Selected Canterbury Tales

Written between 1387 and 1400, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is set on a journey made by thirty-one pilgrims (including Chaucer and the host, Harry Bailey) as they travel from Southwark in London to Thomas Becket's shrine at Canterbury. There, in return for the prize of a free dinner, the pilgrims each agreed to participate in a story-telling contest to help make their long journey more enjoyable. This volume contains three of Chaucer's most popular tales; the General Prologue, the Pardoner's Tale and the Wife of Bath's Tale. All of these are complete and unabridged with numbered lines. The modern translation contained in this book is based upon a literal, word-for-word approach. Here, readers will find each translated line is placed directly opposite to its Middle English counterpart. This means the meaning of unfamiliar words can be checked immediately - thereby making the present version particularly useful for those who are new to Middle English. Unfortunately, there are instances when this word-for-word approach might not provide the reader with a clear understanding of Chaucer's meaning. In these situations, an explanatory word or phrase has been added to the original text. However, these additions are clearly separated from the original text by being contained in square brackets [ ]. Furthermore, mention must also be made of one further departure from Chaucer's text. In the interests of propriety, any offensive references to female genitalia have been translated into much more acceptable language. Many modern translations of the Canterbury Tales retain Chaucer's iambic pentameter and rhyming couplet structure. In many ways, that is a highly laudable endeavour. Unfortunately, there are instances where Chaucer's poetic framework has been preserved by transferring content from neighbouring lines, or by inserting either a new or a substitute word which affects its presumed meaning. The word-for-word translation contained in the present book expressly avoids those difficulties; but does so at the risk of raising a criticism that it lacks a consistent structure. Clearly, some lines rhyme, whilst others do not. That said, there is one reason why the creation of a non-rhyming version of the Canterbury Tales might not be quite so seditious as first appears. The reader is reminded that Chaucer wrote his Canterbury Tales before the Great Vowel Shift of 1400 to 1600. As a result, that evolution in English pronunciation suggests the Canterbury Tales had already begun to lose it original poetic resonance soon after being written. The internal design of this book includes wide margins for making personal notes and a larger font than is usually found in texts of this kind. Indeed, since it contains the complete and unabridged text (with line numbers), an accurate translation and a personal study notebook, this book represents excellent value for money. This translation is also available in an interlinear format: ISBN-13: 978-1985049239 The translator was educated at St Chad's College Durham, Warwick, Exeter and De Montfort Universities. Lately, he was both a Hardwicke and Sir Thomas More scholar of Lincoln's Inn, London. His publications include works on English law and literature.