History, Mission, and Crusade in the Canterbury Tales

Author / Editor
Lewis, Celia M.

Title
History, Mission, and Crusade in the Canterbury Tales

Published
Chaucer Review 42 (2008): 353-82.

Description
Together, Chaucer's two references to the Alexandrian crusade in CT, along with his portrait of the Knight and depictions of Custance and the Sultaness in MLT, expose similarities between missionary work and crusading. The Knight's participation in a pilgrimage thus endorses "personal spiritual renewal" as a greater good than seeking the religious conversion of others.

Chaucer Subjects
Knight and His Tale
Man of Law and His Tale