¶ … videos presented week. Identify a piece art, music, architecture, philosophy,
The work of literature from the high and late Middle Ages that was analyzed in this week's readings and videos and which resonated the most was Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. This piece of literature is fascinating partly because it is so emblematic of this particular timeframe in a number of different ways. Specifically, the preoccupation with the theme of religion which dominates this book is extremely indicative of this time period in general. During the high and the late Middle Ages the crusades were taking place, in which many Christians were motivated to attempt to reclaim the territory that had fallen into the hands of infidels. Chaucer's work was partly inspired by the fact this type of sentiment as the basic premise is that a motley assortment of Christians are going on a religious pilgrimage and decide to pass the time by telling stories.
In this respect, Chaucer's work is representative of this zeitgeist in that it indicates that the preoccupation with religion that took place during much of this time period was not always necessarily beneficial. For instance, if one analyzes the tale of the Wife of Bath, one sees how it is filled with an assortment of lewd details about sex and domination in the relationship between men and women (Chaucer, 1904). Yet this one particular woman considers herself a good Christian and a good person because of that fact. It is this type of belief -- that an adherence to Christianity is the singular most important thing for a person -- that partly contributed to…
