Many faithful English pilgrims go to distant holy regions to visit shrines, but even more opt to travel to Canterbury to visit Saint Thomas Becket’s relics in Canterbury Cathedral, where they praise the martyr for assisting them when they were in need. People begin to sense the need to embark on a pilgrimage around this time of year, according to the narrator. The April rains, the growing flowers and foliage, and the chirping birds are all described by him. The General Prologue begins with the narrator describing the return of spring. Within a generation of Chaucer’s death, this early and lavishly adorned manuscript copy was prepared.

This indicates that the stories were very popular in mediaeval England. Although no text in his own hand survives, there are more than 80 copies dating from the 1500s. Chaucer began writing the stories in 1387 and finished them in 1400. One of the first important works of literature written in English was The Canterbury Tales. In the centuries following the Norman invasion, the language of the powerful was French. One of the reasons Chaucer is so influential is that he chose to write in English rather than French. The stories of some of the characters are amusing, irreverent, and naughty, while others are moral and introspective. These individuals come from various walks of life in 14th-century society, giving Chaucer the opportunity to speak in a variety of voices. A carpenter, a cook, a knight, a monk, a prioress, a haberdasher, a dyer, a scribe, a merchant, and a very bawdy miller are among the colourful characters introduced by Chaucer. He claims that the greatest narrative will be rewarded with a free meal when he returns. Starting from a London inn, the innkeeper proposes that each pilgrim recount two stories to pass the time on the journey.

The story is told in Middle English and follows a party of pilgrims as they travel from London to Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Tales is regarded as one of the most popular masterpieces of English literature.

Chaucer the canterbury tales