U5 L6 Fourteenth-Century writers: Chaucer Flashcards

1
Q

What kind of parallels exist between conditions of the 14th and 20th century?

A
  • times of change
  • agrarian society with fixed prices and population
  • to urban structure based on commerce and industry
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2
Q

Where does the name Chaucer come from?

A

French word chaussier, meaning shoemaker

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3
Q

Who may have been Chaucer’s immediate ancestors?

A

prosperous vintners (wine merchant)

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4
Q

When is Chaucer thought to be born and to whom?

A
  • 1340s

- John Chaucer and (supposedly) agnes

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5
Q

What was Europe’s form of government during the medieval period?

A

aristocratic

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6
Q

What was the structure of the feudal system?

A

King- granted land
Nobles- supplied money and men for defense
Lesser Nobles- dependent in Nobles, supplied same things
Knights- bottom

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7
Q

What did the economic system of the manor control?

A

serfs

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8
Q

By Chaucer’s time, what was beginning to happen to feudalism?

A

decline, replaced by industry and trade

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9
Q

What are three of Chaucer’s pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales that reflect the feudal system?

A
  • The Knight
  • The Squire
  • The Knight’s yeoman (servant in Prologue)
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10
Q

What age did the The Squire become a squire and knight?

A

S-14

K-21

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11
Q

Who was a Franklin?

A
  • landowners

- may have took part in feudal by contributing money/men than defending lord

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12
Q

What class was the Franklin a representative of?

A

new rich middle class

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13
Q

Who was a Miller?

A
  • resident of manor/town

- served an area

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14
Q

Who was a Reeve?

A

estate manager in lord’s abscence

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15
Q

Who was a Plowman?

A

freeman

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16
Q

Why was the 14th century considered a period of transition?

A
  • agrarian economy to commerce/industry
  • Hundred Years War, political and economic
  • Black Death
  • growing power of middle class
  • peasant rebellions
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17
Q

What did Chaucer serve in the Hundred Years War?

A

military service

18
Q

Where and when was Chaucer captured?

A

French near Rheims, 1360

19
Q

Who was Chaucer’s wife?

A

Philippa Roet

20
Q

Who was Philippa Roet’s sister and who did she marry?

A

Katherine of Swynford, John of Gaunt

21
Q

How many children is Chaucer believed to have?

A
  • daughter and two sons

- 3

22
Q

What were the occupations Chaucer had in his lifetime?

A
  • civil servant
  • diplomat to France and Italy
  • Comptroller
  • justice of the peace
  • Parliament member
23
Q

In 1394, what had Chaucer been appointed as?

A

Comptroller of Customs and Subsides on Wool, Skins, and Hides for the port of London

24
Q

What did Chaucer work as when he moved to Kent?

A
  • justice of the peace

- Parliament member

25
Q

When did Chaucer’s wife die?

A

1387

26
Q

What did Chaucer do after the death of his wife?

A

-returned to London
-took office as Clerk of the King’s Works
two years later- deputy forester for royal forest in Somerset

27
Q

In spit of his government offices and royal gifts, what was Chaucer repeatedly in?

A

debt

28
Q

Who wrote poems Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl?

A

Pear Poet (not much known)

29
Q

What is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight? Why is it important

A
  • Arthurian romance

- presents 14 cent customs and seasonal changes

30
Q

What is Pearl?

A
  • elegy
  • dream vision
  • religious allegory containing vision of Paradise
  • combining French and English elements
31
Q

What is the twist in Pearl?

A

girl is the poet’s two year old daughter who died

32
Q

What did pearls symbolize in Christianity?

A
  • purity
  • virtue
  • truth
33
Q

What is dream-vision?

A
  • poetic device used in 14 cent
  • poet walks in meadow/wood usually in spring
  • drifts off
  • has dream/vision that is usually an allegory
34
Q

What are works of Chaucer that contain dream-vision?

A
  • Book of the Duchesse
  • The Parlement of Foules (birds)
  • The House of Fame
  • Nun’s Priest’s Tale

Dumb Follies are Famously Priests

35
Q

Who were 2 Mystics that recorded visions and spiritual insights?

A
  • Richard Rolle

- Julian of Norwich

36
Q

What was the Handlyng Synne?

A
  • compilation of moral tales

- Robert Mannying

37
Q

Who wrote The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman?

A

William Langland

38
Q

What is Piers Plowman about?

A
  • long poem
  • religious allegory, satire, social history, dream vision

rassdv

39
Q

What is Piers Plowman written in?

A

alliterative verse

40
Q

How many languages did John Gower write in?

A

3

41
Q

What did Chaucer call John Gower?

A

moral Gower

42
Q

What is John Gower most famous for?

A

Confessio Amantis