The Text of the Canterbury Tales

The Text of the Canterbury Tales
Name	The Text of the Canterbury Tales
Author	Geoffrey Chaucer
Language	Middle English
Written	Late 14th century
Manuscripts	Over 80 known, including the Ellesmere Manuscript and the Hengwrt Chaucer
Subject	Pilgrimage, storytelling, medieval society

The Text of the Canterbury Tales refers to the complex manuscript tradition and scholarly study of Geoffrey Chaucer's seminal Middle English work. Composed in the late 14th century, the text survives in over 80 medieval manuscripts, none in Chaucer's own hand, leading to significant variations and a rich field of textual criticism. The work's unfinished state and the lack of a definitive authorial version have made the establishment of a canonical text a central concern for scholars from the 15th century to the present day, involving figures like William Caxton, Walter William Skeat, and John M. Manly.

Introduction to the Manuscripts

The surviving witnesses to *The Canterbury Tales* are primarily handwritten manuscripts produced in the 15th century, decades after Geoffrey Chaucer's death. The two most celebrated and important copies are the lavishly illustrated Ellesmere Manuscript, held at the Huntington Library, and the earlier, more textually conservative Hengwrt Chaucer, part of the National Library of Wales collections. Other significant codices include the Cambridge University Library MS Gg.4.27 and the Corpus Christi College, Oxford MS 198. These manuscripts vary tremendously in completeness, ordering of tales, textual quality, and decorative programs, providing a fragmented but invaluable window into the work's early reception and the practices of medieval scribes and stationers in London.

Composition and Structure

Geoffrey Chaucer likely began composing *The Canterbury Tales* in the late 1380s, following his work on *Troilus and Criseyde*, and continued adding to it until his death. The overarching frame narrative of a pilgrimage from the Tabard Inn in Southwark to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral is established in the *General Prologue*. The intended structure, famously outlined in the *General Prologue*, suggests a plan for 120 stories, a goal left unfulfilled. The text as it exists presents 24 tales, with their order and connections—such as links between the *Shipman's Tale* and the *Summoner's Tale*—varying considerably between the Ellesmere Manuscript and the Hengwrt Chaucer, indicating Chaucer’s ongoing revision.

Language and Style

The text is composed in Middle English, specifically the London dialect of the late 14th century, which was becoming the standard literary language. Chaucer employed a range of metrical forms, most notably the heroic couplet and rhyme royal, adapting styles from continental masters like Giovanni Boccaccio and Guillaume de Machaut. His style shifts dramatically between tales, encompassing the high romance of *The Knight's Tale*, the earthy fabliau of *The Miller's Tale*, and the prose sermon of *The Parson's Tale*. This linguistic and stylistic variety mirrors the social diversity of the pilgrims themselves, from the Knight to the Wife of Bath.

Manuscript Variations and Fragments

Scholars, following the system established by John M. Manly and Edith Rickert, traditionally group the tales into ten fragments based on internal textual links. The order of these fragments differs across manuscripts, with the Ellesmere Manuscript order being the most commonly adopted in modern editions. Significant textual variations include the placement of the *Canon's Yeoman's Tale*, the inclusion or exclusion of the *Tale of Gamelyn* (sometimes attached to the Cook), and the different endings for the *Cook's Tale*. The *Squire's Tale* is famously interrupted, and the work concludes with Chaucer’s “retraction,” adding to the textual puzzle.

Textual Criticism and Editions

The effort to establish a authoritative text began with the first printed edition by William Caxton in 1476. Later important editors include William Thynne, Thomas Tyrwhitt, and Frederick James Furnivall of the Chaucer Society. The 20th century saw monumental collaborative projects like the *Chicago Chaucer* undertaken by John M. Manly and Edith Rickert, and the foundational *Riverside Chaucer* edited by Larry D. Benson. Modern scholarly editions, such as those by Derek Pearsall and the ongoing *Canterbury Tales Project* which utilizes digital stemmatics, continue to analyze the relationships between manuscripts like the Hengwrt Chaucer and the Ellesmere Manuscript.

Historical Context and Influence

The text emerged during the reigns of Edward III and Richard II, a period of social change following the Black Death and the Peasants' Revolt. It was immediately influential, inspiring the “Scottish Chaucerians” like Robert Henryson and William Dunbar. Later, it profoundly impacted English literature, admired by Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare. The manuscript tradition itself reflects the burgeoning literary culture of 15th-century England and the rise of English as a legitimate literary medium alongside Latin and Anglo-Norman, paving the way for the print revolution ushered in by William Caxton.

Category:Medieval literature Category:English literature Category:Textual scholarship