The Canterbury Tales – Geoffrey Chaucer

"Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote..."

A motley group of pilgrims, ranging from a noble Knight to a bawdy Miller and a lusty Wife of Bath, gather at the Tabard Inn in London to journey to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury. To pass the time, they agree to tell stories, resulting in a vibrant collection that encompasses chivalric romance, coarse humor, moral sermons, and beast fables.

Chaucer's masterpiece is one of the pillars of English literature. By choosing to write in Middle English rather than French or Latin, he legitimized the vernacular language. His characters offer a panoramic view of medieval society, exposing its virtues, vices, and hypocrisies with wit and humanity.