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Given out: Monday 14 November Hand in: Monday 21 November

Sets 1 to 3 to complete all the tasks- from 1 to 6. Set 4 to complete tasks 1 to 5 only.

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English Year 7 Home Learning Task

Chaucer and his

Canterbury tales

The questions and tasks are set out in bold

lettering and they are numbered.

Sets 1 to 3 to complete all the tasks – from 1 to 6. Set 4 to complete tasks 1 to 5 only:

task 6 = challenge.

Remember, if you need to, you can ask a number of different people for help:

1. Your English Teacher. 2. Home Learning club.

3. Adults at home. 4. Your tutor.

5. Your friends.

You will need to read the information in this

booklet carefully in order to answer the questions.

Chaucer and the Pilgrimages

In the Middle Ages good Christians would try, at least once in their life, to go on a pilgrimage. The pilgrimage was either as a gesture of thanksgiving or repentance or as affirmation of their belief. The famous shrines of the day were:

Our Lady at Lourdes, south west France (in the Pyrenees). Lourdes is still a place of Catholic pilgrimage to this day.

St James Compostella, in north west Spain.

The Tomb of the Martyr St Thomas-a-Becket, in Canterbury Cathedral, south east England.

Task 1. Look at this map of Europe. Draw an arrow from the name of the shrine to the approximate place on the map.

Our Lady at Lourdes.

St James Compostella.

The Tomb of the Martyr St Thomas-a-Becket.

In medieval times the pilgrims or travellers to the shrines had to walk. Sometimes they could afford to take a horse and cart or carriage if they were rich. The knights, of course, rode on horseback.

Task 2. Find out how many miles it is from Shepton Mallet to the shrines mentioned over the page in Task 1. How long (in days or months) do you think it would take the pilgrim to walk there?

Shrine Number of miles from Shepton Mallet to the shrine.

Estimated length of time taken if travelling from Shepton Mallet by foot or horse (in months or days).

Our Lady at Lourdes.

St James Compostella.

The Tomb of the Martyr St Thomas-a-Becket.

Task 3. What would a pilgrimage ticket look like? Would it be the same as a rail or bus ticket? What information would be printed on it? Create your design below:

The Canterbury Tales

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales in about 1366.

• The book is about a group of pilgrims travelling from Southwark in London to Canterbury Cathedral to visit The Tomb of the Martyr St Thomas-a-Becket.

• In the book, Chaucer starts with the prologue in which he gives detailed descriptions of each character.

• Each pilgrim tells a story to entertain the travellers on the long journey.

• The book is written in the form of narrative poetry (narrative means story).

• He includes stories from a nun, a landowner, a sort of policeman, and a woman from Bath.

• His stories are very funny and sometimes rather rude.

Task 4. Chaucer wrote in Middle English. Many of the words are different to those we use today,but some of them you can guess the meaning. See if you can match up the following Middle English words to their meanings. (The first one is done for you.) Middle English Word Modern meaning

meate scarf

houndes stick

yarde small

undergrow tights or leggings

surcoat colour

coverchiefs dogs

hosen an old cart horse who walks slowly

hue called or named

ambler meat

cleped over-coat

Task 5. Here is Chaucer’s description of the nun. Try to read it through. Use the glossary to help you. Then write a modern English translation in the box below. There was also a Nun, a PRIORESS, That of her smiling was full simple and coy; And she was cleped* Madame Eglentine. Full well she sang the service divine, And French she spake full fair and fetisly* … She was so charitable and so pitous,* She woulde weep if that she saw a mouse Caught in a trap, if it were dead or bled. Of smalle houndes had she, that she fed With roasted flesh, and milk, and *wastel bread.

GLOSSARY

Middle English Words Modern meaning today

cleped called - as in your name

coy shy

service divine church communion / service

spake spoke / speak

full fair well mannered

fetisely properly

pitous full of pity

houndes dogs

flesh meat

wastel bread made with fine white flour

Write your translation in this box:

There was also a Nun, a PRIORESS,

TASK 6 Task 6a. Now it is your turn to write using Middle English words. Write 4 – 8 lines about a man or woman farmer who might go on a pilgrimage. (There is another glossary of Middle English words below. You can also use the list of words in the glossary for the nun above and the words you matched on page 5.)

AGAST FRIGHTENED OR TERRIFIED BERD BEARD

BLISSE HAPPINESS CLAPPE TO TALK CONSTANTLY

FAIRNESSE BEAUTIFUL

FEENDLY HOSTILE OR AGGRESSIVE FREE GENEROUS

HEER HAIR HEWE COLOUR

HOLWE THIN

HYE TALL KNOWE KNEE

LEWED FOOLISH / STUPID MEESTE MOST IMPORTANT

REED RED SAD SERIOUS

SHEENE BRIGHT

SHREWE AN ANNOYING WOMAN ( A NAG) SLOUTHE LAZINESS

SMERTE BITTER AND CRUEL SOTH TRUTH

SORE SAD

WEEDE CLOTHES / GARMENTS WORTES VEGETABLES

YE YES WYF WIFE

SWOWNYNGE FAINTING SWELWE GOBBLE / QUICKLY EAT FOOD

REAVEN TO ROB OR STEAL

QUIK LIVING PLEY SPORTS / GAMES/ FUN

MOT MUST MEATE FOOD

LOKYNG FACIAL EXPRESSIOIN

HEVINESSE TROUBLE OR SORROW GAUDED COVERED

Task 6b. Use this box to write 4 – 8 lines to describe a man or woman farmer who might have gone on a pilgrimage. (Try to use as many old English words as possible.) If you are hoping to get a lot of house points for this workbook – look carefully at the structure of the sentences in the description of the nun. You will notice that some of the verbs and nouns are placed in a different order to modern English today. See if you can replicate that grammatical order.

Task 6c. Draw a picture of your character here and label him/her with quotations from your description:

Self- Assessment

1. How could you improve your pilgrimage ticket (Task 3)?

List 3 improvements.

2. Look at the Chaucer translation (Task 5). Write down any words that you do

not understand, use the internet to help you find a definition for these words.

Write these here:

3. Select your two favourite lines of your own Middle English writing. Write these

in the space below with a modern translation.

Middle English:

Modern translation:

4. Did you find this home learning booklet difficult? If so, why?

Self Evaluation of my Homework

I am a R____________________ learner. I know this because:

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I believe that my effort and attitude to learning for this booklet is a:

1 2 3 4

I know this because:

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