The Canterbury Tales

Chaucer's pages are traversed by a procession that is as vibrant and intricately detailed as a medieval tapestry. The characters in Chaucer's play, such as the Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire, the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others, are actual individuals with human emotions and frailties. Chaucer's feat is even more astounding when one considers that he wrote in English during a period when Latin was the predominant literary language in western Europe. However, Chaucer's brilliance is evident on every page of The Canterbury Tales and doesn't need a historical introduction.

Chaucer intended for each pilgrim to give two stories on the journey to Canterbury and two stories on the return, if the General Prologue is to be believed. Even the stories he did create were not ultimately altered, and he never completed this massive endeavor. The arrangement of the stories is a matter of debate among academics. Since Chaucer authored his works before the printing press was developed, The Canterbury Tales have been handed down via a number of handwritten manuscripts.