Those April Showers
When Geoffrey Chaucer sat down over 600 hundred years ago to write these opening lines to what would eventually become The Canterbury Tales, little did he know that out of all the accomplishments in his life, this would be the most important. The Canterbury Tales begins at the start of spring, marking the turning point of the seasons. Where winter is pushed aside, and the first buds of spring begin to flourish with those April showers. It is a time of renewal and rebirth. A time for pilgrimage, where we go out on an expedition to learn and discover. To reaffirm our beliefs, our values, and what we know to be important. So welcome to our spring series, our second season of An Aesthetic Education, as we continue on our journey to discover meaning and purpose in art, literature, and beauty.
At the heart of The Canterbury Tales lies this notion of renewal. It comes of course in the form of the pilgrimage to Canterbury, a spiritual journey of upliftment to visit the shrine of St. Thomas Becket. There is an aspect of pilgrimage in cultures all around the world. Whether it is visiting shrines or religious sights or places that hold historical or personal memories. We go on a pilgrimage, not because it’s a vacation and not because the journey is easy. We go in order to find something in the world and within ourselves. Chaucer presents to us a cast of characters all in need of the pilgrimage they are setting out on. The characters and the tales they tell form a wonderful narrative example of the times and tribulations of the late Middle Ages. At the end of the 14th century, when Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales, Europe had just emerged from the spiral of destruction caused by the Black Death. It was a time of deep loss and a society that was experiencing dramatic changes. Is it any wonder that the characters Chaucer created found themselves heading out on a pilgrimage in search of something, be it solace, hope, certainty, or faith? The world of the late 14th century was a time of great societal transition as it marked the beginning of Europe moving away from the structures and norms of the Middle Ages and towards the early modern period of European history. People were traveling, new opportunities were arising, and alliances were being broken and re-formed. For the first time since the collapse of the Roman Empire a large wave of change was breaking onto Europe. A rebirth of the ancient aesthetics and a desire to seek out new knowledge. And while this Renaissance was appearing in its most dramatic and recognizable form in Italy, particularly cities like Florence, other countries were experiencing their own revivals and forward progress.
It is at this stage where we find Chaucer. You see before him, the English language existed as a mere remnant of that lost Anglo-Saxon world, spoken amongst the common people, but not used for the writing of literature. Since the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Norman French had become the official language of all written documents for the governance of the Kingdom and by proxy all cultural endeavors. Chaucer’s decision to write his story in the common tongue, cements The Canterbury Tales as the most significant surviving documentation of Middle English literature. For those interested in philology and the evolution of the English language it is interesting to note that most of The Canterbury Tales was written in the London dialect (Middle English was very much based around regional dialects and word uses), although the Reeve, Oswald, is from the north of England and we know that in the Reeve’s tale he does indeed use a northern dialect. All this matters because Chaucer’s decision to write in the language of the people changed the course of the role of the English language and its eventual evolution. Without Chaucer there would be no Shakespeare, and without Shakespeare, well there wouldn’t be much beauty in the English language at all.
As Chaucer’s story is written in the common tongue, so too are his characters a reflection on the common people. They are varied and a quintessentially English group that are made up all levels of society. The Knight, the Miller, and The Wife of Bath these are just some of the characters that provide us a profound level of understanding as to what life was like in Medieval England. We learn of their hopes, their fears, their insecurities, and of course their eccentricities. Each story that is told serves as a point of understanding and connection to the individual lives of the time and allows us to have some small sense of familiarity with these individuals. It really is like reaching out and having a conversation. Despite all the differences between our world and theirs, we usually find that the human experience and human nature doesn’t change all that much. Now it’s all well and good listening to me attempt to explain all the wonderful elements that make up these characters and their stories. It would be far better for you to hear directly from Chaucer himself. So in lieu of bringing Chaucer back from the dead, you will have to make do with my own reading of the prologue from The Canterbury Tales and together we can take a step back in time and meet Chaucer and his characters halfway between today and a time long past.
The Canterbury Tales – Prologue - Please listen to the podcast for the entire prologue.
Our reading of The Canterbury Tales comes from the wonderful translation from Middle English into Modern English by Peter Ackroyd. If you are looking for an easily accessible and riotously funny translation of these wonderful stories, I would highly recommend this edition.
What a collection of rather unique and certainly entertaining individuals. It would have been a sight to see this group of 29 people travelling together on the roads from London to Canterbury. But within the humor, the characters, and their entertaining tales lies an insight into the heart of medieval society. We mentioned earlier in this episode that the burgeoning renaissance that was beginning in Italy at this time was the first light to break onto Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire. The “Dark Ages” as it is so called. The point where the civilization that had governed the ancient world had collapsed and a splintered time lacking nuance and development occurred. I have always thought this quite a strange way to look at the many intervening centuries between the loss of the Roman Empire and the early modern period. After all this was a time of great artistic, architectural, and spiritual achievements. The grand cathedrals of Europe, the wonderful, illuminated manuscripts, the works of the great artisans, all these wonderful creations were made in a world that was very harsh. Yet, the harshness and difficulty did not preclude the creation of beauty. In fact, in many respects, it encouraged it.
The medieval world was a tough one. Life was short and often brutal. Disease, famine, war, one could be forgiven for seeing life as being an exercise in futility. The miracle being the simple survival and propagation of our species. Yet, the world that Chaucer paints us forms a very different picture of those times. One filled with people. Real people. Unique individuals with all the foibles and eccentricities that makes them human. They may have done good in their lives, they may have sinned, they may have achieved some great victory or created something truly beautiful. Whatever it is that they achieved in their lives, from the smallest achievement to the biggest, it had a place in that world. You see medieval man saw the world through symbols reflecting a perfect order. We see that in the description of each pilgrim in The Canterbury Tales. Every piece of clothing, every color, every symbol on a shield or on a sword signified something. There has always been this relationship between the individual and the perceived order of things. We all want to find our spot, our place within that order. Kenneth Clark, in his powerful documentary entitled Civilization begins with a quote by John Ruskin in an attempt to answer the question what is civilization? The quote is as follows: “Great nations write their autobiographies in three manuscripts, the book of their deeds, the book of their words and the book of their art. Not one of these books can be understood unless we read the two others, but of the three the only trustworthy one is the last.” Rarely have truer words been said. We have begun our exploration of the Middle Ages with an introduction to their words. Now we will explore their art, with the purpose and goal that by learning about the beauty and structure of their times, we are able to see the beauty and structure of ours. I look forward to all of us making this pilgrimage of knowledge together. Until next time, this has been Altalena, goodbye.
