Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1343-1400)
Biography
Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340 – October 25, 1400) was an English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat (courtier), and diplomat. Chaucer is best known as the author of The Canterbury Tales. He is sometimes credited with being the first author to demonstrate the artistic legitimacy of the vernacular English language, rather than French or Latin. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Tales [Oct 2004]The Canterbury Tales (1300s) - by Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales (1300s) - by Geoffrey Chaucer [Amazon.com]
Synopsis
The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). The tales, some of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame tale and told by a group of pilgrims on their way from Southwark to Canterbury to visit Saint Thomas à Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral. The shrine was later destroyed by Henry VIII; a tourist attraction entitled The Canterbury Tales may nowadays be viewed in Canterbury.
The themes of the tales vary, and include topics such as courtly love, treachery and avarice. The genres also vary, and include romance, Breton lai, sermon, and fabliau. The characters, introduced in the Prologue of the book, tell tales of extreme cultural relevance. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Tales [Oct 2004]
your Amazon recommendations