Title: A Study of The Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
1Exploring Canterbury
- A Study of The Canterbury Tales and Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight
2Table of Contents
- The Journey Begins . . .
- England in the Middle Ages
- Focus question
- Geoffrey Chaucer
- The Canterbury Tales
- Travelers to Canterbury
- Chaucers Middle Ages Population
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
- The Green Knight
- Sir Gawain
- Works Cited
3The Journey Begins . . .
- In October 1066, a daylong battle near
Hastings, England, changed the course of history.
4England in the Middle Ages
- Feudalism replaced the Nordic social system.
- The primary duty of males above the serf class
was to serve in the militaryKnighthood. - Women had no political rights.
- Chivalry and courtly love served as the system of
social codes
5England in the Middle Ages
- Lower, middle, and upper-middle classes developed
in the cities.
6England in the Middle Ages
- The Crusades extended from 1095-1270.
- They brought contact with Eastern mathematics,
astronomy, architecture, and crafts.
7England in the Middle Ages
- The Magna-Carta defeated papal central power.
8England in the Middle Ages
- The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) was the first
national war waged by England.
9England in the Middle Ages
- The Black Death (1348-1349) brought the end of
the Middle Ages.
Fleas on rats carried the bubonic plague which
killed thousands of people. in Europe.
10How do the writings of the Middle Ages represent
the lives, loves, loyalties, and humor of
humanity?
- Discover the answer by reading The Canterbury
Tales and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
11Geoffrey Chaucerc. 1343-1400
- Considered the father of English poetry
- Wrote in the vernacular
- Served as a soldier, government servant, and
member of Parliament - Introduced iambic pentameter
- First writer buried in Westminster Abbey
- Learn more about Chaucer. Go to. . .
- http//www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/index.html
12The Canterbury Tales
Snapshot of an Age
- It frames a story of characters on a religious
pilgrimage to Canterbury. - The characters are a concise portrait of an
entire nation. - The pilgrimage is a quest narrative that moves
from images of spring and awakening to penance,
death, and eternal life. - The characters tell stories that reflect
everyman in the universal pilgrimage of life.
13The Travelers to Canterbury
14The Travelers to Canterbury
15The Travelers to Canterbury
16Chaucers Contemporaries
17Chaucers Snapshot of the Middle Ages Population
18Sir Gawain and the Green KnightHave the rules of
love changed?
- The Art of Courtly Love ( twelfth century
document) listed several rules of love - No one can be bound by double love.
- The easy attainment of love makes it of little
value. Difficulty of attainment makes it prized - A new love puts flight to an old one.
- If love diminishes, it quickly fails and rarely
revives
19The Green Knight
- He challenges King Arthurs knights to a New
Years game. - The Green Knight wants to exchange one blow for
another. - The stranger will stand for the first blow if the
other knight will agree to have his turn in a
year and a day.
20Sir Gawain
- Sir Gawain accepts the Green Knights challenge.
- He honors his word and searches for the knights
Green Chapel. - Gawain finds a lord and his lady on his quest who
offer him shelter on Christmas day. - The lord has the lady tempt Sir Gawain three
times on the rules of courtly love. - Gawain resists--all but one advance.
- The Green Knight reveals himself to be the lord
and spares Gawain for his honesty.
21 Works Cited Home
- Brown, Ian. The Green Knight. 2002. May 16,
2003 lthttp//www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/gawmenu
.htmgt. - Geoffrey Chaucer. Elements of Literature Sixth
Course. Ed. Robert R. Hoyt. Austin, 1977. T99. - Pyle, Howard. Sir Gawain the Son of Lot, King of
Orkney. 1903. May 16, 2003 lthttp//wwwlib.rochest
er.edu/camelot/gawmenu.htmgt. - The Canterbury Tales A Snapshot of an Age.
Elements of Literature Sixth Course. Ed. Robert
R. Hoyt. Austin, 1977. T101-T104.