Canterbury Tales 1

Bede

• Time where most people were illiterate. 
• Written documents were rare. 
• characterized many cities, castles, long days
• Latin was the unifying language. 

Canterbury Tales

• a series of stories that make up a larger story about a pilgrimage to Canterbury. 
• each story is told through a different characters perspective. 
• Characters vary from all social statuses ranging from aristocracy to peasants. 
• Tales are filled with contradicting personalities with roles in the society 
• The Knight was very honorable and heroic
• his son was very like him
• the monk was ironically fat as they were supposed to live in poverty
• the merchant was knowledgeable but in debt. He was portrayed as a very honorable man. 
• the cook was a very arrogant, pompous, selfish man
• the lower class was described with mostly indirect characterization. 
• The doctor was knowledgeable but was in it for the money. he wasn't religious as the bible frowned upon science. 
• These stories told the irony in society in the way that societies expectations were lived down through the dark side of human nature.