Chivalry in Chaucers Canterbury Tales - 802 Words

Chivalry in Chaucers Canterbury Tales In his Canterbury Tales, Chaucer fully explicates the cultural standard known as curteisye through satire. In the fourteenth century curteisye embodied sophistication and an education in French international culture. The legends of chilvalric knights, conversing in the language of courtly love, matured during this later medieval period. Chaucer himself matured in the Kings Court, and he reveled in his cultural status, but he also retained an anecdotal humor about curteisye. One must only peruse his Tales to discern these sentiments. In the General Prologue, he meticulously describes the Prioress, satirically examining her impeccable table manners. In the Millers Tale Chaucer juxtaposes†¦show more content†¦All elements combine to illuminate a woman who could only ever attempt to find curteisye, never truly achieve it. In the Millers Tale, the reader finds one of the most humorous passages by Chaucer: Now sire, and eft sire, so bifel the cas That on a say this hende Nicholas Fil with this yonge wif to rage and playe, Whil that hir housbinde was at Oseneye (As clerkes been ful subtil and ful quainte), And prively he caughte hire by the queinte, And saide, Ywis, but if ich have my wille, For derne love of thee, lemman, I spille, And heeld hire harde by the haunche-bones, And saide, Lemman, love me al atones, Or I wol dien, also God me save. (163-72) Quite literally, Nicholas caught Alison by the crotch to draw her near to him, and then held her there by her haunches, or rear end. Standing alone, that image provides an element of base humor, but when that event is coupled with Nicholas words, a dramatically ironic, and altogether funny, scene arises. Nicholas is wooing Alison with the words of courtly love (love me al atones, / Or I wol dien,), the respectful standard of the time, but he simultaneously gropes her in the must vulgar method possible. Here Chaucer plays with the idea of curteisye; he is not mocking someones attempts at it, but rather in his juxtaposition he exposes an element of curteisye not usually recognized. The reader gets the impressionShow MoreRelatedCourtly Love in The Knights Tale and The Wife of Baths Tale1353 Words   |  6 Pagescontroversy. Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet of the period, comments on courtly love in his work The Canterbury Tales. Through the use of satiric elements and skilled mockery, Chaucer creates a work that not only brought courtly love to the forefront of medieval society but also introduced feministic ideals to the medieval society. 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