Reading Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales"
Mondays, January 15-March 18, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
St. Gregory the Great Monsignor Klasen Building,1609 W. Gregory St.
A seminar led by Fr. Bob Sprott, OFM (scholar-in-residence)
Written at the end of the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer's masterpiece is considered a classic of English literature and is among the first major works written in the English vernacular.
On a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury, a company of travelers tell tales to pass the time. The real road, however, that Chaucer puts his pilgrims and his readers on is the road of life, with death and heaven as the final destination. Along the way, he shows us the world of medieval England, introduces us to our unforgettable companions on the journey, and presents the wisdom that every sojourner needs to find their way.
In this ten-week seminar, participants will read the entire work in the original Middle English, traveling with the pilgrims and learning to see the world through Chaucer's eyes.
Assigned Text
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the “Everyman’s Library” edition, published by Alfred A. Knopf, edited by A. C. Cawley (ISBN 0679409890).
Register by filling out the form below. Contact Mark Franzen with any questions.
$100 suggested donation. You can pay online here or bring a check or cash to the class. Make checks payable to Mary, Mother of God Parish with "St. Gregory's Hall" in the memo line. All donations are used to cover program and staff-related expenses of St. Gregory's Hall. No funds are used for general Parish operating expenses.
St. Gregory the Great Monsignor Klasen Building,1609 W. Gregory St.
A seminar led by Fr. Bob Sprott, OFM (scholar-in-residence)
Written at the end of the 14th century, Geoffrey Chaucer's masterpiece is considered a classic of English literature and is among the first major works written in the English vernacular.
On a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket in Canterbury, a company of travelers tell tales to pass the time. The real road, however, that Chaucer puts his pilgrims and his readers on is the road of life, with death and heaven as the final destination. Along the way, he shows us the world of medieval England, introduces us to our unforgettable companions on the journey, and presents the wisdom that every sojourner needs to find their way.
In this ten-week seminar, participants will read the entire work in the original Middle English, traveling with the pilgrims and learning to see the world through Chaucer's eyes.
Assigned Text
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the “Everyman’s Library” edition, published by Alfred A. Knopf, edited by A. C. Cawley (ISBN 0679409890).
Register by filling out the form below. Contact Mark Franzen with any questions.
$100 suggested donation. You can pay online here or bring a check or cash to the class. Make checks payable to Mary, Mother of God Parish with "St. Gregory's Hall" in the memo line. All donations are used to cover program and staff-related expenses of St. Gregory's Hall. No funds are used for general Parish operating expenses.
About our scholar-in-residence
Fr. Bob Sprott, OFM, is a member of the Order of the Friars Minor (Franciscans). He holds a PhD in linguistics from the University of Chicago, and his work in ministry has led him to the American Southwest, working with Pueblo and Hispanic villages, the Canadian Arctic, working in the Diocese of Churchill-Hudson Bay, and Guatemala, teaching and providing spiritual direction at a minor seminary run by the Benedictine monks near the city of Quetzaltenango. In 2000 he returned to the U.S. and began ten years in Chicago, many of which were spent at St. Peter’s in the Loop. He has taught numerous adult education courses at the Newberry Library and at area parishes.
