Other editions of book The Canterbury Tales

A group of English men and women from all walks of life gather at the Tabard Inn atSouthwark and proceed on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Before they leave, their host proposes a contest: whichever of them can tell the best story during the ride to Canterbury will be given a free dinner at the Tabard upon the group's return to London. And as courtlyromances are answered by filthy fabliaux, and proto-feminist exempla lead to heated debates about marriage, the pilgrims provide modern readers with an alternately touching and riotous look at life in medieval England. Highlights include: "The Miller's Tale": a bawdytale of a romantic quadrangle between a poor scholar, a parish clerk, a carpenter, and the carpenter's beautiful wife. "The Reeve's Tale": After being cuckolded by a thieving miller, the students John and Aleyn concoct a delicious revenge in this freewheeling sex farce. "The Wife of Bath's Tale": Prefaced by the Wife's lengthy autobiography, this is the story of a knight convicted of rape - who must, as penance, discover what it is that women most desire. "The Summoner's Tale": A delightful if indelicate tale about the unusual donation a parishioner makes to his local monastery. "The Pardoner's Tale": The story of three rioters who go on a drunken quest to find Death - and succeed. "Sir Thopas": Chaucer's hilarious self-parody, in which he represents an absurd piece of fake minstrel-verse as "the best rhyme I know." "The Nun's Priest's Tale": An amusing fable about a rooster, his favorite wife, and the fox who wanted to eat them.

Anyone who has ever been on a package tour with a group of strangers who soon become friends, and passed time swapping stories with them, would instantly identify with this timeless classic of English literature. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer recounts twenty different stories recounted by a diverse group of pilgrims who gather at The Tabard Inn in Southwark, near London, before setting out for the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The Host of the inn proposes that they entertain themselves by telling stories along the route and the one who tells the best tale would win a prize – a meal at Bailey's tavern, sponsored by the losers. Lots are drawn and the stories and the journey begin...Chaucer, who lived in medieval England during an eventful period in English history, is known as the Father of English Literature. As the first acknowledged poet in English, Chaucer was a polymath who had wide ranging interests in astronomy, alchemy, philosophy and literature. He was a courtier and civil servant in the 14th century, whose life is surprisingly well-documented for those times. A confidante and mentor to many royal children, Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales after his retirement, somewhere between 1380-90. It was written in verse form and in Middle English in the original, which would be difficult for modern readers to decipher easily. However, excellent translations have now made the text accessible to us.What sets The Canterbury Tales apart from other works during the period is that Chaucer preferred to use English rather than Latin which was considered to be the language of sophistication. This one decision made all the difference as people all over England soon began to use their native tongue to express themselves in prose and poetry.This is perhaps the first “road trip” genre of writing in English and is replete with wonderful, ironic, sharp and witty descriptions of the characters and Chaucer's unerring eye for details allows the reader to instantly visualize the people he's describing. The Knight, The Wife of Bath, The Prioress and The Miller are some of the colorful travelers. The book is an interesting document regarding history, social customs, the medieval concept of “courtly love,” the emphasis on companionship and cooperation while traveling, the role of the church and the prevailing corruption and romantic ideals of the time.For both casual readers and those interested in the history of English literature, The Canterbury Tales is an invaluable mine of information. Anyone who has ever been on a package tour with a group of strangers who soon become friends, and passed time swapping stories with them, would instantly identify with this timeless classic of English literature. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer recounts twenty different stories recounted by a diverse group of pilgrims who gather at The Tabard Inn in Southwark, near London, before setting out for the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury. The Host of the inn proposes that they entertain themselves by telling stories along the route and the one who tells the best tale would win a prize – a meal at Bailey's tavern, sponsored by the losers. Lots are drawn and the stories and the journey begin...Chaucer, who lived in medieval England during an eventful period in English history, is known as the Father of English Literature. As the first acknowledged poet in English, Chaucer was a polymath who had wide ranging interests in astronomy, alchemy, philosophy and literature. He was a courtier and civil servant in the 14th century, whose life is surprisingly well-documented for those times. A confidante and mentor to many royal children, Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales after his retirement, somewhere between 1380-90. It was written in verse form and in Middle English in the original, which would be difficult for modern readers to decipher easily. However, excellent translations have now made the text accessible to us.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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Geoffrey Chaucer created this book in 1387. At that time the religion was the most important thing for European people. It was very popular to go on pilgrimages. It means travelling to famous Christian cities to be near to God. People said their prayers and asked for well-being or repented about something and supplicated for help. A group of people went on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, a town in England. Their aim was Canterbury Cathedral. At the beginning of their journey one member of the group suggested a game to entertain everybody. All of them had to tell one story. The best story would win a prize at the end of the journey. Everyone had something he wanted to share. The stories were very different. You'll hear much interesting from a Knight, a Clerk, a Merchant, a Franklin and a Pardoner.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

CANTERBURY TALES BY GEOFFREY CHAUCER INTRODUCTION GETS born on the edge of a new era stand in peculiar danger of being misunderstood and depreciated by the generations that follow. Since time never stands still, and one age is forever melting into the next, any poet has to take a rather desperate chance of .appealing to readers beyond his own day. There is always the possibility, to be sure, that he may be more highly esteemed than by his contempo rariesa faint hope that has buoyed up many who were destined to drown in the waters of oblivion but this does not often happen. The inevitable revaluation usually marks the poet down to a lower figure. Sometimes he has to wait a few centuries be tore he is understood and appreciated again. John Donne is an example in point. If the shift of ideas and taste can be so upsetting, what is likely to be the fate of a poet who happens to write while his medium q expression is in process of change? Suppose the form of verbs and nouns is alteref suppose some pronouns go out and others come in, suppose the habits of speech and tlft meaning of words become very different within a century or sq after he dies. His chances of continuing fame will bdby that much more reduced. If he continues in high repute, illnust be because of qualities in his work that can be seen and appreciated despite difficulties of language as well as changes of opinion and taste, Geoffrey Chauceg met triumphantly both theser tests. HeKad perfected from the speech of educatscl folk in London at his time a poetical instrument a flexible and melodious, as capable of expressing a wide range of feelings and ides, as any English author has had at his comman But the speech of London changed very rapidly after his death in 1400, A century later the language was on the verge of becoming what we call modern English, and in fifty years more it was the native tongue of Spenser and Shakespeare. At the same time the ideas of men, together with the political and social fabric in which xhey found expression, changed with equal rapidity. Medieval England became Tudor England. Chaucers language had by this time become archaic, as hard to understand as it is in the twentieth century, or indeed harder, since we have better editions with the notes and glossaries that scholars have industriously com piled. The codes according to which he thought and felt and acted had become oldfashioned, too, though not so remote as they are to us. Yet men like Spenser and Sidney, who loved poetry, recognized Chaucers worth. No change of speech or fashion in that century, or any other, has been able to obscure it. The men and women whom his imagination created have kept alive, even when they have had tt be seen darkly through texts that falsified almost every line he wrote.

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