Geoffrey Chaucer

A Selection of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer

A Selection of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales Written between 1387 and 1400, Chaucer's Tales of Canterbury is set on a journey made by thirty-one pilgrims (including Chaucer himself and the Host, Harry Bailey) as they travel from Southwark in London to Thomas Becket's shrine at Canterbury. There, in return for the prize of a free dinner, the pilgrims each agreed to participate in a story-telling contest to help make their long journey more enjoyable. This volume contains six of Chaucer's most popular narratives; the General Prologue, the Miller's Tale, the Pardoner's Tale, the Wife of Bath's Tale, the Friar's Tale and the Nun's Priest's Tale. All of these are complete and unabridged with numbered lines. The side-by-side modern English translation contained in this book is based upon a literal, word-for-word approach. Here, readers will find each 'translated' line is placed directly opposite its original Middle English counterpart. This has the key benefit that unfamiliar words can be checked immediately - thereby making the present edition particularly useful for those who are new to Middle English. Unfortunately, there are instances when this word-for-word approach might not improve a novice reader's understanding. In these situations, an explanatory word or phrase has been added to the original text. However, these additions are clearly separated from the original text by square brackets [ ]. Furthermore, in the interests of propriety, any offensive references to female genitalia have not been translated directly. Instead, they have been translated into much more acceptable, indirect terms. Many translations of the Canterbury Tales make great efforts to retain its original iambic pentameter and rhyming couplet structure. Unfortunately, there are several cases where this has been accomplished only by inserting a substitute word - which may thereby alter the sentence's original meaning entirely. The present word-for-word interpretation expressly avoids those difficulties; but does so at the risk of being criticised for lacking a consistent structure. Clearly, some lines rhyme, whilst others do not. That said, the creation of a (partially) non-rhyming version of the Canterbury Tales might not be quite so seditious as first appears. The reader is reminded that Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales before the 'Great Vowel Shift' of 1400 to 1600. When viewed in that context, those changes in English pronunciation suggest the Canterbury Tales had probably begun to lose their intended poetic resonance soon after being written. The translator was educated at St Chad's College Durham, Warwick, Exeter and De Montfort universities. Formerly, he was both a Hardwicke and Sir Thomas More scholar of Lincoln's Inn, London. His publications include works on English law and literature.