The Canterbury Tales is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as his magnum opus. The tales are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together from London to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. It is revered as one of the most important works of English Literature.
Welcome to thecanterburytales.co.uk, an online edition of Geoffrey Chaucer‘s Canterbury Tales, with a translation that aligns the spelling of the Oxford University Press edition of 1900 (edited by W. W. Skeat) with the Oxford English Dictionary.
The Middle English “whylom,” for example, looked up at OED.com, is spelt “whilom.” Most words in current usage have been updated this way, and words that are no longer in current usage have been modernised to their most recent instances, for example “fetisly” is spelt “featously.” No attempt has been made to modernise the “-n” or “-en” word endings, which can be largely read over or ignored when starting out with reading Chaucer, for example, “weren” can be understood as “were.”
When hovered over, underlined words display a definition or explanation.
MIDDLE ENGLISH
Certes, thanne is Envye the worste sinne that is. For soothly, alle othere sinnes been som-tyme only agayns o special vertu; but certes, Envye is agayns alle vertues and agayns alle goodnesses; for it is sory of alle the bountees of his neighebore; and in this manere it is divers from alle othere sinnes. For wel unnethe is ther any sinne that it ne hath som delyt in itself, save only Envye, that evere hath in itself anguish and sorwe.
MODERN SPELLING
Certs, then is Envy the worst sin that is. For soothly, all other sins been sometime only against one special virtue; but certs, Envy is against all virtues and against all goodnesses; for it is sorry of all the bounties of his neighbour; and in this manner it is diverse from all other sins. For well unneth is there any sin that it ne hath some delight in itself, save only Envy, that ever hath in itself anguish and sorrow.
Geoffrey Chaucer
(The Parson’s Tale)
No offence is meant in the translation of some of the more dubious stories.
- It is recommended to view this site on desktop, or tablet, rather than on a smartphone.
- It is also recommend to start with The General Prologue, and read through Group A, rather than (or before) choosing random tales. Alternatively, as Harvard’s Geoffrey Chaucer Website suggests, begin with The Shipman’s Tale.
- Links to Wikipedia have been added to The General Prologue., sometimes at the expense of the tooltip glossary in the subsequent stories.