A-Z: "G & H" is for the Guildsmen and a Harberdasher in The Canterbury Tales

And the A-Z challenge continues   I'm combining my "G" & "H" post today since they go hand and hand.  First up, "G" is for Guildsmen and Games. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales there are the five Guildsmen mentioned in the General Prologue.

The Guildsmen are:
- Dyer
- Carpenter
- Weaver
- Tapestry-maker
- Haberdasher

Chaucer mentions very little about the guildsmen only that they dressed to impressed and expected to be treated much like nobility.  Maybe it was because they were successful tradesmen and were well off that they had such great expectations.  Who knows?   

"G" for Games based on The Canterbury Tales
Bingo based on The Canterbury Tales?  Really?  Can you hear the speaker?  "G, The Clerk."  Oh shoot me now.

"H" is for Haberdasher

During the fourteenth century, a haberdasher would sell items for sewing which were imperative in those days.  Back then most people sewed their own clothes and therefore were in need of all types of materials, needles, thread and buttons.  Here's a picture of a Haberdasher I found that depicts one centuries later that I found waaaay cooler:

Can you imagine sewing your own clothes? Or someone like the Headless Horseman?  I love to sew but haven't in years.  If I had to, I'd wear nothing but potato-bag and draw-string type clothes.  What about you?

Mina B.

A-Z: "F" is for The Friar's Tale

Day 6 of the A-Z challenge and welcome to week 2 of the challenge.  Today my "F" is for The Friar's Tale in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.

In the prologue before The Friar's tale, he and The Summoner bicker--each one loathing the other's existence.  I found the the Friar egotistical and condescending at times but that only made him a more lively character.  When these two (Friar and Summoner) go at it, our Host came to the rescue, officiating over their arguing and efficiently officiating the telling of the tales.  Those three were highly entertaining, which just goes to show you how brilliant Chaucer was at character interactions.

The Friar tells a tale about you guessed it, a summoner; one who does the lowest of jobs, administering summons and questionable justice on behalf of an archdeacon.  He spares no expense and describing the summoners many sins, including extortion.  The summoner is on his way to collect money from old woman when he meets the devil disguised as a yeoman. The summoner befriends the devil and the summoner informs him of his next jaunt to meet the old widow.  When the summoner arrives and issues bogus charges to the widow, the old bag curses him, stating something like "may the devil take you."  And then the Devil did just that--took the Summoner straight to hell.  That's the short version of that tale.

Of course after that tale was told The Summoner threw a tizzy and that just gives you little insight in the classic character quarrels.  I'm sure there's more to the tale, but that was my brief take away.

Happy Monday.

Mina B.

A-Z: "E" is for Emelye from The Knight's Tale

Day 5 of A-Z here  "E" is for Emelye from The Knight's Tale in the Canterbury Tales.  

When Theseus married Hippolyta her young sister, Emelye, moved with her to her new home. Over time her beauty bloomed in full force and there were two brother/cousin prisoners (Palamon and Arcite) locked in a tower that spied and fell in love with her from afar.  They argued over who had the right love this incredible beauty, but then realized their arguments were futile since they were in jail. They agreed finally to both be in love with her. One day Theseus grants Alcrite his freedom but was exiled to areas not ruled by Theseus. After leaving, he became depressed because he didn't see his lovely vision Emelye. He cursed the world and longed for his old prison cell. Years go by with plotting on both sides to win the fair maiden as a wife. Neither have spoken and do not know each other's plans for Emelye. The long and the short of it is, the brothers/cousins meet and fight until Theseus appears with his wife and Emelye in tow. He empathizes with both their plights and decrees they each take 50 men and battle for her in judicial knight tournament. The winner would marry Emelye. Both Palamon and Arcite fought valiantly until the ultimate victor revealed.  The back and forth between the two was neverending.  Guess who won Emelye's hand? It seems like all these tales center around a fair maiden huh?  Whew...thank the gods that's over.

Healthy Writers Club by Shallee McArthur
I returned to my normal workout which felt great.  It really is a stress reliever for me. I try to rest on the weekend and do mostly lunges.  Oh those hurt like the dickens.  Anyway, I thought I'd share with you an iPhone app (Workout Mix) that I use for working out.  I like it because the music is upbeat and during the music sessions the DJ's voice chants some encouragement .."You can do it."  or "Go harder."  Here's a thought.  Wouldn't it be great if he cheered me on when I'm writing.  *sigh*

Friday with Fred

This is Fred's intimidating pose.  He tends to wear this expression more frequently since Spike.  I keep telling him he'll always be number one and then I give him a carrot. :)

How was your first week of A-Z?  I'm so happy for the weekend.  Have a good one.

Mina B.

A-Z: "D" is for Doctor, a.k.a. The Physician

Day 4 of A-Z here  "D" is for the doctor or The Physician in the Canterbury Tales.  

The physician is an educated and arrogant doctor, who has built his wealth by diagnosing and prescribing medicines and cures to his patients.  He's cunning and is obsessed with increasing his pockets.  His resume and business success make him appear impressive, but his methods are lacking.  I think what makes him so great is his tale.

The physician's tale is a tragedy plain and simple.  A great knight/nobleman, Virginius, was married and he and his wife were blessed with only child, a daughter, Virginia.  She was a beautiful, kind and generous maiden and at only fourteen her beauty was well known throughout the region. One day a judge spots her and "the devil leapt into his heart."  In that instant, he had to have her and so the judge devised a plan with a local rascal to officially seize Virginia.  The rascal made a formal complaint to the judge stating that Virginius stole his servant girl years ago and the judge ordered Virginius to respond to the accusation.  When he did the judge decreed that he bring his daughter to the Judges home where she would stay.  The father saw through the judge's sadistic plot.  Outraged and terrified for his daughter, he summoned her and gave her the choice.  She could choose to live with the lecher or if he would save her by killing her so the judge could not steal her innocence.  Reading these passages you can't help but feel the father's love and pain for his daughter.  He ended up cutting off her head and then more or less dropped it on the judge's doorstep.  

The most interesting part I found in the story is The Physician or Chaucer giving guidance about parenting and our youth.  This was my favorite passage 93-102:

You fathers too, and mothers, 

you with any Children, be it one or be it many, 

The charge is yours to keep them in surveillance 

While they remain within your governance. 

Beware lest by example, how you live, 

Or by neglect to chasten them, 

to give Them guidance, they may perish. 

I daresay That if they do so, dearly you will pay. 

When there's a shepherd soft and negligent, 

Many a sheep and lamb by wolf are rent.

So what do you think?  Like The Physician's Tale.  It gave me a lump in my throat.

Mina B.

ISWG & A-Z: C for Characters & The Clerk

As a part of Insecure Writers Support Group and A-Z  I'm doing a double post.  Man, its day three and I'm exhausted.  Before I start I wanted to thank Alex for being the superhero ninja that he is.  I also want to thank Annalisa Crawford, Elsie, and Julie Luek. Thanks guys!

For the past few months I've been fretting over my characters.  Of the feedback I've received, one suggestion was to tweak a few things about my main MC and another supporting character in order to make the story better.  Hey, I'm all for that, right?  Who wouldn't?  So now that I'm in edit-mode, I find myself troubled, wondering how much I should change.  What makes a good character a great one?  Is it plotting, dialogue or hell even better writing that will do the trick?  I recently read a book blogger rant about urban fantasy authors and the annoying trends they read in books.  I wish I could find the link of the post since it was a good one.  I remember reading it and asking myself..."Did I do that when I wrote my novels?"  I can't remember verbatim what those traps were, but the point is, readers matter.  So now that I'm making those last final edits to go from good to great, I find myself wondering what a reader would expect.  This is also frustrating because it feels like a death trap too.   Any suggestions?  Do I sound like lunatic?

A-Z:  C is for The Clerk

The Sir Cleric of Oxenford was a hard-working, somewhat religious man, obsessed with learning and his books.  He never spoke that much but when he did his words were wise.  His told a tale about the marquis (Walter) and a poverty girl, (Griselda) he chose to take as his bride.  Now after some time, Walter  became jealous and insecure (he would have been a perfect candidate for IWSG) about his wife.  He wanted to test her loyalty her steadfastness so he would constantly test this humble women I suspect hoping to see if she'd break.  I didn't quite understand the lengths that the marquis took to test her such as taking their children, hiding them and letting her think they were dead.  Despite her husbands wicked plans, Griselda remains vigilant and always accepting graciously her husbands decisions.  Yeah, I wanted to slap her more than a few times.  Still the story was incredibly engaging and had the makings of a modern day melodrama.

What about you?  If you think about marriage vows and the honor and obey part...how far could someone like the marquis push you?  

Have a great Wednesday.

Mina B.

A-Z: "B" is for Harry Bailey a.k.a. The Host in Chaucer's CanterburyTales

Day 2 of A-Z here and my "B" is Harry "Bailey" or The Host of the Canterbury Tales.  It seemed fitting that I start with him.  For those that don't know the premise of the Chaucer master tales, the story is based a group of people that are set to travel to Saint Thomas Becket's shrine at the Canterbury Cathedral.  They convene at the inn where the Host, Harry Bailey, happily receives them at the establishment, providing wine and food, easily promoting camaraderie among the group.   

The Host who turns into the tour guide was the man who started all the tale telling. As I said in my previous post, Chaucer has this remarkable ability to describe real-life characters. Obviously not all of these fourteenth century literary characters can translate into our modern world, but take a look at the Host.  In present day I could see him as a local pub owner flipping the channels on the TV, rowdy at times and a man that enjoys his patrons as easily as they come and go.  The Host is a happy-go-lucky, down-home, man's man and a straight-shooter. And like many multifaceted people, he has a somewhat darker side to him.  This is why I love Chaucer. He creates the incredible captivating characters with only a few short words they come alive.   Here's a Modern English snippet online from CanterburyTales.org

749  Great cheer our host gave to us, every one, 

750  And to the supper set us all anon;
751  And served us then with victuals of the best.
752  Strong was the wine and pleasant to each guest.
753  A seemly man our good host was, withal,
754  Fit to have been a marshal in some hall;
755  He was a large man, with protruding eyes,
756  As fine a burgher as in Cheapside lies;
757  Bold in his speech, and wise, and right well taught,
758  And as to manhood, lacking there in naught.
759  Also, he was a very merry man,
760  And after meat, at playing he began,
761  Speaking of mirth among some other things,

If you're a fan, then I know you get what I mean.  So do you have any thoughts about Harry.

Mina B.

A-Z: "A" is for April Fools, Arlee Bird & the A-Z Challenge

Okay so I'm not doing A-Z Challenge this year.  I know I did a heck of a job last year, but I just can't do it.  Blogging every day?  Really?  Nope.  Not gonna happen...APRIL FOOLS!  Okay that was a bad one for April Fools' Day.  Sorry.  I had to get that out of the way.  Have you pulled any April Fool's jokes today?  

A-Z Challenge 2013

This is my second year participating in the A-Z Challenge.  The best part of the challenge is networking with other writer/bloggers and the other is it forces you to be organized.  

Before I start my A-Z, I wanted to give a huge thanks to another "A" part of my post..."Arlee" Bird at Tossing It Out . Arlee is the founder of this insane blog challenge so I wanted to express my gratitude with a HUGE round of applause.   Thanks, Arlee!

"A" Theme for A-Z 

And now...onto to A-Z challenge. I decided to dedicate my A-Z theme this year to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales.  I remember reading this when I was younger and being enthralled. Since then I've always had a fondness for The Canterbury Tales.  For me, his tales provide a window into what life was like in the fourteenth century.  Even back then I recall how he painted a vivid picture of people, their personalities, habits and so forth.  I loved it.  He brilliantly created characters that have kept people debating, discussing and thankfully reading for centuries.  Not that many authors can say that.  I love how despite how much time has passed, Chaucer continues to entertain countless readers.  It's hard to believe these tales were unfinished.  I'm a huge fan of classic literature and since I haven't posted about a creepy classic in some time, I figured why the heck not. 

Are you a fan of Chaucer?  Which one is your favorite tale?  Character?  Are you participating in the A-Z Challenge?  Have you stopped by and thanks Arlee?  

Have a great Monday!

Mina B.