The Canterbury Tales

Written in the late fourteenth century, this unfinished collection of verse tales is framed by a spring pilgrimage from Southwark to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. A knight, miller, reeve, wife of Bath, pardoner, prioress, and other travellers agree to tell stories on the road; the Host judges the contest. The tales range from chivalric romance and saint's legend to fabliau, sermon, and beast fable, and the tellers quarrel and reply to one another. The work is a framed anthology of estates satire and story, not a single plot about the journey's end.

Quarter-bound in red linen with vegetable parchment boards with a gilt design. Red slipcase.