《The Canterbury Tales (level 3)》.doc

Introduction As you know, its a long way to Canterbury. You need to stay happy on the journey. Ive got an idea. You must all tell a story on the way. Well give a free dinner to the person who tells the best story. Now, put up your hands if you agree. The pilgrims all held up their hands and cried out, Yes! A group of pilgrims are travelling together for five days from London to Canterbury. On the way, each pilgrim has to tell a story. Some stories are happy, and some are sad. But they all have a message, and we can learn from them. The writer of these tales, Geoffrey Chaucer, was born in London in about 1342. We do not know exactly when he was born. His father, John, and his grandfather, Robert, worked in the wine business. They probably also worked for King Edward III. The family earned quite a lot of money and had a comfortable life. When he was a young boy, Chaucer went to school in London. He then worked for an important lady in the kings family. It was a very good job and he met some very interesting people. In 1359 Chaucer was sent abroad as a soldier. He was fighting for the king against France in part of the Hundred YearsWar. He was taken prisoner by the French near Rheims, but after a year the king paid money for his return. When he returned to England, Chaucer worked for the king, his family and friends. In about 1367 he married Philippa de Roet, a lady who worked for the Queen. Chaucer was a great reader and he had an excellent memory. He learned to read in Latin, French, Anglo-Norman and Italian. He knew a lot about literature, history and science. The king often sent him to other countries on important business for him. On two of these journeys Chaucer went to Italy; first to Genoa, in 1372, and then to Milan, in 1378. People think that Chaucer became interested in Italian story-tellers on these journeys. He probably met the Italian writer, Boccaccio, when he was in Italy. We can be sure that he read Boccaccios book, the Decameron (1348—58). Chaucer be