The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer began writing The Canterbury Tales between 1387 and 1400, a period marked by political instability in England. He served as Controller of Customs starting in 1386 and Clerk of the King's Works from 1389 while composing these stories. Most scholars believe the work remained incomplete when Chaucer died around 1400. His original plan involved four tales per pilgrim, creating roughly 120 stories total. Only about 24 survive today across all known manuscripts. The General Prologue introduces some 30 pilgrims who travel from London to visit Saint Thomas Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral. No manuscript exists in Chaucer's own handwriting; every surviving copy was made by scribes after his death.
Eighty-four medieval manuscripts and four incunabula editions preserve The Canterbury Tales, more than any other vernacular English text except Prick of Conscience. Two early copies stand out: MS Peniarth 392 D known as Hengwrt and the illustrated Ellesmere Manuscript. Both appear copied by Adam Pinkhurst, a scrivener identified through a poem attributed to Chaucer mentioning an Adam. Scholars once favored Ellesmere until the 1940s when John M. Manly and Edith Rickert shifted preference toward Hengwrt. William Caxton published the first printed edition in 1476, with only ten copies surviving today including one held by the British Library. Fifty-five manuscripts seem complete while twenty-eight remain fragmentary. Copyists introduced errors but also sometimes revised texts during distribution. The order of tales varies significantly between manuscripts, creating ongoing scholarly debate about Chaucer's intended sequence.
The innkeeper Harry Bailey introduces each pilgrim at the Tabard Inn before they depart for Canterbury Cathedral. A contest begins where travelers tell stories on their journey to honor Saint Thomas Becket. The Knight speaks first representing highest social class among the group. When the Miller interrupts after the Knight finishes, he breaks expected hierarchical rules. This interruption signals that all classes will exchange stories freely regardless of rank. Some editions divide tales into ten Fragments based on internal connections between characters speaking sequentially. Fragment Groupings vary across manuscripts with no consensus on final ordering. The narrative focuses primarily on individual tales rather than tracking physical progress along the road from London to Kent. Pilgrims discuss topics ranging from chivalry to corruption without following a strict geographical timeline. Their conversations create layers of meaning beyond simple travelogue structure.
Chaucer wrote in a London dialect of late Middle English featuring distinct pronunciation differences from modern speech. Final -e sounds were pronounced clearly so words like care sounded different than today. Silent letters such as k and gh in knight were spoken aloud during his lifetime. Vowel shifts had not yet occurred making long e sound similar to German or Italian pronunciations. He used iambic pentameter lines containing five stressed syllables alternating with unstressed ones. Most tales follow this meter though Sir Thopas and prose exceptions exist. Couplet rhymes appear frequently but four tales employ rhyme royal instead. Scribes failed to copy final -e accurately leading later scholars to misinterpret Chaucer's grammar. Modern research confirms -e distinguished singular adjectives from plural forms and subjunctive verbs from indicative mood. This linguistic precision helped establish English as a viable literary language alongside French and Latin traditions.
Chaucer borrowed heavily from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron featuring similar frame tales where narrators escape plague. A quarter of his tales parallel stories found within that Italian collection though many derive from other sources too. He may have read Boccaccio during diplomatic missions to Italy starting in 1372. Dante and Petrarch influenced his writing significantly making him the first English author to use their works extensively. Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy appears repeatedly throughout multiple tales alongside John Gower's writings. Religious encyclopedias like John Bromyard's Summa praedicantium provided material for sermons embedded in narratives. Scholars suggest Chaucer possibly met Petrarch personally while both served as courtiers in France or Genoa around early 1373. Whether they exchanged ideas face-to-face remains debated but textual parallels confirm deep familiarity with Italian literary traditions shaping his creative output.
John Lydgate and Thomas Occleve praised Chaucer as greatest English poet shortly after his death adding supplements like The Siege of Thebes. William Shakespeare co-wrote The Two Noble Kinsmen retelling Knight's Tale performed between 1613 and 1614. Michael Powell directed A Canterbury Tale film released in 1944 transitioning medieval pilgrims into World War II soldiers seeking redemption. Pier Paolo Pasolini adapted several tales including Cook's Tale expanded beyond original incomplete version in 1972. Dan Simmons wrote Hyperion novel inspired by extra-planetary pilgrims telling stories about evolution. Richard Dawkins structured Ancestor's Tale using pilgrimage framework to explain biological ancestry through animal storytellers. Zadie Smith debuted Wife of Willesden play adapting Wife of Bath's story set in contemporary London bars. These adaptations demonstrate enduring influence across centuries transforming medieval narratives into modern contexts ranging from opera to science fiction genres.
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Common questions
When did Geoffrey Chaucer begin writing The Canterbury Tales?
Geoffrey Chaucer began writing The Canterbury Tales between 1387 and 1400. This period coincided with political instability in England while he served as Controller of Customs starting in 1386.
How many manuscripts of The Canterbury Tales survive today?
Eighty-four medieval manuscripts and four incunabula editions preserve The Canterbury Tales. Only about 24 stories survive from the original plan of roughly 120 tales across all known copies.
Where do the pilgrims travel to in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer?
The pilgrims travel from London to visit Saint Thomas Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral. They gather at the Tabard Inn before departing on their journey to Kent.
What language does Geoffrey Chaucer use in The Canterbury Tales?
Chaucer wrote in a London dialect of late Middle English featuring distinct pronunciation differences from modern speech. Final -e sounds were pronounced clearly so words like care sounded different than they do today.
Who influenced Geoffrey Chaucer's writing style for The Canterbury Tales?
Dante and Petrarch influenced his writing significantly making him the first English author to use their works extensively. He borrowed heavily from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron during diplomatic missions to Italy starting in 1372.