|
An Online Compendium and Companion
to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
11. Audio Files & Language Helps
This heading contains the following
sections:
- General Audio Resources
- Audio Files from the General Prologue
- Audio Files from the Canterbury Tales
- Audio Files from the Dream Visions and Shorter Poems
- Language Helps
- Chaucer Studio Recordings
General Audio Resources
From the unparalleled Geoffrey Chaucer Page at Harvard: Teach
Yourself to Read Chaucer's Middle English, which includes the
following lessons:
- Introduction
- Lesson 1, The
General Prologue, 1-18
- Lesson 2, Pronouncing
Chaucer's Middle English
- Lesson 3, Chaucer's
Final -e
- Lesson 4, Chaucer's
Vocabulary
- Lesson 5, Chaucer's
Grammar
- Lesson 6, The
Shipman's Tale
- Lesson 7, The
General Prologue
- Lesson 8, The
Knight's Tale
- Lesson 9, The
Miller's, Reeve's, and Cook's Tales
- Lesson 10, Reading
More Tales
- List of Self-Tests
See Music of the
Fourteenth Century (Alan Baragona & Peter Schwob, VMI) for .midi
samples of common medieval musical forms. Their page will also then
refer you to Gary Rich's sublime Ars
Subtilior. Music of the late Medieval period.
"The
Crying and the Soun": The Chaucer Metapage Audio Files, compiled by Alan Baragona (VMI), offers a number of different web linked
audio files of Chaucerian readings from the Canterbury Tales and other
texts in
Middle English. Requires RealPlayer
7, a free browser plug in. To date, Prof. Baragona has archived:
From the General Prologue:
- General Prologue (A.1-34), read by Alan Baragona
(VMI) .
- General Prologue (A.1-18), read by Jess B. Bessinger,
(from the old Caedmon Recording).
- General Prologue (A.1-18), read by Tom Hanks
(Baylor).
- General Prologue (A.1-14), read by Jane Zatta
(SIU-Edwardsville).
- General Prologue, The Knight's Portrait
(A.43-78), read by Alan Baragona.
- General Prologue, The Prioress's Portrait
(A.118-62), read by Alan Baragona.
- General Prologue, The Wife of Bath's Portrait
(A.445-76, from Fisher's edition), read by Tom Farrell (Stetson U).
- General Prologue, The Miller's Portrait
(A.545-66), read by Alfred David (Indiana U).
From the Canterbury Tales:
- Knight's Tale, the Tournament
(A.2604-18, from Fisher), read by Tom Farrell.
- Miller's Prologue (A. 3109-86), read by Alan
Baragona.
- Miller's Tale, Nicholas Seduces Alisoun
(A.3271-3306), read by Alfred David.
- Wife of Bath's Prologue (D.1-22), read by Marie Borroff
(Yale).
- Wife of Bath's Tale, The Wedding Night
(D.1073-1124) read by Alan Baragona.
- Envoy to The Clerk's
Tale (D.11-77-1212 & 121a-g), read by Alan
Baragona.
- Pardoner's Tale, the Rioters Meet the Old Man
(C.716-49), read by Alfred David.
- Nun's Priest's Tale, Chauntecleer Describes Pertelote's Beauty
(B2.3157-86), read by Alfred David.
- Nun's Priest's Tale, the Ending
(B2.3375-3446), read by Alan Baragona.
From the Dream Visions and Shorter Poems:
The Chaucer Studio (Paul Thomas, Brigham
Young U) offers a variety of reasonably priced cassette tapes of medieval texts in the
original dialects, including most of the Canterbury Tales. A great teaching tool;
great for polishing your own pronunciation; and great for hearing the music of the Middle
English. Find sample audio files of the Canterbury
Tales.
Language Helps
Edwin Duncan (Towson State) has put together a handy list of the most used
Middle English words in his Basic
Chaucer Glossary.
The oft-noted but never fully explained phenomenon known as "The
Great Vowel Shift" is described at the Harvard Chaucer
Page. Essential for understanding Chaucerian pronunciation.
Chaucer's Pronunciation,
Grammar, and Vocabulary (Harvard Chaucer Page) is a fifteen part tutorial--thirteen on
pronunciation and two on grammar and vocabulary. Highly recommended for students beginning
their study of Middle English.
Middle English
Pronunciation Guidelines (Teresa Reed, Jacksonville State U) provides an introductory
overview of pronunciation rules. Includes sound files illustrating correct
pronunciation.
Glossarial DataBase of Middle English
(Larry D. Benson, Harvard Chaucer Page) is a searchable index of Middle English
grammatical forms in context. See also the Middle English Glossarial Database at
Harvard. Recommended for advanced users.
Melinda J. Menzer
(Furman U) has put together a whiz-bang multimedia demonstration and
explanation of the Great
Vowel Shift. Requires Quicktime.
An excellent introductory hyperlinked essay
on The English
Language in the Fourteenth Century (Harvard Chaucer Page).
The English Language in the Fourteenth
Century (Harvard Chaucer Page) is a fine essay on the varieties of English spoken and
written during Chaucer's era.
The Introduction
to Michael Murphy's modernized Reader-Friendly
Edition of the General Prologue and Sixteen Tales provides a brief overview of Chaucer's
career and an easy to follow elaboration of the nuances of Middle English poetics and
pronunciation. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Chaucer Studio Recordings
The best site for professionally done,
academically sound, authentic recordings of Chaucer's Middle English is
BYU's Chaucer Studio. The
cassettes & CDs are inexpensive and first rate. The available titles
in the Canterbury Tales
include:
The General Prologue (Occasional Readings 8)
(.wav, 204KB)
- Recorded at Brigham Young University,
1990, and published originally by York
Productions; jointly published with the Chaucer Studio in 1994.
Read by Paul R. Thomas.
The Knight's Tale (Occasional Readings 13)
(.wav,
216KB)
- Recorded at Dartmouth College, Hanover, 1994.Read by Alan T. Gaylord.
Sir Thopas: Two Readings (NCS Readings 2)
(.wav,
190KB)
- Recorded at the 6th International Congress of the
New Chaucer Society, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 1988.
- Side 1
(Monologue): Read by Bennett J. Lamond (as Chaucer).
- Side 2
(Dramatized): Bennett J. Lamond (Chaucer), Robert Worth
Frank Jr.(Host), Richard Firth Green (Sir Thopas), Paul R. Thomas
(Sir Olifaunt).
The Merchant's Tale (NCS Readings 3)
(.wav, 160KB)
- Recorded at the 6th International Congress of the New
Chaucer Society, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, 1988.
- Readers: Emerson Brown Jr. (Merchant), Bennett J.
Lamond (Chaucer), Robert Worth Frank Jr. (Host), D. Thomas Hanks Jr.
(January), Tom Burton (Placebo), Richard Firth Green (Justinus), Paul R.
Thomas (Damyan), Susan Crane (May), John Burrow (Pluto), Jane Chance (Proserpyne).
The Friar's Tale (NCS Readings 4)
(.wav,
139KB)
- Recorded at Dartmouth College, Hanover, 1990.
Read by Alan T. Gaylord.
The Summoner's Tale (NCS Readings 6)
(.wav, 210KB)
- Recorded at the 7th International Congress of the New Chaucer Society,
University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990.
- Readers: Harvey De Roo (Chaucer), Paul R. Thomas (Summoner), Tom Burton
(CT Friar), Thomas Rendall (Host), Maldwyn Mills (Friar in Tale), R. A.
Shoaf
(Thomas), Priscilla Martin (Thomas's Wife), Emerson Brown Jr. (Lord),
Mary-Ann Stouck (Lady), Joseph Gallagher (Squire).
The Franklin's Tale (NCS Readings 7)
(.wav, 218KB)
- Recorded at the 7th International Congress of the New Chaucer Society,
University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990.
- Readers: A. C. Spearing (Franklin), Mary-Ann Stouck (Dorigen), Tom
Burton
(Aurelius), William Cooper Jr. (Aurelius's Brother), Harvey De Roo
(Clerk), Paul
R. Thomas (Squire), Emerson Brown Jr. (Arveragus).
The Prioress's Tale: Two Readings (NCS Readings 8)
(.wav, 235KB)
- Recorded at Campion College, University of Regina, 1989 (side one), and
at the
7th International Congress of the New Chaucer Society, University of
Kent at
Canterbury, 1990 (side two).
- SIDE ONE: Read by Thomas
Rendall (as Chaucer).
- SIDE TWO: Read by Michelle
Matthews (as the Prioress).
The Pardoner's Tale (Occasional Readings 12)
(.wav, 162KB)
- Recorded at Simon Fraser University, 1994.
Read by Joseph Gallagher.
The Wife of Bath's Tale (NCS Readings 9)
(.wav, 207KB)
- Recorded at the 9th International Congress of the New Chaucer Society,
Trinity
College, Dublin, 1994.
- Readers: Mary Hamel (Wife of Bath), D. Thomas Hanks Jr. (Pardoner/Summoner),
Peter G. Beidler (Knight/Friar/Host), Paul R. Thomas (Chaucer), Beverly
Kennedy
(Queen), Jane Chance (Old Wife).
The Nun's Priest's Tale (NCS Readings 10)
(.wav, 194KB)
- Recorded at the 9th International Congress of the New Chaucer Society,
Trinity
College, Dublin, 1994.
- Readers: Paul R. Thomas (Chaucer/Chauntecleer), D. Thomas Hanks Jr.
(Nun's
Priest), Peter G. Beidler (Host/Daun Russell), Jane Chance (Pertelote/daughter),
Mary Hamel (daughter), Beverly Kennedy (widow).
The Man of Law's Tale (Occasional Readings 14)
(.wav,
209KB)
- Recorded at the University of Adelaide, 1994.Read by Tom Burton.
The Clerk's Tale (Occasional Readings 15)
(.wav,
152KB)
- Recorded at the University of Adelaide, 1994.Read by Tom Burton.
The Miller's Tale (NCS Readings 11)
(.wav, 143KB)
- Recorded at the Tenth International Congress of the New Chaucer Society,
Santa Monica College, Beverly Hills, July 1996.
- Side 1: Readers: Alan T.
Gaylord (Chaucer), Paul R. Thomas (Host), William A. Stephany
(Miller), Richard Firth Green (Reeve), Tom Burton (Nicholas), Christine Herold
(Alisoun), Michael A. Calabrese (Absolon), D. Thomas Hanks Jr. (John),
Nicholas
R. Havely (Robin), Winthrop Wetherbee (Brother from Osney), Peter G.
Beidler
(Gervais).
- Side 2: Reader: Alan T.
Gaylord
The Reeve's Tale (NCS Readings 12)
(.wav, 178KB)
- Recorded at the Tenth International Congress of the New Chaucer Society,
Santa Monica College, Beverly Hills, 1996.
- Readers: Alan T. Gaylord (Chaucer), Richard Firth Green (Reeve),
Nicholas R.
Havely (Host), William A. Stephany (Symkyn), Paul R. Thomas (John),
Peter G.
Beidler (Aleyn), Mary Hamel (Wife), Susan F. Yager (Malyne).
The Shipman's Tale (NCS Readings 13)
(.wav, 189KB)
- Recorded at the Tenth International Congress of the New Chaucer
Society,
Santa Monica College, Beverly Hills, 1996.
- Readers: Nicholas R. Havely (Shipman), Mary Hemel (Wife), Winthrop
Wetherbee
(Don John), Peter G. Beidler (Merchant).
According to the website, "Chaucer Studio offerings may be ordered by letter, by e-mail,or by means
of the order form. Payment may be made in British pounds or in U.S. or
Austraian dollars only" to the following contacts:
or
See the
The
Poor Medieval Scholar's
Electronic Bookshelf
for recommended
texts from Google Book Search& Microsoft Live Search.
Google Scholar
Google Scholar indexes
academic material but doesn't yet make all of that material
available. In most cases, you'll have to access your own
institution's electronic databases and library materials to get
the full text versions.
Because it
does not make full texts available,
at this point
Google Scholar is best used as a bibliographical
resource.
Google Book Search & Microsoft
Live Search
These projects
are also showing their growing pains, but they
make a number of (primarily) older studies related to
Chaucer and medieval literature and culture in full
text. You can
contribute to the success of this effort by informing Google
or Microsoft of any incorrect scans, missing pages, or other errors.
Only out-of-copyright books are
available in full and some of the scans are
messy. I will cross list the relevant titles
at the Electronic Canterbury Tales -
Online Books and Essays main page and at the appropriate
web page for each Canterbury Tale.
Google Custom
Search
You can search for handpicked websites related to
Chaucer and medieval culture as recommended by ECT users.
I welcome your
suggestions for suitable websites. Please be patient as
I tune the search terms.
How to Document
Print & Electronic Sources:
The Chaucer Pedagogy
Documentation Primer
|
|
Additional
Chaucer Pages in The Electronic Canterbury Tales
Chaucer the Pilgrim-Narrator & Author
Chaucer's "Orphan" Pilgrims
- Those without a Tale
The
Frame Tale, Later Continuations,
&
Chaucerian Apocrypha
Manuscripts,
Printed Editions, & Electronic Texts
Electronic
Chaucer Texts:
What's Available Online?
Chaucer
in / and Popular Culture
Troilus
and Criseyde
Documentation Primer
Chaucer Pedagogy Page
Something Extra?
Free Books!
The
Poor Medieval Scholar's Electronic Bookshelf
(no cost, older academic books,
in .pdf
form from the
Google Library Project &
Microsoft Book Search Live)
Cheap Books!
The
Electronic Canterbury Tales
Bookshop
(recommended books for the study of
Chaucer and Late-Medieval England)
The
Kankedort
Gift Shoppe
(with many serious and some silly offerings for the medievalist
in your
life)
Netflix.com
Calls for Papers
Call
for Papers database from the University of Pennsylvania CFP listserv
Build Your Chaucer & Medieval
Studies Library!
Save 50-80%
at The Electronic Canterbury Tales
Bookshop (a new page with affiliated online booksellers)
Visit
The
Electronic Canterbury Tales
Bookshop, hosted by Amazon.com
Check out Geoffrey Chaucer
Hath a Blog, well, just because. And, no, it ain't me. And, no, I
don't get a piece of
this
either, but I like it!
Medieval Music
Daniel T. Kline's
Legacy Web Page
(The Kankedort Page) at the U of Alaska Anchoragee
Please be advised that I no longer update most of these pages, so many of the links are likely to be bad,
but will keep them alive in the ongoing battle against "link rot."
Highly Recommended!
Challenge Your Vision of Chaucer with These Critically Acclaimed,
Contemporary
BBC Versions
of
The Miller's Tale, The Wife Of Bath, The Knight's
Tale, The Sea
Captain's (Shipman's) Tale, The Pardoner's Tale & The Man Of Law's Tale
Excellent for Classroom Use!
|
