Chaucer Today

The Canterbury Tales

The Squire’s Tale

Lesson Guide

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to

• Understand the historical context behind The Squire’s Tale
• Identify the real-world/ literary basis for the Knight of Araby’s gifts
• Identify elements of “oriental” influence within the knight’s gifts to Cambeuskan

Approximate Time

• Lesson length:  75 mins

Students must read and annotate The Squire’s Tale, lines 9-672, before the beginning of class. 

At the beginning of class, the instructor will distribute copies of the auxiliary reading to the students. They will not need this material until later in the lesson.

Copy of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

• Open to the Squire’s Tale, lines 9-672

Copy of “The Historical Basis of the Squire’s Tale” by Vincent DiMarco 

Copy of “Squire’s Steed of Brass as Astrolabe” by Marijane Osborne 

Projector for slides and images

Printout for students:

• “Squire’s Steed of Brass as Astrolabe” by Marijane Osborne

Map of 14th Century Europe and West Asia

• University of Texas at Austin. From The Public Schools Historical Atlas edited by C. Colbeck, 1905.

Astrolabe 1

•  Rasulid. Astrolabe. dated 1291. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/AMICO_METRO_103826873 

Astrolabe 2

• Muhammad Zaman al-Munajjim al-Asturlabi (active 1643-89), Astrolabe. Planispheric Astrolabe. dated A.H. 1065/ A.D. 1654-55. Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/SS7731421_7731421_11679046

LESSON PLAN

Resources 

Questions

Est. Time

1

1. Where have you seen myths/stories involving magic swords, rings, mirrors, or horses?
2. What do you know (if anything) about Genghis Khan or Medieval Asia after the 13th century?
3. Consider Arthur C. Clarke’s adage: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”. How do you think this may apply to Chaucer’s 14th century English audience? 

2 

What did the geography of the Near East look like at the time when Chaucer was writing the Canterbury Tales? Who were the Knight of Araby, Cambeuskan and Canacee based off of? What was the historical basis for the Knight’s gift-giving? Who were some of the European sources on the Near East/Far East at the time? 

3

After the historical overview, organize the class into groups of 4. Give the class 15 mins to read the material provided at the beginning of class with their group mates. Make time for them to discuss it amongst themselves.

Put the following images on the projector:

Images:

https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/AMICO_METRO_103826873;prevRouteTS=1575490972605

https://library.artstor.org/#/asset/SS7731421_7731421_11679046;prevRouteTS=1575491171824

4

1. Student Summary- 5 mins
2. Instruction- 10 mins

Brass Steed

Call on students to summarize the article and share observations they made in their groups.

Then, go over some of the connections the article made between the Brass Steed and an astrolabe that the students may have missed. Refer to the power point if necessary when defining each item.

5

Class Reflection

Construct a Venn Diagram on the board with one side labeled “Western Influences” and the other side labeled “Eastern Influences”. Call on students to fill in what elements of The Squire’s Tale they believe Chaucer derived from European literature/European literature about the “Orient” and what elements Chaucer borrowed from Near Eastern records and objects.

6

Exit Ticket

Each student will write a page-long reflection about whether they think Chaucer’s Squire’s Tale is authentic to Near Eastern history and culture, and to what extent it fabricates its “oriental” setting.