Geoffrey Chaucer: the medieval father of English literature
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Who is Geoffrey Chaucer and why is he significant in English literature?
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No nyt on energiat kohdillaan!
Ja sähkösoppariit! Joo! Oomi.fi. Mut kattomasti mukana. Psst! Myös yrityksille! Hello and welcome to You're Dead to Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously. My name is Greg Jenner. I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster. And today we are preparing our pens and parchment and peregrinating back to the 14th century to learn all about Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the famous Canterbury Tales. And to inform and entertain us on our journey, we're joined by two very special travelling companions. In History Corner, she's the J.R.R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Languages at the University of Oxford and an expert on Chaucer and late medieval literature.
What events shaped Chaucer's early life and education?
Maybe you've read her award-winning biography, Chaucer, A European Life, or her new book, The Wife of Bath, A Biography. It's Professor Marion Turner. Welcome, Marion. Delighted to be here.
Thank you for inviting me.
My pleasure. Very happy to have you here. And in Comedy Corner, he's a comedian, actor and podcaster. You'll have seen him in Taskmaster, Man Down, and as Rose Matafeo's assistant on the wonderful Junior Taskmaster. Plus, you may have heard his dulcet tones on my favourite podcast, Three Bean Salad, or seen his new live tour show, The Bench. But you'll definitely know him from our previous episodes of You're Dead to Me, most recently Charles Dickens at Christmas and Arthurian Literature. It's Mike Wozniak. Welcome back, Mike. Thank you. Hello.
How did the Black Death impact Chaucer's life and work?
Thanks for having me back. Mike, we went medieval with you last time out. We went all King Arthur-y. I had a lovely old time. You knew a lot.
It was grist to my mill. Yeah, I felt like I hadn't wasted my childhood. You were in your element. But this, this is a different kettle of fish. Oh, is it? Yeah, this is utter bleak ignorance. A new level of ignorance.
It's beyond the unknown unknowns. OK, well, we're going to have a lovely time talking about one of the great poets of English literature. So, what do you know?
What role did John of Gaunt play in Chaucer's career?
So let's start with the first segment of the podcast. It's the So What Do You Know? This is where I have a go at guessing what you, our lovely listener, might know about today's subject. And if we're using Mike as the benchmark, maybe not much. But you've possibly heard Chaucer described as the father of English literature. Perhaps you've read his Canterbury Tales at school and you modelled your way through the Middle English while looking for the rude bits. That's what I did. Maybe you saw the BBC's 2003 adaptation, which transferred the famous Canterbury Tales to a 21st century setting. And if you're a noughties kid like me, you will remember Paul Bettany's turn as Geoffrey Chaucer in the brilliant movie A Knight's Tale that all medieval historians love.
But what about the life behind the literature? What did Chaucer get up to when he wasn't scribbling his poems? And where do snazzy leggings fit into our story? Let's find out. Are you excited about the leggings? I'm excited about the leggings.
What were Chaucer's major contributions to literature?
OK, Mike. Yes. From your high level of knowledge, you've already promised us, what sort of family do you think Geoffrey Chaucer was born into? What kind of class do you think he arrived into?
Oh, well, he's literate and not just literate. I don't know, the son of some sort of merchant or trader or ship's captain or someone who's got some qualifications, possibly a member of a guild.
This is great.
But not nobility, I'm saying. That neck of the woods.
Are you hustling us? Are you pretending to not know anything and then suddenly rolling out knowledge? Marion, I think Mike got it first time, son of a merchant.
Yeah, brilliant.
It's a merchant, is it? OK.
How did Chaucer's experiences influence The Canterbury Tales?
Yeah, so a wine merchant.
Ooh.
So his father was a vintner, is what we call them.
That's what we call them in Devon as well. Well, we do when we're trying to be a little bit classy and a bit pretentious. I have a local vintner near us called Ian and he's absolutely, he's magnificent.
Well, Ian, which is a version of the name John, which is Chaucer's dad.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Who is Geoffrey Chaucer and why is he significant in English literature?
0:00–1:16
2
What events shaped Chaucer's early life and education?
1:16–1:54
3
How did the Black Death impact Chaucer's life and work?
1:54–2:32
4
What role did John of Gaunt play in Chaucer's career?
2:32–3:24
5
What were Chaucer's major contributions to literature?
3:24–4:00
6
How did Chaucer's experiences influence The Canterbury Tales?
4:00–4:51
7
What themes and characters are prominent in The Canterbury Tales?
4:51–5:39
8
How did Chaucer's work influence future generations of writers?
5:39–1:01:04
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