The Canterbury Tales
Medieval pilgrims' stories
A collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late fourteenth century, framed as tales told by pilgrims traveling to Canterbury Cathedral.
The work depicts a cross-section of medieval English society—from knight to miller to pardoner—each pilgrim narrating in turn.
Written mostly in Middle English verse, it remains a foundational text of English literature, though Chaucer left it unfinished at his death.
- Middle EnglishLanguage between 1100-1500
- poetWriter of verse
- iambic pentameterUnstressed-stressed pattern, five feet
- coupletsPaired rhyming verse lines
vernacular · English literature · fourteenth century · Westminster Abbey
Love and its excitement
- exemplumIllustrative moral anecdote
- beast fableMoral tale with animals
- sermonClergy's worship address
- allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
satire · parody · courtly love · moral tale
Analysis of societal conditions
- satireMockery exposing vice
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- hypocrisyPretense of virtue
- classGrouping by shared traits
morality · marriage · corruption · clergy · chivalry · wit · humor · characterization
Murdered English archbishop
- shrineSacred devotional place
- SouthwarkLondon borough, south bank
- journeyTravel from place to place
- devotionDeep, loyal commitment
relics · saints · sacred · penance · cathedral · holy · martyr · April
Occupational surname for grain-grinders
- Wife of BathChaucerian character, oft-wed
- ReeveMedieval manor administrator
- FranklinSurname or locality
- FriarMendicant order member
Land-for-service social structure
- chivalryKnightly code of honor
- knighthoodHonorary title of nobility
- clergyOrdained religious officials collectively
- guildsCraftsmen's mutual aid societies
peasantry · estates · Church · monastery · crusades · manor · jousting · parchment
Introductory literary section
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- fragmentIncomplete portion of whole
- verseMetered poetic passage
- proseUnversified language
Geoffrey Chaucer
- Middle EnglishLanguage between 1100-1500
- poetWriter of verse
- iambic pentameterUnstressed-stressed pattern, five feet
couplets · vernacular · English literature · fourteenth century · Westminster Abbey
romance
Love and its excitement
- exemplumIllustrative moral anecdote
- beast fableMoral tale with animals
- sermonClergy's worship address
allegory · satire · parody · courtly love · moral tale
social commentary
Analysis of societal conditions
class · morality · marriage · corruption · clergy · chivalry · wit · humor · characterization · estates
Thomas Becket
Murdered English archbishop
devotion · relics · saints · sacred · penance · cathedral · holy · martyr · April
Miller
Occupational surname for grain-grinders
- Wife of BathChaucerian character, oft-wed
- ReeveMedieval manor administrator
- FranklinSurname or locality
feudalism
Land-for-service social structure
- chivalryKnightly code of honor
- knighthoodHonorary title of nobility
- clergyOrdained religious officials collectively
guilds · peasantry · estates · Church · monastery · crusades · manor · jousting · parchment · plague
prologue
Introductory literary section
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- fragmentIncomplete portion of whole
- verseMetered poetic passage
prose · collection · anthology · unfinished
- Unfinished BooksBilly Budd, Amerika, Kubla Khan, Juneteenth
- Classic BooksPride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Moby Dick, Moby-Dick, Great Expectations
- PoemsThe Raven, Ozymandias, Invictus, Paradise Lost, Beowulf
- classicsHomer, Iliad, the Iliad, Odyssey, the Odyssey
- medieval literatureBeowulf, Song of Roland, Chaucer, Geoffrey Chaucer, El Cid
- PasoliniThe Decameron, Arabian Nights, Medea, Oedipus Rex
The Canterbury TalesParadise Lost
Epic of humanity's expulsion
Beowulf · The Divine Comedy · Ulysses · Moby-Dick · War and Peace
The Canterbury TalesFinnegans Wake
modernist literature · postmodern fiction · contemporary fiction
The Canterbury TalesSumma Theologica
Aquinas's comprehensive theological synthesis