Cover of The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales

3.3 · 36 ratings on Open Library

A group of pilgrims trade tales as they travel through medieval England.

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Length
156,000 words
Reading time
About 9 hours
Format
EPUB, DRM-free

About the book

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of twenty-four stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer. The tales are presented as a storytelling contest by a group of pilgrims on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Each pilgrim tells a story to pass the time, and their tales range from bawdy and humorous to serious and moralistic.

The stories provide valuable insights into medieval English society as they explore social class, religion, and morality. The pilgrims represent a cross-section of medieval English society: they include a knight, a prioress, a miller, a cook, a merchant, a monk, a nun, a pardoner, a friar, and a host, among others. Religion and morals play an important part of these stories, as the characters are often judged according to their actions and adherence to moral principles.

This is the Standard Ebooks edition, carefully proofread and typeset, with a table of contents and linked footnotes.

What readers think

3.3 out of 5

36 ratings of The Canterbury Tales from Open Library readers, as of 10th Nov.

  • 5 stars14%
  • 4 stars28%
  • 3 stars42%
  • 2 stars11%
  • 1 star6%