Canterbury Tales (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: The Canterbury Tales – Chaucer's masterpiece written in ten-syllable couplets in his later years is the highest achievement of his entire creative career. This realistic life comedy, though not completed as originally planned, already presents a mature and outstanding artistic work. In terms of the completed chapters, it is not only a grand epic but also a unique collection of stories from the Western Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Chaucer's great work consists of many stories, but what makes it unique is how the author, through his ingenious organization and arrangement, weaves together these originally unrelated stories into a unified whole. Although the author was unable to complete it due to the overly ambitious original plan, the outline of this unity is already clearly presented. In the "General Prologue," the author introduces the origin of this "storytelling session." It was an evening in April when Chaucer encountered a group of horseback pilgrims staying at the Tabard Inn. There were twenty-nine people in total, who were to travel to Canterbury. They included men and women of various identities, social statuses, and occupations, with almost every kind of person except the most noble royalty and the most impoverished beggars. This group comprised knights, squires, servants, abbesses, nuns, priors, monks, friars, merchants, Oxford scholars, lawyers, yeomen, seamstresses, carpenters, weavers, dyers, tapestry weavers, cooks, sailors, doctors, skilled women from Bath, rectors, peasants, millers, pantry boys, stewards, church officials, and pardon sellers. As a result, Chaucer and the innkeeper also joined this pilgrimage group. Canterbury is located in the southeastern corner of England, about sixty to seventy miles away from London (which was only one square mile at the time), not far. However, in the 14th century, the population of England was approximately 2.5 million, with low population density. Traveling in groups was naturally safer and also beneficial for mutual support and reducing the loneliness of the journey. Therefore, the innkeeper, who volunteered to be the guide and acted as the leader, proposed that each person should tell four stories during the four-day round trip, with him serving as the judge. The one whose stories were deemed the most meaningful and most entertaining would be rewarded with a banquet hosted by the group at the inn upon their return.