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September 16-24 & September 23-29, 2007 with John V. Fleming *63, the Louis W. Fairchild '24 Professor of English and Comparative Literature (Emeritus), and the Reverend Joan Fleming, Associate Chaplain at the Episcopal Church at Princeton. Depending on your time, sign up for one session or both sessions!

The Canterbury Tales

• * Part I: Chaucer's London and Canterbury
• * Part II: Pilgrimage in the Age of Chaucer

Over 1,000 alumni share the bond of having studied Chaucer with the great literature professor, John Fleming *63. Having given his last Chaucer course in the fall of 2005, Professor Fleming retired from the University in 2006 and yet, has generously offered to lead not one but two Princeton Journeys programs in London, Canterbury, and the south of England—September 16-24 and September 23-29, 2007. His wife, the Reverend Joan Fleming, will also be on hand to complement the literary view of Chaucer’s era with the religious one.

The first program begins with four nights in London, ample time to explore the areas of literary and historic importance to Chaucer and to contrast the medieval with the modern in the capital city. Then, participants walk the last few miles of the Pilgrims' Way into Canterbury to experience the pilgrimage route with the Flemings. Three nights in Canterbury allow for further guided and independent exploration.

The second program is centered in Salisbury, allowing participants the opportunity to delve into the deeper issues of pilgrimage and what it has meant in the history of southern England. A concentrated visit to Salisbury Cathedral and sojourns to other area churches and abbeys, as well as in-depth lectures and precepts, fill out the curriculum.

About the Study Leaders
Having taught at Princeton since 1965, Professor John V. Fleming retired from the University in the spring of 2006. During his tenure at Princeton he served as the chair of the English Department, the first Master of Wilson College and the Faculty Director of the Program in Freshman Seminars. Jointly appointed in the Department of Comparative Literature, Fleming has published very extensively in the fields of medieval English and European literature, medieval art history, and the history of Christian thought and spirituality. He is a winner of the Behrman Award for Distinguished Achievement in the Humanities and the President’s medal for distinguished teaching. Last spring he received the Phi Beta Kappa Teaching Award and the Service to Princeton Award from the Alumni Council. He serves on numerous editorial boards and national committees, and he is a past President of the Medieval Academy of America.

Professor Fleming graduated from the University of the South (Sewanee) in 1958. He then went for three years as a Rhodes Scholar to Oxford (Arkansas and Jesus College), where he took an honors BA in English. He spent two years at Princeton getting a Ph.D. (1963).

Born and raised in England, Joan Fleming earned a BA in English Language and Literature at Oxford, spent an extra year acquiring a teaching credential, and was then "persuaded by a Rhodes scholar from Arkansas to come to the US instead of taking up a teaching position."

At various times she has undertaken careers as university press editor, high school English teacher, and full-time mother and homemaker, studied for the priesthood, and served in parish ministry for 20 years. She prepared for ordination at Princeton Theological Seminary; King's College, London; and the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in New York. She served as lay assistant to former Episcopal Church at Princeton (ECP) Chaplain Tim Cogan convening a women’s study group; and also as the first female warden of Trinity Church in Princeton. Since ordination in 1986, she served as a curate, then associate, at St. Paul's, Bound Brook; and most recently spent 13 years as rector of historic Christ Church, New Brunswick, retiring from that position in 2004. She has recently returned to ECP as Associate Chaplain under the Rev. Dr. Steven White.

The Flemings have been married for over 40 years and together have raised two sons, Richard and Luke, and a daughter Katherine.

Chaucer's Canterbury Reservation Form [PDF]. To make reservations, fax completed form to (609) 258-1281 or contact Princeton Journeys at (609) 258-8686 for reservations by phone. For more information or help with the forms, e-mail journeys@princeton.edu.