James Curtis Geist

Modern Canterbury Tale James Curtis Geist

The Canterbury Tales was written in 1400 by Geoffrey Chaucer. It takes place in England during the Medieval Period, in the time of Feudalism, serfs and nobility. This is also a period when a Middle Class began to emerge. My Canterbury Tale is a collection of anecdotes of people I have crossed paths with in my 54 years of life. These are people who have had some to major influence in my life, otherwise I would not have a memory of them. Some are friends, family, acquaintances and some I may have run into for a 10 minute period of my existence. Some are historical figures I never met, but their lives have still had an impact upon mine. The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer is about 24 travelers who take a religious pilgrimage from London to Canterbury Cathedral, which I had the chance to visit in 1986 as a college student. The religious sojourners share their stories at an Inn when the Inn Keeper promises to give a prize of money to the best story, which by all accounts, he never paid out. Those on the journey consist of a Squire, a Knight, a Miller, a Cook, a Friar and Monk, a Wife from Bath, a Physician and so forth. There are 24 tales in the Canterbury Tales about rivalries between the estates, the nobles and the new middle class, with stories of trickery, love, sex and betrayals. My book, My Canterbury Tale, consists of 60 anecdotes of 60 different people who have had some impact upon me. At they say, some people come into our lives for a day, a season or a lifetime. You will find most of the stories to be humorous, intriguing, and sometimes quite thought-provoking.