Jonty Claypole

It was controlled by the Bishop of Winchester.

And in one of those ironies that we see in the general prologue,

Because it was owned by the church, essentially, or controlled by the church, it could operate by different laws.

And prostitution was legal.

There were kind of bishop-sanctioned brothels in Southwark.

Bear baiting was legal.

So people would cross the river from the City of London to come to Southwark to participate in sin, all presided over by the Bishop of Winchester.

So Chaucer, by rooting it in Southwark, is deliberately de-Decameroning his story.

He's taking it off the hillsides and plunging it into the messiest, grubbiest part of London.

So that's why I think Southwark's important.

The reason why I think Canterbury's important is that Canterbury...

at the time, is associated with this clash between church and crown that took place a couple of hundred years before, where Thomas of Beckett, the archbishop, defied the king and was murdered.

And in some ways, the story of Canterbury, the cathedral as it becomes, is this shrine to Thomas Beckett, beautiful stained windows showing the miracles that have resulted when people from around Europe have come and prayed and they've regained their sight and so on.

So on one hand, Canterbury sort of embodies the triumph of church over state, that although the king killed Thomas Becket, the church triumphs.

But what everyone at the time knew is that Canterbury was the biggest tourist destination.

It was one of the big tourist destinations in Europe.

And it was a big money spinner.

And all over museums, all over Europe today, you can find badges that people bought at Canterbury, little souvenirs like relic boxes and badges which look amazingly modern, which have sort of Thomas Becket on them and you wore pinned to you.

By going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, we're being told that these pilgrims

They're kind of not really doing it because they're spiritual people.