Canterbury Tales manuscripts
Type:
Illuminated manuscripts
Date:
Late fourteenth- or early fifteenth-century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
United Kingdom
Medium:
Parchment
Description:
The Canterbury Tales, written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer, is a collection of stories told by pilgrims travelling together from London to Canterbury. Although Chaucer's original text has not survived, the Hengwrt Chaucer, a late fourteenth- or early fifteenth-century manuscript, may represent a copy produced by someone with access to Chaucer's autograph copy. The opening folio, shown here, introduced the text's General Prologue. It features an initial "W" and a decorative border executed in blue, pink, and gold. Like many medieval manuscripts, the Hengwrt Chaucer was a multimedia text that was meant to be seen and heard.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
10
Repository and Online Resources:
• See and hear Chaucer's General Prologue using the Canterbury Tales app, CantApp, available for Android and iOS or accessed online.
• See the full Hengwrt Chaucer on the website of the National Library of Wales.
• For an early fifteenth-century copy of the Canterbury Tales with illustrations, see the Ellesmere Chaucer on the website of the Huntington Library.
