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Abigail Hutcheson
Edgar Tawes
British Literature
05 March 2015
Geoffrey Chaucers Surrealistic Tales
Surrealism comes about in the twentieth century as a movement in art. For something to
be surrealistic, it has to have the feeling of a dream or a strange dreamlike atmosphere. The
Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer, exhibits this quality. Chaucer exploits the
corrupt foundations of the catholic church by presenting his ideas in a collection of short stories
that, if analyzed, come across as being dreamlike. Contrary to popular belief, minor details in
The Canterbury Tales suggest that Chaucer is writing about a more surrealistic fantasy rather
than a realistic one.
The characters in the novel are on a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral where the tomb
and shrine of Archbishop Thomas Becket is located. While on a pilgrimage, many people would
make occasional stops to pray or visit other shrines. Strangely enough, this particular grouping
did not make any stops, even though Dartford was only one days walk from London and was
the first stopping-off place for pilgrims en route to Canterbury,... (In the Footsteps of
Chaucers). Once arriving at their destination, a group would pray and worship, but, once again,
there is no documentation of this group ever worshiping as they should have. A pilgrimage was
when Groups of Christians would set off together on a spiritual journey to visit a holy place or

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shrine where they would pray together (Pilgrimage). The main concept of a pilgrimage is to
renew yourself so why did the versatile group neglect to do this?
The group that The Canterbury Tales depicts not only neglects the normal flow of a
pilgrimage, but they also neglect the social norms of this time period. When a group of people
travel together, they exclusively travel with their caste. The question that is posed now is why
does this group travel with such a variety? Granted, most of the group is from the Middle class
and the higher status travelers have servants with them, but they also travel with many people
that belong to the peasantry caste as well as members of the Clergy. The other surprising detail
that is overlooked was the lack of servants accompanying the Knight and Squire. A Knight was
technically considered to be a castle worker because of his service to the king, but a Knight was
very high in status. If the Knight was traveling away from his home, even if for a brief period, he
would have been accompanied by a few servants. However, Chaucer does not state that the
Knight was accompanied by any servant. The only documentation of the accompaniment of a
servant is with the Squire where Chaucer refers to the Yeoman, No other servant; so he chose to
ride (Chaucer, 28). Another social norm was broken by the Yeoman having the choice to ride a
horse rather than walk. In the middle ages, a servant did not have the same privileges as a person
of higher caste. They could not wear certain clothing and were not allowed to have the luxury of
riding horseback when their masters traveled. Why did Chaucer deliberately ignore these social
details while writing The Canterbury Tales?
Chaucer also seemed to ignore the fact that Clothing was the quickest and easiest way to
identify someone's status and station in life (Sumptuary Laws). While describing the Knight,
Chaucer does not provide the Knight with the appearance and attire that he deserves. He

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possessed fine horses, but he was not gaily dressed. He worse a fustian tunic stained and dark
with smudges where his armor left mark;..." (Chaucer, 27). While the Knight was portrayed as
dirty and worn down, his son, the Squire, was given a radiant appearance. With curly locks, as
if they had been pressed....He was as fresh as is the month of May. Short was his gown, the
sleeves were long and wide; He knew the way to sit a horse and ride. He could make sings and
poems and recite, knew how to joust and dance, to draw and write....Courteous he was,..."
(Chaucer, 27). In the middle ages, a squire was not allowed to buy the expensive horses, even if
he could afford them, because it was highly frowned upon when a Squire had nicer things and
looked better then a Knight. The Squire was presented as better and more capable than the
Knight, even though this was not acceptable in this society. It was also unacceptable for a Nun,
the Prioress to be exact, to be adorned with a broach that read Amor Vincit Omnia, which
translates to Love Conquers All. It could be assumed that one of the other seven members of
the Clergy would have said something about this broach, but nothing was said. In fact, both the
broach and the appearance of the Knight and Squire were completely ignored.
With all of these details of the time period construed, it is unimaginable how Chaucer
passed this work off as realistic. When a person is dreaming, reality and minor details can be
distorted. It is my belief that Chaucer may have dreamt the entirety of The Canterbury Tales.
This theory would explain why there were no stops on the way to Canterbury or why there was
only one servant accompanying the Knight and Squire. Surrealism is the creation of a reality that
resembles a dream. Chaucer was already ahead of his time by speaking out against the church in
a passive aggressive way, but by writing a surrealistic fantasy, he has proven to be even further
ahead than originally believed.

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Works Cited
Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Canterbury Tales. Trans. Nevill Coghill. Baltimore: Penguin Books Inc.,
1952. Print.
"Fur and Jewlery." Annenberg Learner. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2015. <http://www.learner.org/
interactives/middleages/morcloth.html>.

"Sumptuary Law." about education. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.

<http://historymedren.about.com/od/clothingandfabric/a/medieval-clothing_2.htm>.

"Clothing." English Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. <http://www.english-online.at/history/

middle-ages/life-in-the-middle-ages.htm>.

"The Medieval Feudal System." Medieval People Titles, Positions, Trades & Classes. N.p., n.d.
Web. 5 Mar. 2015. <http://www.lscacamp.org/portals/0/medieval%20people.pdf>.

"Pilgrimage." Medieval Life and Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-religion/pilgrimage.htm>.

In the Footsteps of Chaucer's Pilgrims." Dartford Town Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.dartfordarchive.org.uk/medieval/people_pi.shtml>.

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"Pilgrimage in the Middle Ages." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.
<http://spartacus-educational.com/NORpilgrimage.htm>. Medieval Pilgrims. Galileo.
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dmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=84769933>.

"Surrealism." Encyclopdia Britannica: n. pag. Research Starters. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.

<http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?sid=9836b8aa-d192-4788-a56209a5427a412e
%40sessionmgr4004&vid=0&hid=4205&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcG
U9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=ers&AN=87325065>.