Structurally, the collection resembles Boccaccio's Decameron, which Chaucer may have read during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372. Doherty wrote a series of novels based on The Canterbury Tales, making use of both the story frame and Chaucer's characters. English had, however, been used as a literary language centuries before Chaucer's time, and several of Chaucer's contemporaries—John Gower, William Langland, the Pearl Poet, and Julian of Norwich—also wrote major literary works in English. Some of the oldest existing manuscripts of the tales include new or modified tales, showing that even early on, such additions were being created. By the 17th century, Canterbury's population was 5,000; of whom 2,000 were French-speaking Protestant Huguenots, who had begun fleeing persecution and war in the Spanish Netherlands in the mid-16th century. The city's cathedral became a major focus of pilgrimage following the 1170 martyrdom of Thomas Becket, although it had already been a well-trodden pilgrim destination since the murder of St Alphege by the men of King Canute in 1012. Nowlin, Steele. See overview in the Wiki 'Adam Pinkhurst' page, citing especially Lawrence Warner, Based on the information in Norman Davies, "Language and Versification", in. [93] Waits were eventually abolished nationally by the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835. It was common for pilgrims on a pilgrimage to have a chosen "master of ceremonies" to guide them and organise the journey. [39], The Canterbury Tales was written during a turbulent time in English history. Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy appears in several tales, as the works of John Gower do. It is unclear to what extent Chaucer was seminal in this evolution of literary preference. The city's theatre and concert hall is the Marlowe Theatre named after Christopher Marlowe, who was born in the city in Elizabethan times. Although its library was destroyed,[43] the cathedral did not sustain extensive bomb damage and the local Fire Wardens doused any flames on the wooden roof. [16] The town's new importance led to its revival, and trades developed in pottery, textiles, and leather. Canterbury is associated with several saints from this period who lived in Canterbury: The Black Death hit Canterbury in 1348. Canterbury has two railway stations, called Canterbury West and Canterbury East (despite both stations being west of the city centre, Canterbury West is to the northwest and Canterbury East is to the southwest). Corrupt summoners would write false citations and frighten people into bribing them to protect their interests. Canterbury district retained approximately 4,761 businesses, up to 60,000 full and part-time employees and was worth £1.3 billion in 2001. He is best known for the celebrated “ontological argument” for the existence of God in the Proslogion, but his contributions to philosophical theology (and indeed to philosophy more generally) go well beyond the ontological argument. Having the Knight go first gives one the idea that all will tell their stories by class, with the Monk following the Knight. During the late seventies and early eighties the Canterbury Odeon hosted a number of major acts, including The Cure[100] and Joy Division. [5] Canterbury remains, however, a small city in terms of geographical size and population, when compared with other British cities. [10] William immediately ordered a wooden motte-and-bailey castle to be built by the Roman city wall. The rest either had no religion, an alternative religion, or did not state their religion. Chaucer's Pardoner openly admits the corruption of his practice while hawking his wares. Another famous visitor was Mahatma Gandhi, who came to the city[49] According to the Prologue, Chaucer's intention was to write four stories from the perspective of each pilgrim, two each on the way to and from their ultimate destination, St. Thomas Becket's shrine (making for a total of about 120 stories). The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. [27][28][29][30][31], The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories built around a frame narrative or frame tale, a common and already long established genre of its period. The Huguenots introduced silk weaving into the city, which by 1676 had outstripped wool weaving. [15][16], Textual and manuscript clues have been adduced to support the two most popular modern methods of ordering the tales. Chaucer also seems to have borrowed from numerous religious encyclopaedias and liturgical writings, such as John Bromyard's Summa praedicantium, a preacher's handbook, and Jerome's Adversus Jovinianum. The original neo-Classical school building on St John's Place is now a private house, with the school housed in larger buildings at the end of the street. In the city centre, National Cycle Routes 1 and 18 cross and go off towards Whitstable on the Crab and Winkle Way (1), and Chartham via the Great Stour Way (18), providing easy access by bike from the west of the city. [27], In 1620 Robert Cushman negotiated the lease of the Mayflower at 59 Palace Street for the purpose of transporting the Pilgrims to America. It ends with an apology by Boccaccio, much like Chaucer's Retraction to the Tales. [43], Two characters, the Pardoner and the Summoner, whose roles apply the Church's secular power, are both portrayed as deeply corrupt, greedy, and abusive. [68], In 2015, the value of tourism to the city of Canterbury was over £450 million; 7.2 million people visited that year. Canterbury experiences an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb), similar to almost all of the United Kingdom. Eurolines coaches run from the bus station to London and Paris. [13] In the late 3rd century, to defend against attack from barbarians, the Romans built an earth bank around the city and a wall with seven gates, which enclosed an area of 130 acres (53 ha). There are several theatre groups based in Canterbury, including the University of Kent Students' Union's T24 Drama Society, The Canterbury Players[90] and Kent Youth Theatre. Here the sacred and profane adventure begins, but does not end. The film's main story takes place in an imaginary town in Kent and ends with the main characters arriving at Canterbury Cathedral, bells pealing and Chaucer's words again resounding. It is now widely rejected by scholars as an authentic Chaucerian tale, although some scholars think he may have intended to rewrite the story as a tale for the Yeoman. Nearby villages include Chartham, Rough Common, Sturry and Tyler Hill. The previous incarnation of the club folded in 2001. For the larger local government district, see, "History of Canterbury" redirects here. The biggest expansion of the city occurred in the 1960s, with the arrival of the University of Kent at Canterbury and Christ Church College. He tells Alla the story of how Custance was found, and Alla begins to pity the girl. While the rest of the pilgrims disperse throughout the town, the Pardoner seeks the affections of Kate the barmaid, but faces problems dealing with the man in her life and the innkeeper Harry Bailey. Of the 17,536 households, 35% were one-person households, 39% were couples, 10% were lone parents, and 15% other. [76], Collection of 24 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer, Recording in reconstructed Middle English pronunciation, ˈweːpiŋɡ and ˈwailiŋɡ ‖ ˈkaːr‿and ˈoːðər ˈsɔrwə ‖, iː ˈknɔu iˈnoːx ‖ ɔn ˈɛːvən and aˈmɔrwə ‖, ˈkwɔd ðə ˈmartʃant ‖ and ˈsɔː ˈdoːn ˈoːðər ˈmɔː ‖, The name "Tales of Caunterbury" appears within the surviving texts of Chaucer's work. In 2005 it was granted full university status, and as of 2007[update] it had around 15,000 students. [110], Canterbury City F.C. [96] [71], There are actually two versions of The Plowman's Tale, both of which are influenced by the story Piers Plowman, a work written during Chaucer's lifetime. In the early 12th century, the castle was rebuilt with stone. In one scene a local historian lectures an audience of British soldiers about the pilgrims of Chaucer's time and the vibrant history of England.[74]. Chaucer's Tales differs from most other story "collections" in this genre chiefly in its intense variation. Thus, the structure of The Canterbury Tales itself is liminal; it not only covers the distance between London and Canterbury, but the majority of the tales refer to places entirely outside the geography of the pilgrimage. Of those aged 16–74 in the city, 27% had a higher education qualification, higher than the 20% national average. Canterbury, along with Whitstable and Herne Bay, is now in the City of Canterbury local government district. Religion was recorded as 68.2% Christian, 1.1% Muslim, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.8% Hindu, 0.2% Jewish, and 0.1% Sikh. Writers were encouraged to write in a way that kept in mind the speaker, subject, audience, purpose, manner, and occasion. [105] Glosses included in The Canterbury Tales manuscripts of the time praised him highly for his skill with "sentence" and rhetoric, the two pillars by which medieval critics judged poetry. [123] at the 2001 census, 22% of the population aged 16–74 were full-time students, compared with 7% throughout England. [62] The notion of a pilgrimage is itself a liminal experience, because it centres on travel between destinations and because pilgrims undertake it hoping to become more holy in the process. [33] Canterbury Prison was opened in 1808 just outside the city boundary. He uses the tales and descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. [15], General Prologue [104] The Canterbury Orchestra, founded in 1953, is a thriving group of enthusiastic players who regularly tackle major works from the symphonic repertoire. "...where he became thoroughly inbued with the spirit and excellence of the great Italian poets and prose-writers: Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio; and is said to have had a personal contact interview with one of these, Petrarch.". [70], Unemployment in the city has dropped significantly since 2001 owing to the opening of the Whitefriars shopping complex which introduced thousands of job opportunities. The station is run by a collaboration of education establishments in the city including the two universities. Some turned to lollardy, while others chose less extreme paths, starting new monastic orders or smaller movements exposing church corruption in the behaviour of the clergy, false church relics or abuse of indulgences. The Knight's Tale Television adaptations include Alan Plater's 1975 re-telling of the stories in a series of plays for BBC2: Trinity Tales. Medieval schools of rhetoric at the time encouraged such diversity, dividing literature (as Virgil suggests) into high, middle, and low styles as measured by the density of rhetorical forms and vocabulary. [26] Thomas Becket's shrine in the cathedral was demolished and all the gold, silver and jewels were removed to the Tower of London, and Becket's images, name and feasts were obliterated throughout the kingdom, ending the pilgrimages. [32] In 1787 all the gates in the city wall, except for Westgate—the city jail—were demolished as a result of a commission that found them impeding to new coach travel. [76] Surviving structures from the Roman times include Queningate, a blocked gate in the city wall, and the Dane John Mound, once part of a Roman cemetery. Between 1378 and 1402, the wall was virtually rebuilt, and new wall towers were added. [7] (Medieval variants of the Roman name include Dorobernia and Dorovernia. After the interval, the members sang catches and glees from the club's extensive music library (now deposited at the Cathedral Archives in Canterbury).[95]. [124], Canterbury Christ Church University was founded as a teacher training college in 1962 by the Church of England. In 1448 Canterbury was granted a City Charter, which gave it a mayor and a high sheriff; the city still has a Lord Mayor and Sheriff. There are also multiple cycle routes into the city centre from Nackington Road (Simon Langton Boys School), Hales Place, the University, St Dunstans and Harbledown, Blean, Rough Common and St Stephens. The act of pilgrimaging itself consists of moving from one urban space, through liminal rural space, to the next urban space with an ever fluctuating series of events and narratives punctuating those spaces. KMFM Canterbury broadcasts on 106FM. In 1978 its range of courses began to expand into other subjects, and in 1995 it was given the power to become a University college. In 2000, during the redevelopment, a major archaeological project was undertaken by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, known as the Big Dig,[47] which was supported by Channel Four's Time Team.[48]. "[www.britannia.com/history/ebk/articles/nenniuscities.html The 28 Cities of Britain]" at Britannia. [70], John Lydgate wrote The Siege of Thebes in about 1420. It was during these years that Chaucer began working on his most famous text, The Canterbury Tales. At the 2001 UK census,[59][60][61][62][63][64] C the total population of the city's urban area wards was 43,432, with 135,278 within the Canterbury district. Order No. In the 1st century AD, the Romans captured the settlement and named it Durovernum Cantiacorum. A proposed Canterbury Parkway railway station would allow this, as well as acting as a further station for commuters avoiding the city centre. Chivalry was on the decline in Chaucer's day, and it is possible that The Knight's Tale was intended to show its flaws, although this is disputed. Stagecoach in East Kent runs most local bus routes in Canterbury as well as long-distance services. Three German planes were shot down by the RAF. There is also a substantial student population, brought about by the presence of the University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University, the University for the Creative Arts, and the Girne American University Canterbury campus. However, the Miller's interruption makes it clear that this structure will be abandoned in favour of a free and open exchange of stories among all classes present. It was built in 1817 and worked until 1890; it is now a house conversion. "Sources and Analogues of the Canterbury Tales", 2002, p. 22. The transmitter is based at the University of Kent, offering a good coverage of the city. Some scholars thus find it unlikely that Chaucer had a copy of the work on hand, surmising instead that he may have merely read the Decameron at some point. It is about 45 miles (72 km) from the M25 London orbital motorway, and 61 miles (98 km) from central London by road. The tales that make up a Fragment are closely related and contain internal indications of their order of presentation, usually with one character speaking to and then stepping aside for another character. 8615152 The Pennsylvania State University, 1986. Canterbury Leisure and Aquatic Centre Our facility includes two heated pools, a toddler's pool, a large outdoor sitting area, undercover grand stand and a range of water programs. This sentiment was universally agreed upon by later critics into the mid-15th century. [72] At the time, the national rate was 4.2%. This makes it difficult to tell when Chaucer is writing to the fictional pilgrim audience or the actual reader. David J. Shaw and Sarah Gray, ‘James Abree (1691?–1768): Canterbury’s first "modern" printer’, in: Roger Bowers, 'The Liturgy of the Cathedral and its music, c. 1075–1642', In: James M. Gibson, 'The Canterbury Waits', in: Higher and Further Education in the Canterbury District: An Impact Review, Girne American University Canterbury campus, "Descriptive Gazetteer entry for Canterbury", "The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer", "The restoration of Canterbury Cathedral", Canterbury Archaeological Trust: Previous articles: Big Dig, Special Collections – Library Services – University of Kent, "Canterbury Cathedral £25 million restoration leaves it like a building site", "Background information on the River Stour", Kent & Canterbury Tourist Attraction | Canterbury Historic River Tours, "Weather statistics for Canterbury, England (United Kingdom)", "Census 2011 result shows increase in population of the South East", "Canterbury Population 2018 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)", "Canterbury's £450 million tourism boost", "Universities' £900m impact on the Canterbury economy - University of Kent", "Coronavirus Kent: Canterbury Tales attraction announces permanent closure", Canterbury Cathedral: organs and organists, University of Kent Music – Making Music, Welcome to the Canterbury Festival, Kent's International Arts Festival | Home, "Kingsmead Leisure Centre – Our Facilities", "MP Rosie Duffield in talks over proposals for new Canterbury Parkway railway station", "History of Canterbury Christ Church University", "A Brief History of the King's School, Canterbury", Sir Freddie Laker – British entrepreneur who pioneered low-cost air travel, Christopher Marlowe – Some biographical facts, "Trevor Pinnock (Conductor, Harpsichord)", "Archbishop of Canterbury receives freedom of city", "Canterbury City Cemetery: Joseph Conrad Memorial", Canterbury City Council – Twinning contacts. Services from London Victoria stop at Canterbury East and continue to Dover. They both had an enthusiasm for scholarship. [34], Lastly, Chaucer does not pay much attention to the progress of the trip, to the time passing as the pilgrims travel, or to specific locations along the way to Canterbury. [141] After it was declared redundant and de-consecrated in 1972, it was acquired by the city council and converted for municipal use: it was officially re-opened by the Prince of Wales as the new Guildhall and meeting place of the city council on 9 November 1978.[53]. [25] During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the city's priory, nunnery and three friaries were closed. The Marlowe Theatre can be seen from many points throughout the city centre, considering it is the only modern and tall structure. [13] Between 1830 and 1900, the city's population grew from 15,000 to 24,000. It includes a wide range of musical events ranging from opera and symphony concerts to world music, jazz, folk, etc., with a Festival Club, a Fringe and Umbrella events. [82] The Canterbury Tales visitor attraction, an interactive tour through Chaucer's tales using costumed characters and waxworks, announced its permanent closure in April 2020. [15] Victorians frequently used the nine "Groups", which was the order used by Walter William Skeat whose edition Chaucer: Complete Works was used by Oxford University Press for most of the twentieth century, but this order is now[when?] The hourly National Express 007 coach service to and from Victoria Coach Station, which leaves from the main bus station, is typically scheduled to take two hours. Monastic orders, which originated from a desire to follow an ascetic lifestyle separated from the world, had by Chaucer's time become increasingly entangled in worldly matters. [8] Fifty-five of these manuscripts are thought to have been originally complete, while 28 are so fragmentary that it is difficult to ascertain whether they were copied individually or as part of a set. The ultimate pilgrimage destination was Jerusalem,[51] but within England Canterbury was a popular destination. For many years pubs have been a meeting point for communities dotted around South Canterbury and while times have changed, reporter Chris Tobin discovers there’s still plenty to celebrate. [55] "Although Chaucer undoubtedly studied the works of these celebrated writers, and particularly of Dante before this fortunate interview; yet it seems likely, that these excursions gave him a new relish for their compositions, and enlarged his knowledge of the Italian fables. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion owing to the importance of St Augustine, who served as the apostle to the pagan Kingdom of Kent around the turn of the 7th century. The Gulbenkian Theatre, at the University of Kent, also serves the city, housing also a cinema and café. [40] On that day alone, 43 people were killed and nearly 100 sustained wounds. Retrieved on 17 January 2011, "Royal Regiment of Scotland to receive Freedom of the City", Canterbury Archaeological Trust – Whitefriars excavations, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canterbury&oldid=1011033191, Articles with Latin-language sources (la), CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Articles with dead external links from January 2020, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with dead external links from May 2017, Articles with dead external links from July 2018, Articles with dead external links from November 2016, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2021, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2007, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from EB9, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎, Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 8 March 2021, at 17:38. Canterbury South was on the Elham Valley Railway. [133][134] The Canterbury Extra is owned by the KM Group and also has a circulation of about 55,000. [13] The Canterbury & Whitstable Railway (The Crab and Winkle Way), the world's first passenger railway,[35] was opened in 1830;[36] bankrupt by 1844, it was purchased by the South Eastern Railway, which connected the town to its larger network in 1846. In 1994 the tour passed through, and in 2007 it held the finish for Stage 1. While Chaucer clearly states the addressees of many of his poems, the intended audience of The Canterbury Tales is more difficult to determine. Often, such insight leads to a variety of discussions and disagreements among people in the 14th century.