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Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). The tales, some of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame tale and told by a collection of pilgrims on a pilgrimage from London Borough of Southwark to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.The Canterbury Tales are written in Middle English. The tales are considered to be influenced by the structure of The Decameron (a collection of 100 novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in 1350 and finished in 1353. It is a medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic. Some believe many parts of the tales are indebted to the influence of The Book of Good Love.)., which Chaucer is said to have read on an earlier visit to Italy, but Chaucer peopled his tales with 'sondry folk' rather than Boccaccio's fleeing nobles.

Synopsis:

On an April day, a group of 29 pilgrims meet in Tabard Inn, just outside London, and set out on a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, in South East England, on the River Stour, to pay their respects to the tomb of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The group is described in detail, with characters from all classes, upper and lower, represented. Religious characters, such as a prioress, monk and a Pardoner, travel alongside a shipman, miller, carpenter, reeve, squire, yeoman and a knight, among others. Harry Bailey, the innkeeper, joins the pilgrims and suggests a game where they all tell stories to each other along the way. The pilgrims agree to tell four stories each, two on the way to Canterbury, and two on the way back. The person who tells the best story, as determined by the host, will have his supper paid for by the rest of the group. The tale-telling begins with the knight and proceeds as the pilgrims near Canterbury, each person telling a story that reflects their social position, and some telling stories which are intended to make fun of others in the group. No winner is chosen by the host in the end, and only a few of the pilgrims have told their tales by the time the story ends because Chaucer died before he could finish it. He may have intended to write 124 tales but died having only completed 22. Two more tales were started, but never finished. With typical medieval piety, Chaucer ends the work with a retraction apologizing for anything in the stories which may have been inappropriate.

Canterbury Cathedral. View from the north west circa 1890-1900 (retouched from a black & white photograph).	The Peasant's Revolt of 1381 is mentioned in the Tales
A woodcut from William Caxton's second edition of the Canterbury Tales printed in 1483.	A Tale from the Decameron by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)
The opening folio of the Hengwrt manuscript contains the beginning of the General Prologue.	The beginning of The Knight's Tale from the Ellesmere manuscript
Opening prologue of The Wife of Baths Tale from the Ellesmere Manuscript