Canterbury Tales- An untold tale
The Canterbury Tales
Thomas Becket – Thomas Becket was the archbishop and Canterbury in the 1100s. It was his duty and right to coronate the new King of England. When three other bishops tried to coronate a new king of England, Becket refused to sign the appropriate paperwork and the other three coroneted the new king, Henry, without him. When the King found out that Becket had done this, he said something that could be loosely interpreted as “Oh, that’s annoying” so the King’s guards, hearing this, went to Canterbury and assassinated Becket. Becket is now a saint of the Church of England.
Three social groups – The church, the noblemen, and the common people were the three main groups in Chaucer’s England. Chaucer himself belonged to the feudal class. He was a nobleman and a member of parliament, but he wasn’t involved with the church.
Vernacular – The vernacular is the common language of the people. Chaucer chose to write his book is this dialect rather than that spoken by the nobles of the day.
The Black Plague/Black Death – The Plague broke out in Europe around the 1340s, and was estimated to have reduced the world population by about 100-125 million. The Plague reduced Europe’s population alone by approximately 30-60% and was most likely carried by fleas on oriental rats who became stuck on ships sailing from China and other Asian countries back to Europe. The Plague led to an epic social and economic disturbance as well as a religious loss of faith, as people search for the answer as to why this terrible thing happened to them.
Symptoms of the Plague:
Gangrene of the extremities
High fever
Seizures
Muscle cramps
Skin discoloration
The Hundred Years War- France and England were and have been involved in many conflicts leading up to what is considered the outbreak of the Hundred Years War. England had been steadily encroaching on French land for years and when war finally broke out both countries were devastated. Both sides’ armies used
Thomas Becket – Thomas Becket was the archbishop and Canterbury in the 1100s. It was his duty and right to coronate the new King of England. When three other bishops tried to coronate a new king of England, Becket refused to sign the appropriate paperwork and the other three coroneted the new king, Henry, without him. When the King found out that Becket had done this, he said something that could be loosely interpreted as “Oh, that’s annoying” so the King’s guards, hearing this, went to Canterbury and assassinated Becket. Becket is now a saint of the Church of England.
Three social groups – The church, the noblemen, and the common people were the three main groups in Chaucer’s England. Chaucer himself belonged to the feudal class. He was a nobleman and a member of parliament, but he wasn’t involved with the church.
Vernacular – The vernacular is the common language of the people. Chaucer chose to write his book is this dialect rather than that spoken by the nobles of the day.
The Black Plague/Black Death – The Plague broke out in Europe around the 1340s, and was estimated to have reduced the world population by about 100-125 million. The Plague reduced Europe’s population alone by approximately 30-60% and was most likely carried by fleas on oriental rats who became stuck on ships sailing from China and other Asian countries back to Europe. The Plague led to an epic social and economic disturbance as well as a religious loss of faith, as people search for the answer as to why this terrible thing happened to them.
Symptoms of the Plague:
Gangrene of the extremities
High fever
Seizures
Muscle cramps
Skin discoloration
The Hundred Years War- France and England were and have been involved in many conflicts leading up to what is considered the outbreak of the Hundred Years War. England had been steadily encroaching on French land for years and when war finally broke out both countries were devastated. Both sides’ armies used