Geoffrey Chaucer

a cura di R. Beolè
 
 A group of pilgrims are on their way to Canterbury to visit Thomas Becket's shrine. They decide that each of them will tell a story of their own. A cross-section of the 14thcentury society, realistically highlighted in the General Prologue, and in tales such as The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale, The Wife of Bath's Tale, The Merchant's Tale and The Pardoner's Tale.
 A historical and linguistic presentation introduces the book; stimulating closer examinations enrich each tale.
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Summing-up Activities
 
 Sulla strada verso Canterbury, in visita al santuario di Thomas Becket, un gruppo di pellegrini decide di raccontare ognuno una propria storia. Uno spaccato della società inglese del XIV secolo, evidenziato realisticamente nel General Prologue e da racconti quali The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale e The Pardoner’s Tale. Arricchiscono il reader l’introduzione al periodo e all’opera, e approfondimenti sulle tematiche presenti nei vari racconti.

Introduction to The Canterbury Tales

General Prologue

Extension: Medieval pilgrimages

Tale 1 – The Knight’s Tale

Extension: The Knight

Tale 2 – The Miller’s Tale

Extension: The fabliau

Tale 3 – The Wife of Bath (Prologue and Tale)

Extension: The loathly lady

Tale 4 – The Merchant’s Tale

Extension: Trade in the Middle Ages

Tale 5 – The Pardoner’s Tale

Extension: Stage and film adaptations

Summing-up activities

Glossary

E X T E N S I O N TRADE IN THE MIDDLE AGES The Middle Ages saw a rapid expansion of trade and commerce. The most important factor was the Crusades, which had facilitated the relations with Eastern countries, developing a taste in the West for their productions. One of the results was that crusaders brought back with them exotic spices, soft silks, perfumed soaps, glorious tapestries1, colourful rugs2, and other luxury3 goods. The Crusades gave a fresh vigour to foreign commerce and trade, and rendered it more productive. While lords and kings considered how to make profit from trade, serfs4 and peasants5 worked the land.The roads were filled with traders carrying goods to market, which was generally a local affair and held each week. Local goods were first bartered6 but soon they were traded. the land and was the property of the person who owned that land. 5. peasant: (especially in the past, or in poorer countries) a farmer who owns or rents a small area of land. 6. bartered: exchanged goods for other goods without using money. 1. tapestries: large carpets hanging on a wall, with scenes of battles, hunting or everyday life. 2. rugs: pieces of thick material like small carpets to cover a small part of the floor. 3. luxury: exclusive and expensive. 4. serf: a member of a low social class in medieval times who worked on A Medieval market 72 

Shortly a new kind of marketplace appeared   the trade fair. A fair was a big event and could last for two weeks.To hold a fair, a permission from the king or from the owner of the field was needed. Sellers often had to pay a tax to the king or landowners to be able to sell their goods. Sellers used to rent a space at the trade fair for a two-week period. People were not happy about the tax but they had to pay it. That gave the landowners a new form of income7. The fairs were held outside, open to the elements. Goods were displayed in the rain, snow, sleet8 and mud9. Sellers had no choice, because they needed to sell their goods. The fair attracted pickpockets10 and other thieves. Some sellers rented space in homes to protect their goods; some slept near their goods to protect them. Some people spent the night in inns11, sheltered12 from the weather. Fairs were noisy, dirty, exciting places. Musicians, jugglers13 and entertainers regularly attended fairs for the coins tossed14 to them. People really loved village fairs! income: the money that you earn. sleet: mixture of rain and snow. mud: soft, wet earth. pickpockets: people who steal things from other people s pockets. 11. inns: small hotels or pubs with rooms, usually in the country. 12. sheltered: protected. 13. jugglers: people who juggle, i.e. throw a set of three or more objects, such as balls, into the air, catch and throw them up quickly, one at a time . 14. tossed: thrown gently. 7. 8. 9. 10. A Medieval fair 73 

Esplora i racconti dei pellegrini verso Canterbury e la società inglese del XIV secolo, arricchiti da approfondimenti storici e tematici.

The Canterbury Tales Collana RAINBOWS

Level B1 • Pre-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

The Canterbury Tales

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