The Canterbury Tales

A group of pilgrims traveling from London to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury decide that each traveler should tell a story. The Knight tells a tale of high romance. The Pardoner tells a story of death. And the Wife of Bath tells the story of her five husbands and her fight to control the men in her life. But The Canterbury Tales ends with the story of the perfect marriage and how, if we are generous to one another, we can find the perfect society.

Geoffrey Chaucer is often called ‘the Father of English poetry’, the first great writer in English. He was born in London in about 1340, the son of John Chaucer, an important wine merchant. For most of his life, Geoffrey was connected with the royal court in London in various ways, and official records often mention his name.

When he was about sixteen, he became a page in the household of one of the King’s daughters-in-law. In 1359, he served as a soldier in the war in France. He was taken prisoner but released for a ransom, part of which the King himself paid. During the 1360’s, he worked in the King’s household and was in contact with the sophisticated society of the court. Perhaps he was responsible for entertaining the lords and ladies with stories. He married Philippa, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and had at least two sons. One, Thomas Chaucer, went on to become one of the richest men in England. Geoffrey became closely connected to the powerful family of the Duke of Lancaster and wrote a famous poem on the death of the Duchess.

Chaucer describes himself in his writing as a fat man with a modest, simple personality. It seems that he was deeply interested in religion but also enjoyed earthy humour. One of his most famous characters is the Wife of Bath, a woman who had been married five times and had had many lovers! Many of his works are about love and marriage, especially about the equality of men and women. At the end of The Canterbury Tales, he apologises for writing some stories which are against established religion.

One of the most important events of his life was his visit to Italy in 1372. He stayed there for eleven months, visiting Genoa, Pisa and Florence. He already knew French literature very well but now he came into contact with the works of Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch. This Italian influence was very strong in his later work. The plan of The Canterbury Tales – where each pilgrim tells a story to the others – is almost certainly based upon Boccaccio’s Decameron.

He also realized the importance of creating literature in the vernacular, in the language of the people. Dante had established Italian as a literary language; Chaucer wanted to do the same for English.

He occupied various important positions in the court in the 1370’s and 80’s. We know that he went on a secret mission to Flanders and visited Italy again. He had already completed some major works of literature and probably began The Canterbury Tales when he was about forty. He never completed The Tales. It was a huge project which would have included 120 stories if it had been finished.

After 1386, he began to be short of money but was able to occupy a house in the garden of Westminster Abbey from 1399. He died in 1400 on October 25th at the age of about sixty and was buried in Westminster Abbey. This fact shows that he was popular with the King and the court. In the centuries since he died, other famous writers have been buried in the same area of the Abbey. This part has become known as Poet’s Corner and you can visit it in Westminster Abbey if you come to London.

The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer

Chaucer’s World

Chronology of Geoffrey Chaucer and his Times

Internet Project

Summary

Part One - The Prologue

Part Two - The Knight’s Tale

Part Three - The Nun’s Priest’s Tale

Part Four - The Pardoner’s Tale

Part Five - The Wife of Bath’s Tale

Part Six - The Franklin’s Tale