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Divided between the outer world of affairs and the inner world of poetic insight, Chaucer sought to make sense of his changing, conflicting world. In Chaucer and the Late Medieval World, Lillian M. Bisson examines the societal issues that the poet explored in his work. Bisson provides lively interpretations of Chaucer's texts, especially The Canterbury Tales, in the context of the paradigmatic shifts taking place around him, and offers a broad historical overview - often going back to the Early Christian period - to help the reader grasp the significance of those shifts. She focuses on three major areas of medieval life - religion, class/commerce, and gender - all of which were experiencing considerable change in the fourteenth century.
Part I: The poet and his world -- Double vision: the gothic mind's eye -- The role of the poet: minstrel, maker-or more? -- Part II: Religion -- The church in turmoil: the hierarchy and heresy -- The quest for perfection: the regular clergy -- The road to Canterbury: pilgrimage, saints, and popular religion -- Part III: Class and commerce -- Aristocratic ideals: conflicting chivalric ideologies -- The cry of the poor: unrest and rebellion among the peasants -- All that glitters: trade, industry, and the money economy -- Part IV: Gender and secuality -- The face in the mirror: what manner of woman? -- Till death us depart: love, marriage, and sexuality -- Part V: A zone of freedom: carnival as the emblem of an age.
Includes bibliographical references (pages [263]-289) and index.