In Chaucer’s original The Canterbury Tales, written in the late fourteenth century, the narrator joins a group of 29 pilgrims who are about to set out on a journey from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. He proposes that each member of the group tell two stories to entertain them on their journey, and proceeds to record each of these ‘tales’. The teller of the best story was to be rewarded with a free meal at the expense of the rest of the group.
]]>This production by theatre company KNUTS is a modern adaptation of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales in two parts. Adapted by Stephen Quinn and directed by Stephen Lee, it transposes stories from Chaucer’s original text into a variety of different genres, ranging from Western to silent film, Victorian melodrama and a Shakespearean version of a Medieval Romance. Part One includes renditions of ‘The Pardoner’s Tale’, ‘The Miller’s Tale’ and ‘The Reeve’s Tale’, and Part Two ‘The Franklin’s Tale’, The Wife of Bath’s Tale’ and ‘The Merchant’s Tale’. This production featured as part of the Perth Fringe Festival in 2013, where ‘The Canterbury Tales: Part One’ was performed from 7 February to 13 February and ‘The Canterbury Tales: Part Two’ was performed the following week from 14 February to 19 February 2013. A positive review of ‘The Canterbury Tales: Part Two’ from The West Australian can be read at: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/entertainment/16159623/review-the-canterbury-tales-part-two/.
In Chaucer’s original The Canterbury Tales, written in the late fourteenth century, the narrator joins a group of 29 pilgrims who are about to set out on a journey from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. He proposes that each member of the group tell two stories to entertain them on their journey, and proceeds to record each of these ‘tales’. The teller of the best story was to be rewarded with a free meal at the expense of the rest of the group.
For the Romanesque arcading on another part of the building see http://ausmed.arts.uwa.edu.au/items/show/1112
]]>An image of the Catholic Education Centre on Ruislip Street in West Leederville, an inner-city suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The buildings that make up the Catholic Education Centre were once known as the Home Of The Good Shepherd and were run by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. The building in this image was constructed in 1908 as an 'Industrial Home' for juvenile female 'delinquents' and remained as this until 1979. The photograph shows the Gothic Revival style of much of the building, including a prominent square tower, buttresses, decorative pointed finials, lancet windows, and a large pointed arch window with tracery.
For the Romanesque arcading on another part of the building see http://ausmed.arts.uwa.edu.au/items/show/1112
For the performance see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcqd9j3EhZY&feature=relmfu
An English translation of Aucassin et Nicolette by Eugene Mason is available at http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/aucassin_mason.pdf
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This performance of an excerpt from Aucassin et Nicolette was performed by Alana Bennett on November 1, 2012 as part of her MEMS (Medieval and Early Modern Studies) Honours dissertation at the University of Western Australia. The four minute film made by Belinda Bennett was uploaded to YouTube on November 1, 2012. Alana (a member of the medieval band Minerva’s Tower) plays a hurdy gurdy and wears medieval clothing. Aucassin et Nicolette is an anonymous twelfth or thirteenth century French chantefable (sung story) which combines prose and verse.
For the performance see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dcqd9j3EhZY&feature=relmfu
An English translation of Aucassin et Nicolette by Eugene Mason is available at http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/aucassin_mason.pdf