The Canterbury tales

Actual rating is more like 4.5 stars, only for the ugly antisemitism in the book. I can't dock it a full star because I recognize it's one of those "of the times" situations. Otherwise...

A fantastic, eye-opening read. The summary on the back of my copy says this work "offers us an unrivalled glimpse into the life and mind of medieval England" and I couldn't agree more. I really feel like I understand the perspectives of people from all walks of life in Chaucer's time. I remember studying some of these tales in 12th grade English AP, but there was no time to really go in depth to empathize with all the characters.

Had I read this just a few years ago, I would have found it hard to handle all the biblical references and moralizing, and might have even stopped reading altogether. But at this point in my spiritual journey, I can understand the mythological symbols and archetypes in play, and (most of the time) separate the ideas from their historically oppressive uses. If anything, these tales have made me even more interested in Christian mythology and reading the Bible stories for myself.

There was an interesting blend of sexism and feminism in here. Chaucer seems to promote equality by showing a variety of accurate female perspectives (such as in the Wife of Bath's tale), and even encouraging worship of the sacred Feminine--there is a lot of Christ-mother/Virgin Mary worship (such as in the Second Nun's tale). It was cool to see the perspective of a boy who worships the Christian archetypal mother figure. And yet at the same time there is the idea that women should always defer to men.

Another fascinating aspect of this book is the incorporating of astrology. It wasn't in just one or two tales, but in all of them. Narrators speak of characters' signs and how their actions are affected by the placement of the planets. Every time the sun or moon is mentioned, the narrator includes what sign it's in. And the planets as gods, like lovers being worshippers of Venus, or masculinity being related to Mars, was a prominent theme as well. As the Canon's Yeoman's Tale shows, this was a time when alchemy and astrology were the sciences of the day.

1) ''When in April the sweet showers fall
And pierce the drought of March to the root, and all
The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower,
When also Zephyrus with his sweet breath
Exhales an air in every grove and heath
Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun
His half-course in the sign of the Ram has run,
And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eye
(So nature pricks them and their heart engages)
Then people long to go on pilgrimages
And palmers long to seek the stranger strands
Of far-off saints, hallowed in sundry lands,
And specially, from every shire's end
Of England, down to Canterbury they wend
To seek the holy blissful martyr, quick
To give his help to them when they were sick.''

2) ''This lad was known as Nicholas the Gallant
And making love in secret was his talent,
For he was very close and sly, and took
Advantage of his meek and girlish look.
He rented a small chamber in the kip
All by himself without companionship.
He decked it charmingly with herbs and fruit
And he himself was sweeter than the root
Of liquorice, or any fragrant herb.
His astronomic text-books were superb.''