- Year Published: 1478.
- Pages: 504.
Canterbury Tales Summary
This novel by Geoffrey Chaucer is a story about the narrator and the other pilgrims who are on their way to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket cathedral in Canterbury. The story starts with an innkeeper, Harry Bailey, suggesting that each of the pilgrims tell stories while traveling to pass the time and keep everyone entertained.
The Tales of the Pilgrims
The first one was the Knight, whose story is about two other knights named Palamon and Arcite. The two fell in love with the same maiden named Emily. There was a duel which ended up with Palamon and Emelye marrying each other.
The Miller’s tale was next and it was a comic tale about three men who were fighting over a woman’s affection. It eventually ended with a series of mishaps which got all the other pilgrims laughing in the end.
The Reeve tells a tale about a sly miller who got into trouble with two students who seduced his wife and daughter. After a series of commotion, the students were able to grab hold of the items stolen by the miller before they left.
The Cook went next but his story left unfinished. He was eventually followed by the Man of Law whose story is about an unfortunate emperor’s daughter, Constance, who fled from one empire to the other after she survived a series of misgivings. She was eventually rewarded with a happy ending when she was reunited with her husband, the king, and their son becoming an heir to the throne.
The Wife of Bath’s tale is about a knight who raped a maiden and was sent on the journey by the queen to find out what women really want in a marriage. He, later on, met an old woman who gave him the right answer. And in exchange for all the favors, the two of them