On the literary and geography of knight narration in the"General Prologue"to The Canterbury Tales
As early as the Middle Ages,historians like Ranulf Higden and Vincent de Beauvais pointed out that history and geography are two inseparable dimensions of"human affairs",forming a single entity that influences society.The framework and paradigms of Literary Geography-a research field established by both modem Chinese and foreign scholars-seem to be based on this social epistemology,which include the spatial contexts presented in texts on both historical and realistic levels,and the geographical images and implications that the contexts generate.This study focuses on the knight in the"General Prologue"of The Canterbury Tales.On the one hand,it relies on relevant medieval historical documents to explore the relationship between historical authenticity and literary creativity according to Chaucer's depiction of the knight.On the other hand,using the medieval"Catalan Atlas"as a base map,it reconstructs the knight's two-fold crusading itineraries:first,the"centripetal"journey toward the Holy Land,and then,the"centrifugal"expedition to north-eastern Europe.These itineraries form a"Cruciform halo"surrounding Christendom on the map,reflecting the knight's spirituality in serving Christ as a way of salvation.It is in this way that Chaucer's rigor and ingenuity in his literary creation are seen.
literary geographymedieval historical documents and mapsChaucer"general prologue"to The Canterbury Talesknight
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