Reading Order
Canterbury TalesGeoffrey Chaucer Works Reading Order
Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (c. 1387–1400) is the greatest work of medieval English literature — a framing narrative in which a group of pilgrims traveling from London to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury entertain each other with tales ranging from courtly romance to bawdy comedy to religious allegory. Chaucer's collection established the range, social breadth, and comic energy that English literature has maintained ever since.
Where to start
The Canterbury Tales
Complete Canterbury Tales Book List
- 1Buy
The Canterbury Tales
Geoffrey Chaucer·1400·Chaucer's collection — best read in a modern translation for first-time readers (the Nevill Coghill Penguin translation is standard), though the original Middle English is accessible with a glossary and enormously rewarding; not all tales are equal in quality, and many readers start with the General Prologue, The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Tale, and The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale. - 2Buy
Troilus and Criseyde
Geoffrey Chaucer·1385·Chaucer's other great work — a long narrative poem about the Trojan War love story of Troilus and Criseyde; in many ways more technically accomplished than the Canterbury Tales and the best introduction to Chaucer's non-comic range; Shakespeare adapted it as Troilus and Cressida. - 3Buy
The Parliament of Fowls
Geoffrey Chaucer·1380·Chaucer's dream-vision poem about birds choosing their mates on St. Valentine's Day — one of the earliest Valentine's Day poems in English, and a good accessible introduction to Chaucer's allegorical mode before the Canterbury Tales. - 4Buy
Piers Plowman
William Langland·1380·The other great work of Middle English poetry — a dream-vision allegory about Christian salvation, written in alliterative verse rather than the French-influenced syllabic verse Chaucer favored; together Chaucer and Langland represent the two dominant traditions of 14th-century English poetry. - 5Buy
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Anonymous (Pearl Poet)·1390·The finest Arthurian poem in the English tradition — a beheading contest, a knight's year of waiting for his death, and a moral test of honor and courage; written in the Northwest Midlands alliterative tradition contemporaneous with the Canterbury Tales; Simon Armitage's 2007 translation is the most recommended modern version. - 6Buy
The Decameron
Giovanni Boccaccio·1353·Boccaccio's Italian collection of 100 tales told by ten young Florentines who have fled the Black Death to a country house — the primary source for Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in structure and several individual tales; together Boccaccio and Chaucer are the two great medieval collections of short narrative, and Chaucer's debt to and transformation of his source is one of medieval literature's most instructive comparisons. - 7Buy
Orlando Furioso
Ludovico Ariosto·1532·Ariosto's Italian Renaissance epic about the paladins of Charlemagne and the Saracen wars — relevant as the immediate successor to the chivalric romance tradition that Chaucer both celebrates (in the Knight's Tale) and satirizes (in Sir Thopas); Ariosto's comic handling of romance conventions directly influenced Shakespeare and is the bridge between medieval and Renaissance literary culture.
Canterbury Tales — Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to read The Canterbury Tales in Middle English?
No — the Canterbury Tales are fully accessible and enjoyable in modern translation, and beginning with a translation is entirely appropriate. The Nevill Coghill translation (Penguin Classics) has been the standard recommendation for decades; the Burton Raffel prose translation is also clear and accurate. However, readers who try the original Middle English after acquainting themselves with the stories often find it far more accessible than they expected: Middle English pronunciation differs significantly from Modern English, but the vocabulary is largely recognizable with a glossary, and reading Chaucer in his own language reveals the extraordinary music of his verse that translation cannot fully preserve. A middle path is to read individual tales in parallel text (original and translation side by side), which many editions provide.
Which Canterbury Tales should I read first?
The General Prologue — Chaucer's introductions to each of the 29 pilgrims — is the essential starting point for any reader, as it establishes the social range and comic energy of the collection. After the General Prologue, the most commonly read and taught tales are: The Knight's Tale (courtly romance, the most 'literary' in the medieval sense), The Miller's Tale (bawdy fabliaux comedy, the greatest ribald story in English), The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale (the feminist centerpiece of the collection, the Wife's voice is one of the great comic-serious characters in all of literature), The Pardoner's Tale (a moral exemplum about greed, told by a corrupt narrator), and The Nun's Priest's Tale (beast fable). The religious and didactic tales (The Parson's Tale, Melibee) are typically left for specialists.
Monthly Newsletter
Never miss a big release
Get the most anticipated upcoming books delivered to your inbox once a month — no spam, no filler.
Monthly only. Unsubscribe anytime.
Book links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BookReleaseRadar earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.