Where do we see elements of the oral tradition in

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Abstract
The Canterbury Tales is the most critically acclaimed and famous of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer. It is a collection of oral tradition envisioned to be linguistically available to all. Having been written at a time when labor force was gaining leverage and merchants establishing their power over the legal wages, Chaucer was able to explore different culture by way of poetry. The merchant oligarchy Chaucer experienced when growing up controlled the aristocracy and the poor artisan groups. This paper assesses the elements of oral tradition that Chaucer puts forward. It delves into issues of social structures, ethical values, the form of ruling, natural catastrophes, and religious stands during the middle age. Given that the travelers originated from different parts of England, the paper assesses the variations in traditional behaviors, occupations, and intelligence. It also delves into the importance of oral traditions and how it was communicated from one person to the other through storytelling.
Elements of Oral Tradition in Canterbury Tales
Oral tradition is domain includes a variety of spoken form of tradition like the tales, riddles, songs, poems, myths and legendary stories. Their primary duty is to pass expressions and traditions from generation to the other. This information contains the values, social structure and cultural heritage of a given ethical group. Where some oral expressions are universal, many are limited to particular ethnic groups.

It is usually a highly specialized practice and is mainly performed by special characters within the society regarded as guardians. Some poets and storytellers have, however, mastered the art and have become the voice of these communities by making the cultural heritages known through the print media. Because it is passed on by word of mouth, the oral traditions vary in their telling. There is a different genre from context to context and one author to the next. Geoffrey Chaucer is a renowned English poet who dedicated his time making a collection of stories from the pilgrims who traveled to England. Given that the travelers originated from different communities, he had time to interact with different cultures all that are contained in the Canterbury tales. Although the tales were never revised, his enormous project is a collection of historical heritages of the different societies the travelers belonged.
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of fascinating stories that speaks about human condition across the societies in the Middle Ages. The tales are based on communities in England whose influences were a result of many revelers who visited the country for tourism and trading activities. Although many schools in the US find it hard to incorporate these tales in the history classes, the writings contain a rich history of the Europeans. His concepts involve humor, fortune, and physiognomy that revolve around the cultural, social and historical heritages. In the Miller’s Prologue and Tale, the Host guides the Monk and the drunken Miller to tell tales. This is something that happens whenever the travelers are on the way. Their stories are a way of passing the time as well as entertaining. Miller’s story is that of a beautiful landlord’s wife who falls to Nicholas’ persuasion to spend the night together. Nicholas uses his wit to convince the husband that a second flood was due. Nicholas was referencing to the 1362 floods along the coastline of Holland to Denmark that caused a devastating destruction of outlying promontories. Further, he pinpoints the occurrence of early churches where the priest presided. Social immorality such as adultery and cheating is also introduced as a common thing in the medieval era. By the virtue that Alisoun gave in to Nicholas’s lies, it indicates that women of the time were easier convincing as well as lose.
The same element is evident in Reeve’s tale. Being a carpenter, he caught feelings over miller’s story of the stupid carpenter and countered the offense with a narrative of the dishonest miller. Honesty is an ethical virtue that many traditions instigated. His involves a witty miller who unties the horses for the students who had brought some corn to be ground. In ancient folk songs, there was consistent of milling practices and millers were branded as selfish branding thieves who took advantage of the customers any time they had the chance. The story revamped the old culture that millers could not operate under the eyes of their clients. That is why the Miller, in this case, tricked the students. This instigates the element of immorality within the society. At the same time, it reveals that many men were engaged in craftsmanship activities like carpentry and milling.
Everyone is traveler was betrothed in the tales as well as entertained. The Cook talks of a Perkyn reveler who drinks and dances. His master wanted him so but away from other servants. As a result, the reveler stays with a friend who is similarly a drunkard, gamblers, and his wife a prostitute. Just like the other tale-tellers, this story was meant to entertain but further revealed the rot in the society. Both beer and ale were common in England in the medieval era but usually consumed by the Lords. They could drink and gamble while being entertained by prostitutes. This was the reason why many wives were prostitutes. However, the Knights tale is different in that it exposes the ruling structure within Athens (Greece). People were led by a Duke who was guarded by nights. There were prisons where violators were incarcerated. Both the prisoners fall in love with the duke’s daughter and end up fighting. This brings the element of power when both are invited to fight for the daughter by the king. It indicates that kingship was a survival for the strong. The man of law’s tale is different from the other. He derived his tale from a story given by a merchant. This reveals that trading was an adventure in the middle ages. Her story indicates the long-standing rivalry between the Muslims of Syria and Christians. The emperor could order the killing of all Christians. The narrative points out the introduction of Christianity in England and Islamic countries. Further, Alla’s son becoming the next emperor after Alla’s death shows the inheritance of power from father to son an exercise that has been long forgotten today. Other tales delves into similar topics of the time including power, incest and adultery, religion, trade and social structures.
The elements of oral tradition presented in Canterbury’s Tales vary from one storyteller to the other. However, it is evident that the tales were a way of entertaining, passing the time and increasing interactions among the members of the society. People shared knowledge, generated and developed ideas, included art and in the process of competing became creative. Cultural heritages are perceived, transmitted and preserved through oral storytelling where each narrator delves into the elements of their traditional culture. This way, they not only increase the bond among traditions but also learn to withstand each other’s beliefs, art, and knowledge. One thing that has been divulged about the medieval age traditions is female suppression within the society. There were no female storytellers in all of Chaucer’s tales. This meant that the male mainly instigated the oral culture. Due to the lack of written media, there was no record of these cultures and the only way to transfer them was through storytelling. Most of Chaucer’s stories are tall tales and fairy tales. The oral traditions learned from Canterbury tales is that of antiquated organization system, slavery, use of magical powers, social immoralities like killing and adultery and trade.