Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – October 25, 1400) was an English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat (courtier), and diplomat. Chaucer is best known as the author of The Canterbury Tales. He is sometimes credited with being the first author to demonstrate the artistic legitimacy of the vernacular English language, rather than French or Latin. Geoffrey Chaucer - Life. Chaucer was born around 1343 probably in London, although the exact date and location is not known. His father and grandfather were bot ...

Including:

• Geoffrey Chaucer - Life
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Works
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Influence
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Linguistic
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Historical Reception and Representation
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Manuscripts
• Geoffrey Chaucer - Printed Books
• Geoffrey Chaucer - List of Works

Read more here: » Geoffrey Chaucer: Encyclopedia - Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer - Manuscripts. As early as 1400, Chaucer's courtly audience grew to include members of the rising literate, middle and merchant classes, which included many Lollard sympathizers who would have been inclined to read Chaucer as one of his own, particularly in his satirical writings about priests and various religious. We would not have so many manuscripts of Chaucer's works today if this group of readers had not created a great dem ...

See also:

Geoffrey Chaucer, Geoffrey Chaucer - Life, Geoffrey Chaucer - Works, Geoffrey Chaucer - Influence, Geoffrey Chaucer - Linguistic, Geoffrey Chaucer - Historical Reception and Representation, Geoffrey Chaucer - Manuscripts, Geoffrey Chaucer - Printed Books, Geoffrey Chaucer - List of Works

Read more here: » Geoffrey Chaucer: Encyclopedia II - Geoffrey Chaucer - Historical Reception and Representation

The astrolabe is a historical astronomical instrument and analog computer. Its many uses include finding and predicting the positions of the stars and the sun; determining local time given local longitude, and vice-versa; and surveying and triangulation. No one knows for certain who invented the astrolabe, but it was the chief navigational instrument until the invention of the sextant in the 16th centur ...

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A chicken (Gallus gallus) is a type of domesticated bird which is often raised as a type of poultry. It is believed to be descended from the wild Asian Red Junglefowl. Chickens are the most common bird in the world. The population in 2003 was 24 billion, according to the Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds. Chicken - General biology and habitat. Male chickens are known as roosters (in the U.S., Canada and Australia), cockerels, or cocks. Female chickens are known as hens, or 'chooks' in Austr ...

Including:

• Chicken - General biology and habitat
• Chicken - Courting
• Chicken - Going broody
• Chicken - Artificial incubation
• Chicken - Chickens as food
• Chicken - Chickens as pets
• Chicken - Chickens in agriculture
• Chicken - Issues with mass production
• Chicken - Cockfighting
• Chicken - Chicken diseases
• Chicken - Chickens in religion
• Chicken - History
• Chicken - Chickens in Ancient Rome
• Chicken - Famous chickens
• Chicken - Real chickens
• Chicken - Fictional chickens
• Chicken - Mythical creatures with chicken-like anatomy
• Chicken - Chicken as symbol

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British Railways' standard class 7, otherwise known as the Britannia Class is a class of 4-6-2 steam locomotive designed for express passenger work, one of British Railways' standard classes of the 1950s. 55 examples were built and 2 survive. BR standard class 7 - Names. 70000 Britannia 70001 Lord Hurcomb 70002 Geoffrey Chaucer 70003 John Bunyan 70004 William Shakespeare 70005 John Milton 700 ...

Including:

• BR standard class 7 - Names
• BR standard class 7 - Preservation

Read more here: » BR standard class 7: Encyclopedia - BR standard class 7

Rhyme royal is a rhyming stanza form that was introduced into English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. Rhyme royal - Form. The rhyme royal stanza consists of seven lines, usually in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme is a-b-a-b-b-c-c. In practice, the stanza can be constructed either as a tercet and two couplets (a-b-a, b-b, c-c) or a quatrain and a tercet (a-b-a-b, b-c-c). This allows for a good deal of variety, especially when the form is used for longer narrative poems. Rhyme roy ...

Including:

• Rhyme royal - Form
• Rhyme royal - History
• Rhyme royal - Some Examples
• Rhyme royal - Ballade Royal

Read more here: » Rhyme royal: Encyclopedia - Rhyme royal

A Breton lai, also known as a narrative lay or simply a lay, is a form of medieval French and English romance literature. Lais are short (typically 600-1000 lines), rhymed tales of love and chivalry, often involving supernatural and fairy-world Celtic motifs. The earliest Breton lais to survive in writing are probably The Lais of Marie de France, thought to have been composed in the 1170s by Marie de France, a French poet living in England in the late 12th and early 13th century. From descriptions in Marie's lais, ...

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The Black Death was a devastating pandemic that first struck Europe in the mid-14th century (1347–50), killing about a third of Europe's population, an estimated 34 million people. A series of plague epidemics also occurred in large portions of Asia and the Middle East during the same period, indicating that the European outbreak was actually part of a worldwide pandemic. The same disease is thought to have returned to Europe every generation with varying degrees of intensity and fatality until the 1700s. Notable late outbreaks incl ...

Including:

• Black Death - Pattern of the pandemic
• Black Death - Asian outbreak
• Black Death - European outbreak
• Black Death - Middle Eastern outbreak
• Black Death - Recurrence
• Black Death - Causes
• Black Death - Bubonic plague theory
• Black Death - Consequences
• Black Death - Depopulation
• Black Death - Socio-economic effects
• Black Death - Persecutions
• Black Death - Religion
• Black Death - Other social effects
• Black Death - Black Death in literature
• Black Death - Contemporary
• Black Death - Modern
• Black Death - Selected sources and further reading
• Black Death - Notes
• Black Death - Primary sources
• Black Death - Secondary sources
• Black Death - Related events

Read more here: » Black Death: Encyclopedia - Black Death

April 17 is the 107th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (108th in leap years). There are 258 days remaining. April 17 - Events. 1397 - Geoffrey Chaucer tells the Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II. 1492 - Spain and Christopher Columbus sign a contract for him to sail to Asia to get spices. 1521 - Martin Luther speaks to the assembly at the Diet of Worms, refusing to recant his teachings. 1524 - Giovanni da Verrazano ...

Including:

• April 17 - Events
• April 17 - Births
• April 17 - Deaths
• April 17 - Holidays and observances

Read more here: » April 17: Encyclopedia - April 17

Alchemy is an early protoscientific and philosophical discipline combining the elements of chemistry, metallurgy, physics, medicine, astrology, semiotics, mysticism, and art. Alchemy has been practiced in ancient Egypt, India, and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in the Islamic Empire, and then in Europe up to the 19th century — in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years. The alchemists did not follow what is now known as the scientific method, and much of the "knowledge" they p ...

Including:

• Alchemy - Overview
• Alchemy - Alchemy as a proto-science
• Alchemy - The changing goals of alchemy
• Alchemy - Alchemy and astrology
• Alchemy - Alchemy in the age of science
• Alchemy - Alchemy as a subject of historical research
• Alchemy - Etymology
• Alchemy - History
• Alchemy - Alchemy in Ancient Egypt
• Alchemy - Chinese alchemy
• Alchemy - Indian alchemy
• Alchemy - Alchemy in the Greek world
• Alchemy - Alchemy in the Roman Empire
• Alchemy - Alchemy in the Islamic world
• Alchemy - Alchemy in Medieval Europe
• Alchemy - Alchemy in the Modern Age and Renaissance
• Alchemy - The decline of Western alchemy
• Alchemy - Modern 'alchemy'
• Alchemy - Alchemy in art and entertainment
• Alchemy - Literature
• Alchemy - Music
• Alchemy - Other alchemical pages
• Alchemy - Related and alternative philosophies
• Alchemy - Scientific connections
• Alchemy - Substances of the alchemists
• Alchemy - Other resources

Read more here: » Alchemy: Encyclopedia - Alchemy

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. 14th century - Events. The transition from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age Beginning of the Ottoman Empire, early expansion into the Balkans The Avignon papacy transfers the seat of the Popes from Italy to France The Great Famine of 1315-1317 kills millions of people in Europe Being forced out of previous locations ...

Including:

• 14th century - Events
• 14th century - Significant people
• 14th century - Inventions discoveries introductions
• 14th century - Decades and years

Read more here: » 14th century: Encyclopedia - 14th century

British literature is literature from the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The largest part of this literature is written in the English language, but there are also separate literatures in the Welsh language, Scottish Gaelic, Scots and other languages. Northern Ireland is the only part of Ireland still part of the United Kingdom and it possesses literature in English, Ulster Scots and Irish. Irish writers have also played an important part in the development of English-language literature. Britis ...

Including:

• British literature - Old Celtic literature
• British literature - Old English literature
• British literature - Late medieval literature in England
• British literature - Other medieval literatures
• British literature - Early modern English literature to 1660
• British literature - English language literature from 1660 to the late 18th century
• British literature - Non English language literatures from the 16th century to the 19th century
• British literature - 19th century English language literature
• British literature - The Romantics
• British literature - The 19th century novel
• British literature - Victorian poets
• British literature - Ireland
• British literature - Wales
• British literature - Scotland
• British literature - English language literature since 1900
• British literature - Non English language literatures since 1900
• British literature - Literary prizes

Read more here: » British literature: Encyclopedia - British literature

England is a nation and the largest and most populous constituent country of the United Kingdom accounting for more than 83% of the total UK population. It occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and shares land borders with fellow home nations Scotland, to the north, and Wales, to the west. Elsewhere, it is bordered by the sea. England is named after the Angles, one of a number of Germanic tribes believed to have originated in Angeln in Northern Germany, who settled in England in the 5th and 6th ...

Including:

• England - History
• England - Politics
• England - Subdivisions
• England - Geography
• England - Major rivers
• England - Major conurbations
• England - Economy
• England - Demographics
• England - English identity
• England - Culture
• England - Languages
• England - Nomenclature
• England - Symbols and insignia
• England - National anthems

Read more here: » England: Encyclopedia - England

The theme of adultery features in a wide range of literature through the ages. This is hardly surprising, as the fact of adultery has been a part of the human existence for as long as there has been marriage. As a theme it automatically brings its own conflict, between the people concerned and between sexual desires and a sense of loyalty; it brings intense emotions into the foreground, and has consequences for all concerned. As marriage and family are often regarded as basis of society a story of adultery often shows the conflict b ...

Including:

• Adultery in literature - Drama
• Adultery in literature - Fiction

Read more here: » Adultery in literature: Encyclopedia - Adultery in literature

This article is about the history of Christianity and anti-Semitism. Anti-Jewish sentiment has been expressed by many Christians over the last 2000 years, but many other Christians, increasingly in recent years, have also condemned these sentiments. Christianity and anti-Semitism - Early origins. There have been philosophical differences between Christianity and Rabbinical Judaism since the outset. Debates between the early Christians - who at first were all Jews - and other Jews initially revolved around the ques ...

Including:

• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Early origins
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Assimilation
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Anti-Judaism
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - The Church Fathers
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Later Christian writers
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - The Jews' expulsion from England
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - The Jews' expulsion from Spain
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Christians in Nazi Germany
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Collaborating Christians
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Opposition to the Holocaust
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Comparisons between Nazi Germany and early Christian states' policies with regards to Jews
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Reasons that anti-Semitism continued
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - 19th- and 20th-century Christian anti-Semitism
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - The White Power movement
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Anti-Semitism in modern-day nations
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Current attempts to convert Jews to Christianity
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Reconciliation between Judaism and Christian groups
• Christianity and anti-Semitism - Kevin MacDonald's theory of Christian anti-Semitism

Read more here: » Christianity and anti-Semitism: Encyclopedia - Christianity and anti-Semitism

The Anglo-Normans were the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the conquest by William of Normandy in 1066. They spoke the Anglo-Norman language. Following the Battle of Hastings, the invading Normans and their descendants formed a distinct population in England. To all outward appearance the Norman Conquest of England was an event of an altogether different character from the Danish conquest. The former was a conquest by a people whose tongue and institutions were still palpably akin to those of the English. ...

Including:

• Anglo-Norman - Ireland

Read more here: » Anglo-Norman: Encyclopedia - Anglo-Norman

The Wife of Bath's Tale is a tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. The Wife of Bath is one of Chaucer's most interesting characters. Not only does she give an insight into the role of women in the Late Middle Ages she is obviously of interest to Chaucer himself. She is one of his most developed characters, with her prologue twice as long as her tale and she holds her own among the bickering pilgrims. There is also evidence in the manuscripts to suggest she was first assigned a different, plainer, tale—perh ...

Including:

• The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale - Prologue
• The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale - The Wife of Bath's Tale
• The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale - Themes

Read more here: » The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale: Encyclopedia - The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale

St. Valentine's Day falls on February 14, and is the traditional day on which lovers in certain cultures let each other know about their love, commonly by sending Valentine's cards, which are often anonymous. The history of Valentine's day can be traced back to an obscure Catholic Church feast day, said to be in honor of Saint Valentine, are discussed below. The day's associations with romantic love arrived after the High Middle Ages, ...

Including:

• St. Valentine's Day - History of Valentine's Day
• St. Valentine's Day - February fertility festivals
• St. Valentine's Day - Valentinius
• St. Valentine's Day - Medieval era
• St. Valentine's Day - Valentine's Day in the USA
• St. Valentine's Day - Valentine's Day in Other Cultures

Read more here: » St. Valentine's Day: Encyclopedia - St. Valentine's Day

The Way of St James, or St James' Way, quite often known by its Spanish name the Camino de Santiago, is the pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in north-westernmost Spain where the apostle Saint James the Great is said to be laid to rest. There is no one route - the Way can be one of any number of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela - but there are a number of main ones. The Way of St James has been one of the most important Christian pilgrimages since medieval times - the othe ...

Including:

• Way of St. James - History of St James' Way
• Way of St. James - The pilgrimage as penance
• Way of St. James - Pre-Christian history of the route
• Way of St. James - The modern-day pilgrimage
• Way of St. James - The many roads of the Way of St James
• Way of St. James - The French Way or Camino Francés
• Way of St. James - The Arles Way and the Aragonese Way
• Way of St. James - The Northern Way or Camino del Norte
• Way of St. James - The English Way or Camino Inglés
• Way of St. James - The Portuguese Way or Camino Portugués
• Way of St. James - The Camino Mozárabe and the Via de la Plata
• Way of St. James - The Way of St. James in England
• Way of St. James - The Way's name in other languages

Read more here: » Way of St. James: Encyclopedia - Way of St. James

Cressida (kres'-i-da) is a moon of Uranus. It was named after the Trojan daughter of Calchas, a tragic heroine who appears in William Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida (as well as in tales by Geoffrey Chaucer and others). Other than its size and orbit, virtually nothing is known about it. It was discovered from the images taken by Voyager 2 on 1986-01-09, ...

Read more here: » Cressida moon: Encyclopedia - Cressida moon