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Brief History

Camping in style

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When all entertainment must be live, the art of storytelling is a delightful skill. Several ofof the company would share a variety of tales from such diverse sources as the ever-popular Arthurian legends as interpreted by Chrétien de Troyes and Sir Thomas Malory; Chaucer’s immortal Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio’s Decameron with its hundred mainly saucy tales which provided Chaucer, Shakespeare and many others with their plots. The “naughty elements” were toned down rather than cause offence, although they would not have offended medieval sensibilities!
Contemporary chronicles, such as those by Froissart, which were translated into English by Lord Berners in the time of Henry VIII, give a fascinating insight into many of the events and characters of the time. Women’s writing may also be explored: Marie de France’s romantic “lays”, the adventures and pilgimages of Marjery Kemp, the religious fanatic. Thomas More’s Utopia and Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis with their visions of a perfect society were appropriate to the later part of the Tudor period, Christine de Pisan’s advice to noblewomen given in her Treasure of the City of Ladies to the earlier pre-reformation era. Poetry was also shared and enjoyed.

 


Read an adapted version of a tale from the Decameron;

The Fruits of Confession

 

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Storytelling