Canterbury in literature
Contemporary literature leads to a deeper understanding of history and society. Rather than delve into a derivative work specifically descriptive of medieval English life, read tales from the times. Start with Geoffrey Chaucer. Medieval. His famous tales recount a group of Pilgrims en route to Canterbury Cathedral: some tales are bawdy, others are simply of human interest, funny or sad, anecdotal. Find the times and music at medieval author's times.Geoffrey Chaucer's Times and Tales at http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/chaucer. The Canterbury Tales are online at http://www.librarius.com/cantales.
1. Try The Pardoner's Tale (and the Unredeemed Dead, a topic of the times) at http:// www.unc.edu/depts/chaucer/zatta/pardoner; and http://englishcomplit.unc.edu/chaucer/zatta/pardoner.htm. Pardoner? Who? A pardoner was an official whose sold indulgences and relics and preached. See http://www.stjohns-chs.org/english/Medieval/pdr.html. The focus was on resurrection after death, and how to attain it; and issues of practicality related to it, in the eyes of nonb
Take a virtual tour of the town of Canterbury at http://www.hillside.co.uk/tour/tour.
2. Thomas a Becket. The murder of this cleric in 1170 triggered pilgrimages to the site of his death, the Cathedral at Canterbury. Turn to a not contemporaneous account (1875) but well researched, by Edward Grim at Medieval Sourcebook, http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/Grim-becket.asp/ Becket was first confidante to the King, but later his adversary when issues between powers of church and state came to a head. Thomas was stabbed in the Cathedral itself. See the story of Thomas a Becket at http://www.digiserve.com/peter/becket.
The beautiful cathedral, at Canterbury is a destination for pilgrimages and should also be a destination for anyone interested in both the secular and religious core of England. Take a tour here: http://www.loyno.edu/~letchie/becket/tour/default.htm.
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