The Canterbury Tales

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The Canterbury Tales
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The Canterbury Tales

• Written by Geoffrey Chaucer
• Written in English
• Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales made English a
  respectable language
• All other texts dealing with religion, science,
  literature, diplomacy, etcetera were written in
  Latin or French
• At the time of Chaucers death, The Canterbury
  Tales was unfinished
• Told in the format of a frame tale
• Frame tale a story within a story

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The Canterbury Tales

• About a group of people on a pilgrimage to
  Canterbury Cathedral to visit the shrine of Saint
  Thomas Becket
• In this time period, everyone went on at least 1
  pilgrimage in his or her lifetime

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Route to Canterbury
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St. Thomas a Becket (1118-1170)

• Good friend of King Henry II
• Named Archbishop of Catholic Church
• Henry had motives
• Took the Popes side in several issues
• December 1170 an enraged Henry said, Will no
  one rid me of this meddlesome priest?
• 4 knights took him literally
• They went to Canterbury and murdered Thomas
  Becket at the altar where he had been praying

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Shrine of Thomas Beckett