The Canterbury Tales

A group of English men and women from all walks of life gather at the Tabard Inn atSouthwark and proceed on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Before they leave, their host proposes a contest: whichever of them can tell the best story during the ride to Canterbury will be given a free dinner at the Tabard upon the group's return to London. And as courtlyromances are answered by filthy fabliaux, and proto-feminist exempla lead to heated debates about marriage, the pilgrims provide modern readers with an alternately touching and riotous look at life in medieval England. Highlights include: "The Miller's Tale": a bawdytale of a romantic quadrangle between a poor scholar, a parish clerk, a carpenter, and the carpenter's beautiful wife. "The Reeve's Tale": After being cuckolded by a thieving miller, the students John and Aleyn concoct a delicious revenge in this freewheeling sex farce. "The Wife of Bath's Tale": Prefaced by the Wife's lengthy autobiography, this is the story of a knight convicted of rape - who must, as penance, discover what it is that women most desire. "The Summoner's Tale": A delightful if indelicate tale about the unusual donation a parishioner makes to his local monastery. "The Pardoner's Tale": The story of three rioters who go on a drunken quest to find Death - and succeed. "Sir Thopas": Chaucer's hilarious self-parody, in which he represents an absurd piece of fake minstrel-verse as "the best rhyme I know." "The Nun's Priest's Tale": An amusing fable about a rooster, his favorite wife, and the fox who wanted to eat them.