A group of pilgrims bound for Canterbury Cathedral agrees to pass the weary miles by taking turns at storytelling. The result is English literature's greatest collection of chivalric romances, bawdy tales, fables, legends, and other stories. The pilgrims -- noble, coarse, jolly, and pious -- offer a vibrant portrait of fourteenth-century English life. The Canterbury Tales reflects a society in transition, as a middle class began to emerge from England's feudal system. Craftsmen and laborers ride side by side with the gentry on the road to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket, and their discussions and arguments about ethical issues mirror their changing world. The pilgrims' conversation and narratives also reveal their individual characters, and Chaucer's vivid, accurate portraits of human nature assured the Tales their enduring success. Each tale appears as a separate work that can be read and appreciated in its own right. Rich in metaphors drawn from the Bible and mythology and influenced by the great medieval masters Dante and Boccaccio, this immortal work appears here in a lucid translation into modern English verse.