sit Omnia”.
The Prioress
If you were wondering, the pendant means “Love Conquers All.”
This pilgrim is a big, strong redhead who plays the bagpipes.
The Miller
In the story, he pulls a door straight off its hinges.
This pilgrim likes to sing and sell holy relics.
The Pardoner
He sings and preaches whenever he’s in a church. The relics are fakes.
This rooster is the protagonist of The Nun’s Priest’s tale and is king of the farmyard until he gets abducted by a fox.
Chanticleer
Don’t worry, he gets away.
To which pilgrim does this quote refer?
“Her head-dresses were of finest weave and ground;/ I dare swear that they weighed about ten pound/ Which, on a Sunday, she wore on her head./ Her stockings were of the finest scarlet red,/ Tightly fastened, and her shoes were soft and new.”
The Wife of Bath
(She’s a seamstress, she has nice clothes.)
This pilgrim lives in poverty but is pure of heart and practices what he preaches, unlike many of the other holy men on the journey.
The Parson
