The Literature Book

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during a particularly turbulent

period. The Black Death of 1348–49

had killed a third of the population,

the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 had

demonstrated cracks in the feudal

system, and the authority of the

church was being questioned,

not least for its corrupt practices.

Chaucer’s tales reflect many

of these events, often mocking

and satirizing the hypocrisy of the

church. In the Pardoner’s Tale,

the Pardoner is shown to be guilty

of the very sins he is preaching

against, while the Friar’s Tale is

a satirical attack on summoners—

ecclesiastical officers whose role

was to summon to court sinful

members of the diocese. It is not

surprising that the Summoner’s

Tale is an attack on friars.

Unfinished work

Chaucer borrowed from numerous

sources when writing The

Canterbury Tales. The Knight’s

Tale is based on Boccaccio’s epic

poem Teseida, and there are other

references within the Tales to

Boccaccio’s work. Chaucer’s

other sources included Ovid, the

Bible, chivalric works such as Sir

Gawain and the Green Knight,

and, possibly, works by his friend

the English poet John Gower.

Scholars do not know what

Chaucer’s final intention was for

The Canterbury Tales, nor even the

order in which he wished the tales

to appear, or whether the work was

finished. The only clue is in the

General Prologue, with its plan

for the pilgrims to tell four stories

each. However, there are only 24

tales, so not all the pilgrims tell

even one tale. Nor do any of the

storytellers or the Host indicate the

sequence or numbering of any tale.

Enduring masterpiece

Evidence indicates that Chaucer

was still working on the Tales

when he died. There is no original

manuscript in his own hand;

instead there are fragments that

would have been scribed by

someone else. The earliest is the

Hengwrt manuscript, produced

shortly after Chaucer’s death. The

sequence most commonly used

today, however, is based on the

15th-century Ellesmere manuscript,

which divides the text into 10

fragments, containing varying

numbers of tales. The tales are

grouped according to clues or links

within the text, and end with the

Parson’s Tale, a long prose sermon

on the Seven Deadly Sins. This is

followed by Chaucer’s Retraction, a

curious apology in which the author

asks forgiveness for the vulgar,

secular elements of his works. The

exact significance of this apology is

unclear, although some have seen it

as a deathbed repentance.

Despite the uncertainties

surrounding its structure and plot,

The Canterbury Tales is recognized

as a masterpiece, and one of the

most important literary works in

the English language. Its humor,

bawdiness, pathos, and satirical

observations remain unequaled

today, more than 600 years after

it was written. ■

RENAISSANCE TO ENLIGHTENMENT

Geoffrey Chaucer

Not just a great English poet

but also a courtier, civil

servant, and diplomat,

Chaucer was probably born

in London around 1343. His

father, a wine merchant, was

eager to advance his son’s

career and secured a place for

him as a page in the Countess

of Ulster’s household. From

there, Chaucer entered the

service of Edward III, first as

a soldier, then as a diplomat,

traveling to France and Italy,

where he would have read the

works of Dante and Boccaccio.

From 1374 to 1386 he held a

post as controller of customs.

Chaucer married in 1366,

and gained a patron—John of

Gaunt, the king’s fourth son.

Chaucer wrote his first major

poem, Book of the Duchess

(1369) as an elegy to Gaunt’s

first wife, Blanche. He fell on

hard times during Richard II’s

reign; however, in 1389 was

appointed clerk of the king’s

royal building projects. He

died in 1400 and was buried

in Westminster Abbey.

Other key works

1379 The House of Fame

c.1385 Troilus and Criseyde

c.1388 The Legend of

Good Women

For though we sleep

or wake, or roam, or ride,

Ay fleeth the time;

it nyl no man abyde.

The Canterbury Tales

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