English Year 7 Home Learning Task
Chaucer
and his
Canterbury tales
Name
_________________________________________________
Tutor Group _________________________________________________
Teacher
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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.
Parent/ Carer Comment
Target
Staff Comment
You will need to read the information in this
booklet carefully in order to answer the
questions.
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.
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-aBecket.
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
undergrow
surcoat
coverchiefs
hosen
hue
small
tights or leggings
colour
dogs
an old cart horse who walks slowly
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
cleped
coy
service divine
spake
full fair
fetisely
pitous
houndes
flesh
wastel
Modern meaning today
called - as in your name
shy
church communion / service
spoke / speak
well mannered
properly
full of pity
dogs
meat
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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