Canterbury Notes

About the Author: Geoffry Chaucer

• Medieval War
• Talented poet
• variation of French/Latin poetry and language
• His writing/language appealed to a higher class ranking, more sophisticated style
• penetrates insight to human character
• honored for his work on his tombstone 
• "the father of English Lit."

Prologue 

• In short, different people coming together to reach the same goal, but taking different paths
• Money plays a role, poverty to rich
• The story is told through a bunch of different characters and their own individual journey 
• story follows customs associated to that time period
• parallel lives going through the same obstacles 
• story comes to a deeper understanding when you show the same picture in variety of ways
• Canterbury, in a sense, is more of a spiritual journey. 
• features characters like: Knight, monks, none, squire, fear, etc. All thought to be high ranking in society's social classes, but yet contradicting because they do not act so
• all in want of a free meal, feast
• prologue told through the cooks tale

Plot

• set in Canterbury because all the 27 people are traveling to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. 
• Host is Harry Bailey 
• each traveler will tell 2 stories there and back, winner gets a free meal

• 1st Knight's tale: 2 knights imprisoned, they fall in love with Emelye, 1 is freed from prison and the other escapes, they fight, Acrite (the freed one) wins but dies falling off his horse, Palamon (escaped prisoner) marries Emelye.

• 2nd Miller's: poor student Nicholas, gets Alisoun(Land lord's daughter) to sleep over. Convinces land lord John to spend the night in bath tub above the ceiling. Absolon(also loves Alisoun) is outside the Nichola's window. Absolon asks Alisoun for a kiss, but she gives him her bottom to kiss instead. Absolon gets a brander, returns and this time when Nicholas sticks his bottom out and farts, he brands him. Nicholas screams for water, the landlord cuts the rope thinking the flood has happened and breaks his arm.

• 3rd Reeve's: 2 students, john and Allan, go to mill so the miller can't steal their corn. Miller unties the horses, they chase it down, miller steals some corn during the commotion. Sleep over at millers house. Allan seduces mille's daughter, and John seduces his wife. Miller is pissed, tries to beat them. His wife, accidentally hits miller, not the boys. They get their stolen goods, and leave.