The Canterbury Tales were still going strong when the first printers made their way to England, and William Caxton published the first printed version of The Canterbury Tales in 1476. But the risk paid off: we know The Canterbury Tales were enormously popular because so many more manuscripts of the tales survive than of almost any other work of this time period. There, he not only had the chance to read Italian and French literature, but possibly, even to meet Boccaccio, whose Decameron-a collection of tales told by Italian nobility holed up in a country house to escape the plague ravaging their city-may have inspired the frame story of The Canterbury Tales.Ĭhaucer's decision to write in his country's language, English, rather than in the Latin of so many of his educated colleagues, was a big break with learned tradition. In this professional life, Chaucer was able to travel from his home in England to France and Italy.
Geoffrey Chaucer likely wrote The Canterbury Tales in the late 1380s and early 1390s, after his retirement from life as a civil servant. Besides watching the interactions between the characters, we get to read 24 of the tales the pilgrims tell.Īnd as it turns out, Medieval storytellers had some 'tude. It tells the story of a group of pilgrims (fancy word for travelers) on their way to Canterbury, who engage in a tale-telling contest to pass the time. The Canterbury Tales is the world's weirdest road trip. Want more deets? We've also got a complete Online Course about The Canterbury Tales, with three weeks worth of readings and activities to make sure you know your stuff.
The Canterbury Tales: General Prologue & Frame Story Introduction
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