Ten of Chaucer's greatest tales – selected by Dr Oliver Tearle

Geoffrey Chaucer left his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, unfinished when he died in 1400, having completed only one-fifth of the projected undertaking. Nevertheless, he left 20-odd tales finished, some of which are somewhat longer than others. What are the ten all-time Canterbury Tales? Below are what nosotros consider the greatest of the tales told by Chaucer's pilgrims. If you want to read Chaucer'south vast archetype merely don't know the all-time identify to start, these are our recommendations. We've been unsure as to whether to link to handy online translations of the Canterbury Tales into modern English language, or to link to original Heart English versions. So, nosotros've compromised. The interlinear translations offered by Harvard contain a line-by-line translation beneath the original Middle English.

one. The Miller's Tale.

This Nicholas betimes leet fle a fart
Equally greet every bit it had been a thonder-dent,
That with the strook he was almoost yblent;
And he was redy with his iren hoot,
And Nicholas amydde the ers he smoot …

Perchance the near famous – and best-loved – of all of the tales in Chaucer'southward Canterbury Tales, 'The Miller's Tale' is told as a comic corrective post-obit the sonorous seriousness of the Knight'south tale. The tale is an case of the fabliau or comic skit, and concerns a lecherous young educatee at the University of Oxford, Nicholas, and his adulterous relationship with Alison, the immature wife of an old carpenter. Flood warnings, farting, and frantic ark-building all ensue, in one of the great jewels in the comic crown of medieval literature. Nosotros take analysed this tale hither.

2. The Nun's Priest'southward Tale.

A yeerd she hadde, enclosed al aboute
With stikkes, and a drye dych withoute,
In which she hadde a cok, hight Chauntecleer.
In al the land, of crowyng nas his peer.
His voys was murier than the murie orgon
On messe-dayes that in the chirche gon …

Another genre here: this time, the medieval 'beast fable', featuring Chaunticleer the rooster, who, having been kidnapped by a fob (modelled on Reynard the Fox from French literature), devises a plan to escape.

3. Chaucer2The Knight's Tale.

To ransake in the taas of bodyes dede,
Hem for to strepe of harneys and of wede,
The pilours diden bisynesse and cure
After the bataille and disconfiture.
And so bifel that in the taas they founde,
Thurgh-girt with many a grevous blody wounde,
Two yonge knyghtes liggynge past and by,
Bothe in oon armes, wroght ful richely,
Of whiche two Arcita highte that oon,
And that oother knyght highte Palamon.
Nat fully quyke, ne fully dede they were,
But by hir cote-armures and past hir gere
The heraudes knewe hem all-time in special
As they that weren of the blood roial
Of Thebes, and of sustren two yborn …

The inspiration for William Shakespeare and John Fletcher's play The Two Noble Kinsmen (and, more recently, for the title of a 2001 flick starring Heath Ledger, and featuring Paul Bettany playing Chaucer), this tale kicks off the storytelling contest amidst the pilgrims. A story of rivalry (betwixt two Athenians, Palamon and Arcite) and dear, its pure, straight-faced nature prompts the Miller to tell his tale of earthy loftier-jinks that follows.

4. The Merchant'south Tale.

And with that word she saugh wher Damyan
Sat in the bussh, and coughen she bigan,
And with hir fynger signes fabricated she
That Damyan sholde clymbe upon a tree
That charged was with fruyt, and up he wente.
For verraily he knew al rent entente,
And every signe that she koude make,
Wel bet than Januarie, hir owene make,
For in a lettre she hadde toold hym al
Of this matere, how he werchen shal.
And thus I lete hym sitte upon the pyrie,
And Januarie and May romynge myrie …

Another comic tale, this – and, like the Miller's tale, i which features an old man who has married a young, beautiful wife who ends upwards cheating on her married man. Just then in fairness, the hubby is called January.

5. The Reeve's Tale.

At Trumpyngtoun, nat fer fro Cantebrigge,
Ther gooth a beck, and over that a brigge,
Upon the whiche beck ther stant a melle;
And this is verray sooth that I yow telle:
A millere was ther dwellynge many a day.
As any pecok he was proud and gay …

The Reeve doesn't enjoy the Miller's tale much, not least considering the cuckolded husband was a carpenter, and the Reeve himself is a bit of a carpenter himself. In an endeavour to get his ain back on the Miller, the Reeve tells this comic tale almost a Miller who is duped by a couple of men.

6. The Married woman of Bath'south Tale.

Lo, heere the wise kyng, daun Salomon;
I trowe he hadde wyves mo than oon.
Equally wolde God it leveful were unto me
To be refresshed half then ofte as he!
Which yifte of God hadde he for alle his wyvys!
No human being hath swich that in this world alyve is.
God woot, this noble kyng, as to my wit,
The firste nyght had many a myrie fit
With ech of hem, so wel was hym on lyve.
Yblessed be God that I take wedded fyve …

The Wife of Bath is more than famous equally a character in The Canterbury Tales than her tale, which is a brutal tale of rape fix in Arthurian England. Later he rapes a maiden, a young knight is sent abroad to undergo his penance, tasked with finding out what it is that women want. If he fails, he will exist killed. He meets an ugly hag who promises to tell him the answer – but just if he agrees to grant her a favour in exchange. He agrees to her terms, and – well, we won't give away what the hag'southward answer is.

vii. The Friar'southward Tale.

Whilom ther was dwellynge in my contree
An erchedeken, a man of heigh degree,
That boldely dide execucioun
In punysshynge of fornicacioun,
Of wicchecraft, and eek of bawderye,
Of diffamacioun, and avowtrye,
Of chirche reves, and of testamentz,
Of contractes and of lakke of sacramentz,
Of usure, and of symonye also …

The Friar's Tale is virtually a corrupt and carnal summoner (see beneath), who is charged by his archdeacon with extracting coin from those who accept transgressed. But and so one twenty-four hour period the summoner meets the Devil in disguise… This is another lite tale, though its ending is altogether less comic than one might expect.

canterbury-tales-pilgrims-stained-glassviii. The Summoner'south Tale.

Lordynges, ther is in Yorkshire, equally I gesse,
A mersshy contree called Holdernesse,
In which ther wente a lymytour aboute
To preche, and eek to begge, it is no doute.
And and then bifel that on a day this frere
Hadde preched at a chirche in his manere,
And particularly, aboven every thyng,
Excited he the peple in his prechyng
To trentals, and to yeve, for Goddes sake,
Wherwith men myghte hooly houses make …

As with the Miller'south Tale and the Reeve's Tale, this is another case of tit-for-tat, with the Summoner responding to the Friar'due south story of a lecherous summoner by telling a tale against friars. And, similar the Miller's Tale, this one is a comic fabliau ending with a jumbo fart – nosotros'll say no more than than that.

9. The Tale of Sir Thopas.

Listeth, lordes, in good entent,
And I wol telle verrayment
Of myrthe and of solas,
Al of a knyght was fair and gent
In bataille and in tourneyment;
His name was sire Thopas …

Another comic slice, and worthy of inclusion here for two reasons: outset, it's 1 of two tales in The Canterbury Tales which is told by Geoffrey Chaucer (or a fictionalised version) himself, and second, it's a marvellous parody of bad verse. The poem concerns a knight, Sir Thopas, who meets a behemothic while he is searching for his beloved elf queen. The Host, Harry Baillie, gets and then annoyed with the awfulness of the poet's poesy that he prevents Chaucer from finishing his tale. Amongst other things, 'The Tale of Sir Thopas' is a fine example of a poet being prepared to send himself up.

10. The General Prologue.

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote,
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licóur
Of which vertú engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne …

Okay, so this isn't one of the tales, but it is office of The Canterbury Tales and is obviously the best place to start reading, since information technology opens the work. It likewise offers a rich and colourful picture of fourteenth-century English life and the various people constitute in the new order that was being formed in the wake of the Black Death in the 1340s. The descriptions of the pilgrims taking office in the tale-telling competition are brilliantly vivid, illuminating, and entertaining.

If yous desire to readThe Canterbury Talesin its original Eye English, it's essential to accept an edition with adept annotations. The best collection of Chaucer's work is The Riverside Chaucer: Reissued with a new foreword by Christopher Cannon , which nosotros recommend. If you'd rather read Chaucer's masterpiece in modern English, nosotros recommend The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Classics) .

If y'all enjoyed this choice of the greatest bits ofThe Canterbury Tales, you can go on your medieval literary odyssey with more facts nearly Geoffrey Chaucer's life and work, these archetype medieval works of literature, and our short introduction to Chaucer's successor, John Lydgate.

The author of this article, Dr Oliver Tearle, is a literary critic and lecturer in English at Loughborough Academy. He is the author of, amongst others,The Secret Library: A Book-Lovers' Journey Through Curiosities of History  andThe Great War, The Waste Land and the Modernist Long Poem.

Epitome (summit): Portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer past Thomas Hoccleve (modified, 2012), Wikimedia Eatables. Paradigm (bottom): Stained-glass window at Canterbury Cathedral showing pilgrims, via Wikimedia Commons.