The Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the most important works in English literature, written in Middle English between approximately 1387 and 1400. Often called Chaucer’s masterpiece, it is an unfinished collection of 24 stories framed as a storytelling contest among a diverse group of pilgrims traveling from London to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
The narrative begins in the General Prologue, where the narrator (a fictionalized Chaucer) meets about 30 pilgrims at the Tabard Inn in Southwark. The inn’s Host proposes a game: each pilgrim tells two tales on the way to Canterbury and two on the return, with the best storyteller winning a free meal. Only 24 tales were completed, covering a wide range of genres like chivalric romance, fabliau (bawdy comedy), moral allegory, and sermon.
Chaucer vividly portrays the pilgrims, representing a cross-section of late medieval English society—from nobility and clergy to merchants and peasants—often with sharp satire.
- The Knight: A noble warrior who tells a romantic tale of chivalry and love (The Knight’s Tale).
- The Miller: A drunken rustic who counters with a crude fabliau about adultery (The Miller’s Tale).
- The Wife of Bath: A bold, experienced woman who defends female sovereignty in marriage in her prologue and tale.
- The Pardoner: A corrupt church official who preaches against greed while selling fake relics (The Pardoner’s Tale, an ironic story of death and avarice).
- The Parson: An ideal, pious figure whose tale is a prose sermon on penance (one of the last).
The tales interact dynamically—pilgrims interrupt, quarrel, or “quit” (respond to) each other—highlighting rivalries and social tensions.
Written in vernacular Middle English rather than French or Latin, it helped elevate English as a literary language. The work survives in over 80 manuscripts, with the famous Ellesmere Manuscript (early 15th century) featuring elaborate illustrations of the pilgrims.
When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $5.02 Buy It on eBay for only: $5.02 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer 1998 Hardcover Slipcase
 | $34.99 Buy It on eBay for only: $34.99 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $3.88 Buy It on eBay for only: $3.88 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $5.57 Buy It on eBay for only: $5.57 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $4.57 Buy It on eBay for only: $4.57 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Complete Canterbury Tales - Hardcover, by Chaucer Geoffrey - Very Good
 | $14.93 Buy It on eBay for only: $14.93 Buy It Now on eBay |
Selected Canterbury Tales - Paperback By Geoffrey Chaucer - VERY GOOD
 | $3.88 Buy It on eBay for only: $3.88 Buy It Now on eBay |
Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $4.97 Buy It on eBay for only: $4.97 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $3.98 Buy It on eBay for only: $3.98 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $5.13 Buy It on eBay for only: $5.13 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $6.36 Buy It on eBay for only: $6.36 Buy It Now on eBay |
Selected Canterbury Tales - Paperback By Geoffrey Chaucer - GOOD
 | $3.88 Buy It on eBay for only: $3.88 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $3.40 Buy It on eBay for only: $3.40 Buy It Now on eBay |
Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales Hardcover University of Oklahoma Press
 | $90.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $90.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
Prologue to Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer Circle Press Signed Ltd Ed & Print
 | $215.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $215.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
1972 Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer Magdalene College 1-500 LTD EDITION
 | $280.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $280.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $5.13 Buy It on eBay for only: $5.13 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $5.02 Buy It on eBay for only: $5.02 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $4.57 Buy It on eBay for only: $4.57 Buy It Now on eBay |
Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer - Programmed Classics 1934 Hardcover
 | $22.45 Buy It on eBay for only: $22.45 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $3.88 Buy It on eBay for only: $3.88 Buy It Now on eBay |
CANTERBURY TALES Geoffrey Chaucer 1981 Hardcover The Franklin Library Green
 | $18.99 Buy It on eBay for only: $18.99 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $13.03 Buy It on eBay for only: $13.03 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales (Modern Library) - hardcover Chaucer, Geoffrey|Raffel, ...
 | $6.81 Buy It on eBay for only: $6.81 Buy It Now on eBay |
Canterbury Tales - Geoffrey Chaucer, 0671727699, paperback
 | $4.14 Buy It on eBay for only: $4.14 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales - Chaucer (Heritage Press, 1974) w/Slipcase & Sandglass HC
 | $26.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $26.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer – International Collectors Library
 | $15.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $15.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $14.40 Buy It on eBay for only: $14.40 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer; Edited by F. N. Robi...
 | $52.92 Buy It on eBay for only: $52.92 Buy It Now on eBay |
Selected Canterbury Tales : A New Verse Translation by Geoffrey Chaucer...
 | $11.48 Buy It on eBay for only: $11.48 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales. by Geoffrey Chaucer By Peter Ackroyd
 | $18.34 Buy It on eBay for only: $18.34 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer Wordsworth Poetry Library New Edition
 | $12.84 Buy It on eBay for only: $12.84 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer 1934 International Collector's Library
 | $18.99 Buy It on eBay for only: $18.99 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $3.40 Buy It on eBay for only: $3.40 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer An Illustrated Edition Hardcover Book
 | $9.95 Buy It on eBay for only: $9.95 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales - Chaucer (Heritage Press, 1974) w/ Slipcase & Sandglass HC
 | $24.88 Buy It on eBay for only: $24.88 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales (Middle English Edition) by Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $9.50 Buy It on eBay for only: $9.50 Buy It Now on eBay |
Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $4.97 Buy It on eBay for only: $4.97 Buy It Now on eBay |
Arcturus - Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer Hardcover Black Slipcase Like New
 | $29.99 Buy It on eBay for only: $29.99 Buy It Now on eBay |
THE CANTERBURY TALES by Geoffrey Chaucer Sprayed Edges Edition *Like New*
 | $19.99 Buy It on eBay for only: $19.99 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales By Geoffrey Chaucer - George Macy Companies - 1946 HC
 | $24.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $24.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, ed F.N.Robinson. 2nd Ed, 1961. Canterbury Tales.
 | $12.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $12.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
Geoffrey Chaucer Canterbury Tales 1978 Franklin Library Limited Ed Leather Bound
 | $16.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $16.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer ~ The Easton Press ~ Leather Bound
 | $25.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $25.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
Canterbury Tales (Penguin Popular Classics) By Geoffrey Chaucer
 | $4.49 Buy It on eBay for only: $4.49 Buy It Now on eBay |
1981 Franklin Library- Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer-HB
 | $17.50 Buy It on eBay for only: $17.50 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer - Heritage Press 1974 - In Slipcase
 | $15.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $15.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
CANTERBURY TALES Geoffrey Chaucer 1934 International Collectors Library
 | $13.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $13.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
The Canterbury Tales An Illustrated Edition Geoffrey Chaucer, Cresset, 1992, New
 | $21.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $21.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (2003, Uk-B Format Paperback)
 | $11.00 Buy It on eBay for only: $11.00 Buy It Now on eBay |
Leave a Reply