Geoffry Chaucer's the canterbury tales in context

Abstract

This thesis intends to explore that turbulent period with another source of reference which is literature. In fact many historians believe that literature is the byproduct of its time. Starting with this idea, Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales can be regarded as a patchwork or mosaic that holds underneath the humorous and ironic tone of its stories, more issues of the fourteenth century, especially in relation to different areas of life: sociohistorical, religious and literary aspects. Throughout this pertinent analysis of the medieval period and Chaucer's work, this thesis explores and analyzes the contexts of Chaucer's work, and answers some fundamental questions: how did Chaucer picture social life in his famous work, The Canterbury Tales? Did religion affect deeply the Middle Ages and medieval literature, especially The Canterbury Tales? And also, how did Romance find it place in medieval literature like The Canterbury Tales?