Other editions of book The Canterbury Tales: A New Unabridged Translation by Burton Raffel

The Canterbury Tales is a classic collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer. The characters in the tales were used to satirize English society at the time. There is still question as to whether or not the book was finished a the time of Chaucer's death yet it is still one of the most famous books in all of literature. Geoffrey Chaucer is widely considered to be the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and he has also known as the Father of English literature. Chaucer's books, particularly The Canterbury Tales, were integral in the development of the Middle English vernacular. Chaucer became the first poet to be buried in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey after his death in 1400.

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400). In 1386, Chaucer became Controller of Customs and Justice of Peace and, three years later, Clerk of the King's work in 1389. It was during these years that Chaucer began working on his most famous text, The Canterbury Tales. The tales (mostly written in verse, although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from London to Canterbury in order to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.