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

Written (but left unfinished) in the 1300s by the English courtier, diplomat, philosopher, and poet Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales follows a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral to visit the remains of Saint Thomas á Becket. When the group stops at an inn, they agree to entertain each other on their journey by telling stories, with a reward for the traveler whose stories are best. From the noble Knight and his Squire to the spunky Wife of Bath, from the antagonistic Miller and Reeve to the Prioress, Nun, and Pardoner, Chaucer paints a vivid picture of medieval life. Even today, some 700 years after its initial publication, this classic of English literature endears itself to readers through its vivid characters, sparkling dialogue, raucus humor, and love of humanity. Important historically, it helped establish English as the language of British literature, replacing French and Latin and securing Chaucer's reputation as “the first finder of our fair language.” This classic and thoroughly entertaining work has been newly designed and typeset in a large-format edition by Waking Lion Press.

The procession that crosses Chaucer's pages is as full of life and as richly textured as a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of characters -- including Chaucer himself -- are real people, with human emotions and weaknesses. When it is remembered that Chaucer wrote in English at a time when Latin was the standard literary language across western Europe, the magnitude of his achievement is even more remarkable. But Chaucer's genius needs no historical introduction; it bursts forth from every page of The Canterbury Tales.

The procession that crosses Chaucer's pages is as full of life and as richly textured as a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of characters -- including Chaucer himself -- are real people, with human emotions and weaknesses. When it is remembered that Chaucer wrote in English at a time when Latin was the standard literary language across western Europe, the magnitude of his achievement is even more remarkable. But Chaucer's genius needs no historical introduction; it bursts forth from every page of The Canterbury Tales.If we trust the General Prologue, Chaucer intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to Canterbury and two tales on the way back. He never finished his enormous project and even the completed tales were not finally revised. Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales. As the printing press had yet to be invented when Chaucer wrote his works, The Canterbury Tales has been passed down in several handwritten manuscripts.

One spring day, the Narrator of The Canterbury Tales rents a room at the Tabard Inn before he recommences his journey to Canterbury. That evening, a group of people arrive at the inn, all of whom are also going to Canterbury to receive the blessings of "the holy blissful martyr," St. Thomas à Becket. Calling themselves "pilgrims" because of their destination, they accept the Narrator into their company. The Narrator describes his newfound traveling companions.The Host at the inn, Harry Bailey, suggests that, to make the trip to Canterbury pass more pleasantly, each member of the party tell two tales on the journey to Canterbury and two more tales on the journey back. The person who tells the best story will be rewarded with a sumptuous dinner paid for by the other members of the party. The Host decides to accompany the pilgrims to Canterbury and serve as the judge of the tales. (non illustrated)

The Canterbury Tales (Middle English: Tales of Caunterbury[2]) is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400.[3] In 1386, Chaucer became Controller of Customs and Justice of Peace and, in 1389, Clerk of the King's work.[4] 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 from London to Canterbury 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.After a long list of works written earlier in his career, including Troilus and Criseyde, House of Fame, and Parliament of Fowls, The Canterbury Tales is near-unanimously seen as Chaucer's magnum opus. He uses the tales and descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. Chaucer's use of such a wide range of classes and types of people was without precedent in English. Although the characters are fictional, they still offer a variety of insights into customs and practices of the time. Often, such insight leads to a variety of discussions and disagreements among people in the 14th century. For example, although various social classes are represented in these stories and all of the pilgrims are on a spiritual quest, it is apparent that they are more concerned with worldly things than spiritual. Structurally, the collection resembles Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron, which Chaucer may have read during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372.It has been suggested that the greatest contribution of The Canterbury Tales to English literature was the popularisation of the English vernacular in mainstream literature, as opposed to French, Italian or Latin. English had, however, been used as a literary language centuries before Chaucer's time, and several of Chaucer's contemporaries—John Gower, William Langland, the Pearl Poet, and Julian of Norwich—also wrote major literary works in English. It is unclear to what extent Chaucer was seminal in this evolution of literary preference.While Chaucer clearly states the addressees of many of his poems, the intended audience of The Canterbury Tales is more difficult to determine. Chaucer was a courtier, leading some to believe that he was mainly a court poet who wrote exclusively for nobility.The Canterbury Tales is generally thought to have been incomplete at the end of Chaucer's life. In the General Prologue,[5] some 30 pilgrims are introduced. According to the Prologue, Chaucer's intention was to write four stories from the perspective of each pilgrim, two each on the way to and from their ultimate destination, St. Thomas Becket's shrine (making for a total of about 120 stories). Although perhaps incomplete, The Canterbury Tales is revered as one of the most important works in English literature. It is also open to a wide range of interpretations.

Four Canterbury Tales: For venturesome readers only All in the original Middle English made reader-friendly with modern spelling and every possible aid right on the page. Not for those afraid of a little mental work or a lot of hearty laughter. The Miller's Tale: Bawdy, well-plotted, uproariously funny. The first great short story in English. The Pardoner's Tale: A professional televangelist before TV, the most dubious character on the pilgrimage boasts of his confidence tricks but tells a powerful tale of greed and treachery. The Wife of Bath's Tale: The first and funniest feminist manifesto and handbook in English. How to marry money and manage men for fun and profit. The Wife shows: 1. How to marry wealthy older men and how to deny them sex and overwhelm them with it in turn. 2. When they die of starvation or exhaustion, how to get new "husbands meeke, young and fresh a-bed". Your tutor: Alison Masterman, the Wife of Bath, veteran of five marriages and no divorces. The Nun's Priest's Tale: The delightful barnyard fable by that merry preacher the Nun's Priest will set you cheering as it does Harry Bailly, host of the tale-telling contest & Host of the Tabard Inn. About the Editor: Michael Murphy, Professor Emeritus at the City University of New York, has edited several editions of Chaucer.

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 introductory guide places the Canterbury Tales in the context of the crisis in English society in the fourteenth century. It examines the social diversity of Chaucer's pilgrims, the stylistic range of their tales and the psychological richness of their interaction. The volume offers students a clear image of the powerful representation of the social reality that makes the Canterbury Tales one of the most important texts in English literature. Emphasis is placed on the language of the poem, the place of Chaucer in subsequent literary tradition, and an entire chapter is devoted to the General Prologue which is widely studied on undergraduate courses. Finally, the volume offers a helpful chronology of the period and an invaluable guide to further reading.