Geoffrey Chaucer's home in Greenwich, England, was not far from the road that pilgrims traveled to visit the shrine of St. Thomas à Beckett in Canterbury. These pilgrims had a reputation for telling tales, and the sights and sounds of the motley travelers are probably what gave Chaucer the idea for his most famous poem, "Canterbury Tales," written between 1386 and 1400 AD.
In it, a group of pilgrims on their way to the shrine -- including Chaucer, who wrote himself into the story -- take turns telling tales to pass the time. The one who tells the best story will be treated to dinner at the end of the journey. However, the pilgrims never make it to Canterbury, and never decide whose story is best, because Chaucer never finished the poem.
Though the story has no ending, 22 of the tales were finished and are still entertaining more than 600 years later. Chaucer was a master at describing his characters and in letting them express their personalities and opinions. In fact, his characters are so realistic it almost seems he met them along the road to Canterbury and took down everything they said in rhyming verse!
Chaucer probably did know people very much like the characters in "Canterbury Tales." Public records show that he was a very busy man who knew many people. Among the jobs he held were: page, soldier, valet, agent, diplomat, controller of the customs and subsidies on wool for the port of London, justice of the peace, knight of the shire, clerk of the King's Works, and deputy forester.
It's a wonder Chaucer had time to write at all! Yet, in addition to the "Canterbury Tales," he wrote "Book of the Duchess," "House of Fame," "Parliament of Fowls," and "Legend of Good Women," a collection of poetry about famous faithful women. Some people think he wrote the "Legend" to make up for his poem, "Troilus and Criseide," in which the heroine, Criseide, was unfaithful to her husband. In any case, the "Troilus and Criseide" storyline wasn't even Chaucer's idea. He got it from an Italian writer named Boccaccio. The "Book of the Lion" is the only one of Chaucer's works we know of which was not preserved.
Though Chaucer is considered the first great English poet, you might not recognize his brand of English. The English of the Middle Ages, known as "Middle English," looks and sounds very different. Here is an example from "Canterbury Tales: "A good Wif was ther of biside Bathe/But she was somdeel deef, and that was scathe."
Theodore Morrison translates this: "A worthy woman there was from near the city/ Of Bath, but somewhat deaf, and more's the pity."
As you can see, understanding Chaucer's Middle English is a challenge, but many have found it worth the trouble.
