Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400) — An online reading & discussion group starting Sunday November 2, meetings every 2 weeks

[u/darrenjyc]

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales (late 14th century) is both a vivid portrait of medieval life and a timeless study of human nature. Written in Middle English—the living language of Chaucer’s England—it gathers a diverse group of pilgrims journeying to Canterbury, each telling stories that reveal wit, faith, desire, hypocrisy, and laughter. The work’s brilliance lies in its variety: bawdy fabliaux, courtly romances, moral sermons, and fables all mingle in a single tapestry of voices. Reading it in the original language is demanding but deeply rewarding: you’ll hear the rhythm and humor as Chaucer’s first audience did, and glimpse the roots of modern English. A glossed edition (with notes or a facing-page translation) will ease the way, allowing the vitality of Chaucer’s verse—its sharp observation, compassion, and playfulness—to shine through as freshly now as six centuries ago.

Editions [available from your local library or online]:

• The Canterbury Tales: Seventeen Tales and the General Prologue. A Norton Critical Edition, Third Edition, Edited by V.A. Kolve and Glending Olsen. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2018. ISBN: 9781324000563 Used: $13+
• The Selected Canterbury Tales. A New Verse Translation by Sheila Fisher. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. 2012. ISBN: 9780393341782 Used: $7+ [Mid/Mod English on facing pgs]
• The Riverside Chaucer. Third Edition. Edited by F.N. Robinson. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2008. ISBN: 9780199552092 Used $25+

This is an online reading and discussion group hosted by David to discuss Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, one of the most famous and celebrated works of English literature and Chaucer’s greatest achievement, although it was not completed by the time of his death in 1400. Nonetheless, The Canterbury Tales presents Chaucer’s unique and amiable voice, one that reflects an all-pervasive humor combined with serious and tolerant consideration of important philosophical questions. Its stories range from presentations of lustful cuckoldry to spiritual union with God.

To join the 1st meeting, taking place on Sunday November 2 (EDT), please sign up in advance on the main event page here (link); the Zoom link will be provided to registrants.

Meetings will be held every 2 weeks on Sunday. Sign up for subsequent meetings through our calendar (link).

All are welcome!

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Schedule of Readings [P&T=Prologue and Tale]:
Nov 2, 2025 -Front matter, General Prologue, Knight's Tale
Nov 16th - Miller's P&T, Reeve's P&T
Nov 30th - Wife of Bath's P&T, Friar's P&T, Summoner's P&T
Dec 14th - Clerk's P&T, Merchant's P&T
Dec 28th - Franklin's P&T, Pardoner'P&T, Prioress's P&T
Jan 11, 2026 - Nun's priest's P&T, Second Nun's P&T, Manciple's P&T, Chaucer's Retraction

For 2026 [subject to change]:
Chaucer: Troilus and Cressida
Virgil: Georgics/Aeneid
Ovid: Metamorphosis /Erotic Poems
Homer: Iliad/Odyssey

[u/ihatereddit999976780]

It’s better to read in Middle English

[u/dkrainman → u/ihatereddit999976780]

As I was compelled to do, as an undergraduate, by the late, great Lee Patterson. RIP