Week 1 Lesson 2 Chaucer

[Daniel]

Notes for the second lesson containing Chaucer and the emergence of Middle English

Attachments:

[Daniel]

The Battle of Hastings

-In October, 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England from Normandy, France.
-Why? The previous King of England(Edward the Confessor) had supposedly promised the Kingship to his cousin’s son, William. But, on his deathbed, Edward conferred the Kingship to Harold Wilson, who shortly after became King of England (January, 1066).
-In September, 1066, a large force of Norwegians led by Harold Hadrada landed in Northern England to claim the throne. They were defeated by the English, who then had to march rapidly South to meet the Norman Invasion
-The Battle of Hastings is seen as the last successful invasion of England. Harold Wilson was killed and William became King of England
-William invaded with troops from Normandy, France, and other European countries
-When William became King, the European culture of his followers mixed with the Anglo-Saxon culture of pre-10th Century England
-This brought the influence French language and French literature (Romance, Satire) into England.


Middle English
1         Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote
                  When April with its sweet showers
2         The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
                 Has pierced the drought of March to the root,
3         And bathed every veyne in swich licour
                 And bathed every vein (of the plants) in such liquid
4         Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
                 By which power the flower is created;
5         Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
                 When Zephirus also with his sweet breath,
6         Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
                 In every wood and field has breathed life into 
7         The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
                 The tender new leaves, and the young sun
8         Hath in the Ram his half cours yronne,
                 Has run half its course in Aries,
9         And smale foweles maken melodye,
                 And small fowls make melody,
10         That slepen al the nyght with open ye       
         That sleep all the night with open eyes
11         (So priketh hem Nature in hir corages),   
             (So Nature pricks them in their hearts),
12         Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
                 Then folk long to go on pilgrimages,

Chaucer – The Cantebury Tales
The Father of English Literature. As important as Shakespeare.
Was born in the 14th Century

The Cantebury Tales are an unfinished collection of fictional oral tales recited by pilgrims on their way to Cantebury.

Pilgrimage – A religious journey to a site of holy importance.

Cantebury – The site of the assassination of Saint Thomas a Beckett, an archbishop that was assassinated by the King of England in 1170.

The Canterbury Tales is an unfinished project, and contains only 24 of the proposed 116 tales as well as the General Prologue (4 tales x 29 pilgrims)

The General Prologue
Chaucer goes on a pilgrimage and calls in at the Tabard Inn before departing. He meets a group of fellow pilgrims.
There are 29 pilgrims, Harry Bailey(the owner of the Tabard Inn) and Chaucer himself

Introduces the Pilgrims, including the Knight, The Miller, The Clerk, The Squire, The Prioress, The Wife of Bath, The Monk, The Reeve, The Man of Law, The Cook, The Pardoner, The Nun, The Second Nun
Introduces characters

The Prologue introduces the characters in order of social status, according to the following levels:
The Court/Nobility
The Church
Craftsmen
Peasants

The competition: Harry Bailey proposes that each pilgrim tell four tales: two on the way to Cantebury and two coming back. The best storyteller will win a free dinner, paid for by the other pilgrims.

The Knights Tale
Two knights, Arcite and Palamon are fighting a war in Greece for King Creon, ruler of Greece(Thebes).
They are captured by Theseus, Duke of Athens, and imprisoned in a tower in Theseus’s castle.
One morning in May, Palamon wakes up early, looks out of the window into the Palace Gardens, and sees Emily, a beautiful princess.
He moans, and Arcite wakes up and sees Emily too. They both fall in love.
The sense of competition because of their love causes the Knights to hate each other.
One day, Arcite is released because he has a friend called Pirithoos that works for Theseus. But Arcite returns to the city in disguise and enters the service of Emily’s household to be close to her.
Meanwhile, Palamon escapes his prison by drugging the guard and fleeing the castle. He encounters Arcite whilst fleeing and the two attempt to fight a duel because of their love.
However, Theseus discovers them before they can fight, and sentences them to fight in a massive battle against each other. The winner can marry Emily.
The forces assemble; Palamon prays to Venus to make Emily his wife; Emily prays to stay unmarried and that if that should prove impossible that she marry the one who really loves her; and Arcite prays to Mars for victory. Arcite wins the battle, but is killed by his horse falling on him before he can claim Emily as his prize, and so Palamon marries her.

Excerpt from The Miller's Prologue
Whan that the Knyght had thus his tale ytoold,
In al the route nas ther yong ne oold
That he ne seyde it was a noble storie
And worthy for to drawen to memorie,
And namely the gentils everichon.
Oure Hooste lough and swoor, "So moot I gon,
This gooth aright; unbokeled is the male.
Lat se now who shal telle another tale;
For trewely the game is wel bigonne.
Now telleth ye, sir Monk, if that ye konne,
Somwhat to quite with the Knyghtes tale.“
The Millere, that for dronken was al pale,
So that unnethe upon his hors he sat,
He nolde avalen neither hood ne hat,
Ne abyde no man for his curteisie,
But in Pilates voys he gan to crie,
And swoor, "By armes, and by blood and bones,
 I kan a noble tale for the nones,
 With which I wol now quite the Knyghtes tale.“
Oure Hooste saugh that he was dronke of ale,
And seyde, "Abyd, Robyn, my leeve brother;
Som bettre man shal telle us first another.
Abyd, and lat us werken thriftily.“
 "By Goddes soule," quod he, "that wol nat I;
      For I wol speke or elles go my wey."

The Miller’s Tale
Nicholas is a student of astrology, and he lives with John, an old landlord and the landlord’s young wife, Alison. Nicholas and Alison want to sleep together.
Nicholas devises a plan. He tells John that through his study of the stars, he has seen that there will be a second great flood, covering the earth in water and destroying all life. He tells him that to save themselves, they should hang bath-tubs from the roof and sleep in them at night, so that when the flood comes they can cut the ropes holding their bathtubs and float on the water.
John is a bit stupid, and believes him. They go to sleep in the bathtubs hanging from the roof, and Alison and Nicholas sneak out and sleep together.
Meanwhile, Absalom, a local Church clerk, also wants Alison and believes John is away from home, so he comes and tries to woo her. He stands outside her window and sings a romantic song whilst playing a guitar.
Nicholas and Alison are awake and laughing about this. Absalom asks for a kiss, and Alison puts her backside out of the window. Absalom kisses it, discovers the trick and furiously goes back to town. He grabs a hot poker from a blacksmith and returns to the house.
He asks for a kiss again, and this time Nicholas puts his backside out of the window. Absalom thrusts the poker and Nicholas is burned!
With his backside on fire, Nicholas shouts out “Water, water!”. John wakes up, hears someone cry “Water” and cuts the rope holding his tub. He falls and breaks his arm on the ground. The people of the town, disturbed by the noise, gather at the house and think John is crazy.