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The Canterbury Tales
is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th
century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). The tales, some
of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame
tale and told by a group of pilgrims on their way from Southwark to
Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket at
Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Tales are written in
Middle English.
In
the City of Canterbury there is a Museum about The Canterbury
Tales, called "The Canterbury Tales". It is on St Margaret's
Street. |
It is
sometimes argued that the greatest contribution that this work made
to English literature was in popularising the literary use of the
vernacular language, English (rather than French or Latin). However,
several of Chaucer's contemporaries — John Gower, William Langland,
and the Pearl Poet — also wrote major literary works in English,
making it unclear how much Chaucer was responsible for starting a
trend rather than simply being part of it.
To listen to a reading of the Canterbury Tales Prologue in Middle
English, click here.
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