Samurai Research Paper

Name
Name
Algebra 2
15 December 2012
Pilgrims of Canterbury

The Canterbury Tales begins with the introduction of each of the pilgrims making their journey to Canterbury to the shrine of Thomas a Becket. These pilgrims include a Knight, his son the Squire, the Knight's Yeoman, a Prioress, a Second Nun, a Monk, a Friar, a Merchant, a Clerk, a Man of Law, a Franklin, a Weaver, a Dyer, a Carpenter, a Tapestry-Maker, a Haberdasher, a Cook, a Shipman, a Physician, a Parson, a Miller, a Manciple, a Reeve, a Summoner, a Pardoner, the Wife of Bath, and Chaucer himself. Congregating at the Tabard Inn, the pilgrims decide to tell stories to pass their time on the way to Canterbury.

No other work prior to Chaucer's is known to have set a collection of tales within the framework of pilgrims on a pilgrimage. It is obvious, however, that Chaucer borrowed portions, sometimes very large portions, of his stories from earlier stories, and that his work was influenced by the general state of the literary world in which he lived. Storytelling was the main entertainment in England at the time, and storytelling contests had been around for hundreds of years. In 14th-century England the English Pui was a group with an appointed leader who would judge the songs of the group. The winner received a crown and as with the winner of the Canterbury Tales, a free dinner. It was common for pilgrims on a pilgrimage to have a chosen "master of ceremonies" to guide them and organize the journey.

The medieval period was a period of gradual mathematical development. In other ways it was a period of great philosophical shifts, not so much on the surface as the Roman Church dominated much of philosophy and all of religion but underneath, the old Aristotelian views began to erode. Though it would dominate education for many more centuries, certain notions began to be be admitted. Most particularly, we see a lively discussion of the infinite, actual and potential. Many geometric shapes are used in the architecture of the medieval castles and buildings. Paintings and the arts from the medieval period show use of mathematics.

While doing this project I learn that math is everywhere and used for everything. I also learned math has been around forever and is always advancing and even in such a primal time the math involved to build this amazing cathedrals and painting is very much advanced and complicated. It amazes me that such complicated equations could be solved without abetment of modern day technology and tools.