The University of Nottingham’s decision caused serious backlash from Christian groups for putting a ‘ludicrous’ trigger warning on Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales because they contain “expressions of Christian faith”.

Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the most influential English authors from the 14th century, often called “the father of English poetry”. He was also a devoted Christian. The Canterbury Tales are acclaimed works of medieval literature that tell the story of a religious pilgrimage to one of the most important cathedrals. 

The Mail on Sunday has access to details of the notice issued to students studying the subject under Freedom of Information laws. It alerts them to incidences of violence, mental illness and expressions of Christian faith in the works of Chaucer and other medieval writers such as William Langland, John Gower, and Thomas Hoccleve. Langland, for instance, writes about ‘rich ecclesiastical politics’ and ‘Christian virtue’ in the classic poem ‘Piers Plowman’.

Chaucer’s tales include the promiscuous Wife of Bath, the drunken miller and the thieving administrator, who entertain each other with stories containing explicit references to rape, lust and even anti-Semitism. Interestingly, the university’s warning does not refer to anti-Semitism or sexually explicit themes. Other texts on the university’s module covered by the warning include ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’, a poem full of Christian themes and beliefs. 

Frank Furedi, a professor at the University of Kent, finds it extremely strange to add a warning to Chaucer’s works: “Warning students of Chaucer about Christian expressions of faith is weird. Since all characters in the stories are immersed in a Christian experience there is bound to be a lot of expressions of faith. The problem is not would-be student readers of Chaucer but virtue-signalling, ignorant academics.”

Historian Jeremy Black stated: “Presumably, this Nottingham nonsense is a product of the need to validate courses in accordance with tick-box criteria. It is simultaneously sad, funny and a demeaning of education.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, also expressed concerns regarding the trigger warning: “The Bible is foundational to understanding the history of English literature. Without an understanding of the Christian faith, there would be no way for students to access the world of Chaucer and his contemporaries. It’s ludicrous to issue such trigger warnings. From what point in history are we going to censor literary texts, given most are steeped in a Christian worldview? Trigger warnings for Christian themes in literature are demeaning to the Christian faith and stifle the academic progress of our students. To censor expressions of the Christian faith is to erase our literary heritage. True education engages and fosters understanding, not avoidance. Our universities should allow students who have chosen to study some of the greatest works in English literature the freedom of academic thought to make up their own minds rather than planting loaded warnings about the Christian faith.”