The earliest manuscript containing the finest work of Geoffrey Chaucer – 'The Canterbury Tales' – has gone online for the first time.
The manuscript was written over 600 years ago. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of over 20 stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century, during the time of the Hundred Years' War. The tales are written in verse and are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.
Chaucer uses the tales and the descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church.
Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 25 October, 1400) is commonly known as the Father of English literature. Chaucer maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. He was also a prolific writer. Among his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde, he is best known today for The Canterbury Tales.
For many years, the earliest manuscript containing his work has been kept at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
Source: Digital Journal
