Medievalists have developed a wide variety of internet-based aids for the study of medieval literature and other aspects of the Middle Ages. Not surprisingly, Chaucer has come in for a good deal of attention. Thus, we have a plethora of web-based resources in our study of Chaucer and the context of his works, many of them available through links on the Chaucer tab on the 301 web page.

You can use the resources on this page to a) read historical materials, and think about how such materials might be used in reading the Wife of Bath's Tale (and, conversely, how your reading of "The Wife of Bath's Tale" informs your understanding of these historical materials); b) read and evaluate some recent articles in terms of the critical methods employed by the author; and c) read one or more reviews of recent books on Chaucer, paying attention to the reviewer's attention to the critical methods of the authors.

For this assignment, choose ONE of the options below, and post your 100-word report on the course folder.

1. Historical materials:

Gratian on marriage	A court case involving marriage
A wife sues to get her husband back	A church court case involving adultery
Two sermons on marriage	A fourteenth-century Guide for Wives

2. Critical articles:

Click here for a post-modern reading of the Wife of Bath with reference to Madonna.

Click here for an article on the canon in the eighteenth century, with references to Chaucer.

3. Reviews:

Read and summarize Michael Calabrese's review of the Beidler edition of "The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale" that we are using in class. Note that reviews of works in medieval studies can be found at The Medieval Review.

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