PERIOD 6 Chaucer and Canterbury Tales

History Feudal England William the conqueror t England the continental social, economic, and political system called feudalism Land was divided among noble overlords, or barons. In 1215 a group of those barons forced the unpopular King John to agree to a Great Charter, or the Magna Carta. Lesser lords, called Knights, pledged their wealth and services to the overlords, who, in return, provided use of land. War and Plague 14 th century was a dark time in British history. English and French fought over lands in France. Hundred years war drained England financially. England Developed national identity. Black Death swept throgh Europe Feudal system crashed but towns and cities continued to grow. Power shift from aristocracy to urban middle class.

History Vikings and Normans By the middle of the 9 th Century, most of England had fallen to German tribes, Danes, and Norseman Alfred “the Great” the Saxon King of Wessex, eventually captured much of England, and his family regained it in the proceeding years. King Edward died in 1066, and then William Duke of Normandy laid claim to the English throne William emerged as the first king England after defeating the Anglo-Saxons at the Battle of Hastings.

Religion A community's tallest buildings reveal its dominant values. Canterbury is where the first cathedral was built between 1070 and 1180 to celebrate the glory of god. Pope Gregory I sent missionaries to convert Anglo- Saxons to Christianity. With Christianity came the glimmerings of education and culture. English monks built libraries and schools within their monasteries where they emphasized the importance of the written word.

Anglo-Saxon monks copied manuscripts by hand which is what survives today. Bede composed his history in Latin, and Alfred the great encouraged Old English. Religious devotion is shown through pilgrimages and the most sacred pilgrims is to the Canterbury Cathedral. Because few people could read they used stained-glass windows, popular entertainment to teach religion. English drama began with enactments of biblical stories. Mystery plays-they were performed by Guilds (mystery meant trade or craft) Morality plays-plays representing good, evil, and abstract qualities which target moral lessons.

Chaucer Biography Chaucer was born in 1342 and died in Geoffrey Chaucer was called the father of English. He had a great understanding of how people spoke and acted. He fought in the Hundred Years War in France in He was a court official in his mid 20’s.

Chaucer Biography He wrote in what is now called middle English. He created over 17,000 lines of poetry and his poems are still being read six centuries later. From his constant traveling, he became comfortable and familiar with the culture and writing with many different countries. He was the first writer to use English in a literary work because everything was composed in French or Latin before him.