Garmentology in the Canterbury Tales Essay

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in a collection of 24 stories while on a pilgrimage to visit the relics of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. The purpose behind this pilgrimage is for the pilgrims to visit the shrine to seek forgiveness for their sins. Due to the long trip, the host made a deal with everyone to tell two stories on the way and back from Canterbury and whoever tells the best one receives a paid for meal. Each character telling their stories gives away bits of information and a visual idea of who they really are. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer uses detail, point of view, and descriptive language to portray the Pardoner and Summoner to be worse than the Skipper.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales became one of the first ever works that began to approach the standards of modern literature. It was probably one of the first books to offer the readers entertainment, and not just another set of boring morals. However, the morals, cleverly disguised, are present in almost every story. Besides, the book offers the descriptions of the most common aspects of the human nature. The books points out both the good and the bad qualities of the people, however, the most obvious descriptions are those of the sinful flaws of humans, such as greed and lust.

The Yeomen succumbs to society's inclination that when he dresses the part he will become successful. He decides to wears a coat with a green hood. From a low social standing, he believes that the better he looks the more successful he will become. Emphasis should be placed on one's achievements and inner self rather than outward appearance. “A sheaf of peacock arrows bright and keen,” (104). This demonstrates how the Yeoman appears to be in a moderately high social class, but in reality he is a lowly servant. He wears bright and keen garments which implies that he thinks of himself as an important person. An elaborate brace is worn on his arm to protect it from the bow. At first glance, one would assume that he was a superior archer of high standings rather then a lowly Yeomen. “A Christopher on his breast of silver sheen,” (115). This “Christopher” is a medal which he wears on his chest. This implies that he thinks of himself, worthy enough to wear such a glorifying medal. Had it been awarded to another, more humble person, they would have treasured it in their heart, rather than displaying it for its sentimental worthlessness. The Yeoman feels as though he needs to dress nicely because he is sentimental or insecure about his low social ranking. “And on that other side a gay dagger Harnessed well and sharp as point of spear,” (113-114). This quote clearly

Written in 1392, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, satirizes the corruption within the church. In the Medieval ages, which took place from 1066-1485, the English society was divided into three classes: the feudal class, the church class, and the town class. Throughout “The Prologue”, Chaucer describes the pilgrims based upon their profession, class, and apparel. While some of the party that travels with him goes for religious purposes, others go simply for a vacation. Geoffrey Chaucer uses the Monk and the Parson, two Medieval religious authorities, to reveal the corruption within the church, and to also show that not all members are unethical.

The Canterbury Tales, the most famous and revolutionary work of Geoffrey Chaucer, is a collection of twenty-four tales presented in the form of a story-telling contest by pilgrims who are traveling from London to Canterbury. In my viewpoint, The Canterbury Tales can be understood as a representation of the English society at Chaucer's time as it documents several of the social tensions of life in the late Middle Age. The choice of setting the tales as part of a pilgrimage allowed the author to cover a wide range of social roles with varying hierarchical positions and occupations. Therefore, the tales depict a number of the evolving themes by that time in many segments of the society, such as the ones presented in The Wife of Bath tale: the

The portraits do not follow any particular order after the first few pilgrims have been introduced; the Knight who comes first is socially the highest person present (the Host calls him 'my mayster and my lord' in line 837). The Knight is the picture of a professional soldier, come straight from foreign wars with clothes all stained from his armour. His travels are remarkably vast; he has fought in Prussia, Lithuania, Russia, Spain, North Africa, and Turkey against pagans, Moors, and Saracens, killing many. The variety of lords for whom he has fought suggests that he is some kind of mercenary, but it seems that Chaucer may have known people at the English court with similar records.

The colour green in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is another important symbol used in this poem. The colour green is evident in the character of the Green Knight and in the green girdle that Gawain accepted of Lady Bertilak. The connection between the colour of the Green Knight and of the green girdle can be seen as a symbol of the inevitable failure of Gawain. As Gawain accepted the girdle he failed to keep his word to Bertilak and the Green Knight and also failed two of his knightly virtues, chastity and courtesy. The colour green therefore can be seen as a symbol of Gawain’s betrayal in the poem. “Þis is þe token of vntrawþe þat I am tan inne, And I mot nedez hit were wyle I may last; For mon may hyden his harme, bot vnhap ne may hit” (SGGK, 2509-11). This quote discusses the girdles meaning to Gawain once he arrives back to Arthurs court. It is described as a ‘token’ of dishonesty and Gawain believes he must now wear it

The Canterbury Tales is a story that incorporates a multitude of stories told by a multitude of characters. Written by Geoffrey Chaucer, he devises a novel in which each character has to narrate a total of four stories as part of a competition; on their way to visit Saint Thomas Becket, the characters would tell two stories going and two stories returning from the journey. The perspective changes through each story, and each story is introduced by a general, opening, third person prologue. Though many of the characters got to share some ideas, Chaucer unfortunately passed away before his story’s entirety. As a result, a winner was never officially clarified. Needless to say, it is evident that the clear winner would be the Miller’s Tale.

       The characters introduced in the General Prologue of The Canterbury Tales each represent a stereotype of a kind of person that Chaucer would have been familiar with in 14th Century England. Each character is unique, yet embodies many physical and behavioral traits that would have been common for someone in their profession. In preparing the reader for the tales, Chaucer first sets the mood by providing an overall idea of the type of character who is telling the tale, then allows that character to introduce themselves through a personal prologue and finally, the pilgrim tells their tale. Through providing the reader with insight about the physical and personal traits of

The Canterbury Tales, a masterpiece of English Literature, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a collection, with frequent dramatic links, of 24 tales told to pass the time during a spring pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. The General Prologue introduces the pilgrims, 29 "sondry folk" gathered at the Tabard Inn in Southwark (outside of London). Chaucer decides to join them, taking some time to describe each pilgrim.

In Geoffrey Chaucer's, The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer narrates the accounts of several pilgrims on their way to visit the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at the Cathedral in Canterbury. Through his narratives, Chaucer presents his audience with a broad representation of life and social class interaction in both the pilgrims and the characters in their tales. Chaucer brings to light various ideas, thoughts, and commentary in regards to medieval society. The two most significant characters who provide the greatest insight into contemporary medieval society are the Wife of Bath and the Prioress. Through both the Wife of Bath's Tale and the Prioress's Tale, Chaucer articulates his opinionated views of the etiquette and conduct of women in the

The woman was fair skinned and her body was slim. She wore a stripped silken

In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer gives a detailed description of what life was like in Medieval times . In the “Prologue”, the reader comes to better understand the people of the time period through the characters words and actions. Chaucer uses a variety of groups of society to give the reader a deeper insight into the fourteenth century Pilgrims customs and values. Through the Court, Common people and the Church, Gregory Chaucer gives a detailed description of ordinary life in the medieval times.

Geoffrey Chaucer, in his novel Canterbury Tales, characterizes twenty four pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury. Ranging from knights to aristocrats to the trade class , the descriptive passages depict his opinions on each traveller. These characters in turn reflect Chaucer’s criticism and attitude towards medieval society, an example of social commentary. One character specifically used to reflect Chaucer's views on Scottish culture, the lower class, and corrupt businessmen is the Miler. In the general prologue, Chaucer reveals an overall negative opinion towards the Miller’s appearance and actions, reflecting his disappoint with aspects of the Middle Ages.

Canterbury Tales is a story about a group of thirty people, including the Host, that are traveling to the shrine of the martyr St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury. The diverse group is a concoction of contradicting personalities that are intricately described by Chaucer. Among these twenty-nine excursionists are two women. One of them is the coquettish Prioress while the other one is the partially deaf Wife at Bath. Although both women possess discernable similarities, both possess divergent personalities and experiences.