Abstract
Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales offers a rich exploration of medieval society – with themes ranging from social class and morality to love and pilgrimage. One significant yet often overlooked theme in the work is hospitality. This paper explores the role of hospitality in The Canterbury Tales: analyzing how the treatment of guests reflects broader social and ethical concerns within the text. Hospitality, in its medieval context, was more than a mere gesture of kindness; it was a social contract that shaped relationships, defined social status, and expressed Christian virtues. My analysis focuses on key tales where hospitality is a central theme, including “The Knight’s Tale,” “The Franklin’s Tale,” and “The Host’s Role in the General Prologue.” These stories highlight different manifestations of hospitality that include noble acts of generosity to more self-serving or morally ambiguous behaviors. In “The Franklin’s Tale,” for example, hospitality is intertwined with ideas of generosity, reciprocity, and duty, while in “The Knight’s Tale,” it is linked to chivalric values and honor. Moreover, the character of the Host in the General Prologue serves as a focal point for examining hospitality as a social practice. His role in organizing the pilgrimage, providing accommodation, and guiding the storytelling underscores the intersection of hospitality, authority, and communal bonds. By investigating these elements, this paper argues that Chaucer uses hospitality as a lens through which to critique and illuminate the complexities of medieval social norms and moral expectations.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—The Art of Hospitality
KEYWORDS
Chaucer, Hospitality, Canterbury Tales, Medieval, Social Norms
