Canterbury

I finished reading "Canterbury Tales" this week. This was another book that I was proud to finish, but glad to finish. If my memory serves me correctly, this is the first piece of literature ever written in English. It's unabridged version is in Middle English, from a time before spelling was formalized and when grammar was different. The book I read was "A Prose Version in Modern English," and the author (updater?) admitted to leaving out a couple of sections that he considered particularly dull. Usually I feel like I'm cheating when I read an abridgment, but in this case I was glad to have some help. Someone asked me when I bought this book whether I would also read the original version and I think I said "maybe," but I have no intentions of doing so any time soon now.

Here are some thoughts I had:
- I was surprised by how bawdy some of the stories were. That's not really what I expect from five hundred years ago. Also, fidelity in marriage didn't seem to be very common.
- Astrology was a significant theme in Canterbury Tales. Greek Gods also made many appearances. I found it interesting to notice the interplay of Christian and un-Christian aspects of society. The underlying setting of the tale is a pilgrimage to a Christian site at Canterbury, but few of the stories illustrate any Christian values. Several of the storytellers have Christian professions, but display terrible character. It's interesting when religion is more a function of general culture than a deeply held belief consistent with lifestyle.
- I got tired of the romanticism of some of the stories. I've heard that the whole concept of romantic love was born in the middle ages. Love is great and all, but I don't have much tolerance for the pining away, I'll die without you sort of love.