Geoffrey Chaucer
Spine number 01
The Canterbury Tales
A group of pilgrims travelling towards Canterbury agrees to tell stories, setting romances, bawdy comedies and moral arguments against the personalities of their tellers. The collection is mixed: its fictional journey and tales also contain substantial religious instruction, notably the Parson’s prose treatise on penitence. Chaucer worked on the unfinished collection from approximately 1387 until his death; Caxton’s undated first printing is commonly placed around 1476, although library datings extend to 1478.
c. 1476 (first print) · collection · Fiction & non-fiction · Unfinished · Posthumous
Spine number 02
Anelida and Arcite
Anelida, queen of Armenia, addresses the pain of an unequal love for the Theban knight Arcite. A narrative opening gives way to her formally elaborate complaint, before the surviving poem breaks off. Usually placed in the late 1370s, it was first printed by Caxton around 1477–1478; this entry covers the poem rather than the other verse printed with it.
c. 1477 (first print) · poem · Fiction · Unfinished · Posthumous
Spine number 03
The Parliament of Fowls
A reader falls asleep and enters a dream in which birds gather under Nature’s supervision to choose their mates. Courtly speeches compete with impatient interruptions, turning a debate about love into a lively assembly of incompatible voices. Written around the early 1380s, the poem was first printed by Caxton around 1477–1478; the precise dates of composition and printing remain uncertain.
c. 1477 (first print) · poem · Fiction · Posthumous
Spine number 04
Boece
In Chaucer’s prose translation of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, an imprisoned man argues with Lady Philosophy about fortune, happiness and freedom. The dialogue uses personification to pursue a philosophical argument, rather than presenting itself principally as a fictional adventure. Chaucer prepared the translation approximately between 1382 and 1386, drawing on Latin and French sources; Caxton first printed it around 1478.
c. 1478 (first print) · book · Non-fiction · Posthumous
Spine number 05
The House of Fame
A dreaming poet is carried through the air by a talkative eagle and brought into a world where reputations are made and rumours travel. The unfinished vision asks how stories acquire authority, with a narrator whose bewilderment keeps interrupting the grandeur of his surroundings. Usually assigned to the late 1370s, it first reached print in Caxton’s edition around 1483.
c. 1483 (first print) · poem · Fiction · Unfinished · Posthumous
Spine number 06
Troilus and Criseyde
In besieged Troy, the prince Troilus falls in love with the widow Criseyde, while her uncle Pandarus takes an active interest in their courtship. The long poem balances intimate conversations with a narrator’s reflections on desire, uncertainty and the pressure of events. Adapted from Boccaccio’s Il Filostrato approximately between 1382 and 1386, it was first printed by Caxton around 1483.
c. 1483 (first print) · poem · Fiction · Posthumous
Spine number 07
The Book of the Duchess
A sleepless reader dreams of a hunt and encounters a knight dressed in black whose account of sorrow he struggles to understand. The poem approaches grief through conversation, images and the distance between what one person says and another can hear. Composed in memory of Blanche of Lancaster after her death in 1369, it first appeared in print in William Thynne’s 1532 edition of Chaucer’s works; its exact composition date is uncertain.
1532 (first print) · poem · Fiction · Posthumous
Spine number 08
The Legend of Good Women
Rebuked by the God of Love, a dreaming poet is charged with telling stories of faithful women. His retellings of classical narratives bring figures including Dido, Ariadne and Lucretia into an unfinished sequence about devotion, betrayal and the responsibilities of storytelling. Much of the work is generally dated to approximately 1385–1387, with later revision to the prologue; it was first printed in Thynne’s 1532 edition.
1532 (first print) · poem · Fiction · Unfinished · Posthumous
Spine number 09
A Treatise on the Astrolabe
Addressing a young learner named Lewis, Chaucer explains the parts of an astrolabe and gives practical instructions for observing the heavens and measuring time. The plain instructional prose offers a different encounter with his attention to language and his readers. Begun in 1391, the surviving treatise does not complete the five-part plan announced in its introduction; it first appeared in print in Thynne’s 1532 edition.
1532 (first print) · book · Non-fiction · Unfinished · Posthumous
Begin with the pilgrims’ competing voices, or try a shorter dream poem before a sustained romance. A glossed Middle English edition or a modern translation can provide a useful first route into these works.
Where to begin
Start here
The Canterbury Tales
Read the General Prologue, then try the Miller’s Tale and the Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale to hear how differently Chaucer’s speakers present themselves. Follow the exchanges between tales as well as the stories: much of the comedy comes from one traveller answering another.
Not yet in our collection
For a shorter comic introduction
The Parliament of Fowls
This compact dream vision lets you hear Chaucer move from learned reflection to an unruly debate. Listen for the shifts between ceremonious courtship and the impatient voices of the other birds; the changes of register are part of the pleasure.
Not yet in our collection
For a quieter encounter
The Book of the Duchess
Choose this dream poem for a more reflective introduction to Chaucer’s storytelling. Its conversation rewards patience: the narrator’s difficulty in understanding another person’s sorrow makes listening itself a central concern.
Not yet in our collection
Read next
Troilus and Criseyde
Move to this sustained romance when you want to stay with one set of characters and watch their choices unfold. The narrator’s hesitations and comments deserve as much attention as the lovers’ conversations, especially if you enjoyed the interplay of voices in the Tales.
Not yet in our collection
Published c. 1476 (first print)
The Canterbury Tales
collection · Unfinished · Posthumous
A group of pilgrims travelling towards Canterbury agrees to tell stories, setting romances, bawdy comedies and moral arguments against the personalities of their tellers. The collection is mixed: its fictional journey and tales also contain substantial religious instruction, notably the Parson’s prose treatise on penitence. Chaucer worked on the unfinished collection from approximately 1387 until his death; Caxton’s undated first printing is commonly placed around 1476, although library datings extend to 1478.
Not yet in our collection
Published c. 1477 (first print)
Anelida and Arcite
poem · Unfinished · Posthumous
Anelida, queen of Armenia, addresses the pain of an unequal love for the Theban knight Arcite. A narrative opening gives way to her formally elaborate complaint, before the surviving poem breaks off. Usually placed in the late 1370s, it was first printed by Caxton around 1477–1478; this entry covers the poem rather than the other verse printed with it.
Not yet in our collection
Published c. 1477 (first print)
The Parliament of Fowls
poem · Posthumous
A reader falls asleep and enters a dream in which birds gather under Nature’s supervision to choose their mates. Courtly speeches compete with impatient interruptions, turning a debate about love into a lively assembly of incompatible voices. Written around the early 1380s, the poem was first printed by Caxton around 1477–1478; the precise dates of composition and printing remain uncertain.
Not yet in our collection
Published c. 1478 (first print)
Boece
book · Posthumous
In Chaucer’s prose translation of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, an imprisoned man argues with Lady Philosophy about fortune, happiness and freedom. The dialogue uses personification to pursue a philosophical argument, rather than presenting itself principally as a fictional adventure. Chaucer prepared the translation approximately between 1382 and 1386, drawing on Latin and French sources; Caxton first printed it around 1478.
Not yet in our collection
Published c. 1483 (first print)
The House of Fame
poem · Unfinished · Posthumous
A dreaming poet is carried through the air by a talkative eagle and brought into a world where reputations are made and rumours travel. The unfinished vision asks how stories acquire authority, with a narrator whose bewilderment keeps interrupting the grandeur of his surroundings. Usually assigned to the late 1370s, it first reached print in Caxton’s edition around 1483.
Not yet in our collection
Published c. 1483 (first print)
Troilus and Criseyde
poem · Posthumous
In besieged Troy, the prince Troilus falls in love with the widow Criseyde, while her uncle Pandarus takes an active interest in their courtship. The long poem balances intimate conversations with a narrator’s reflections on desire, uncertainty and the pressure of events. Adapted from Boccaccio’s Il Filostrato approximately between 1382 and 1386, it was first printed by Caxton around 1483.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1532 (first print)
A Treatise on the Astrolabe
book · Unfinished · Posthumous
Addressing a young learner named Lewis, Chaucer explains the parts of an astrolabe and gives practical instructions for observing the heavens and measuring time. The plain instructional prose offers a different encounter with his attention to language and his readers. Begun in 1391, the surviving treatise does not complete the five-part plan announced in its introduction; it first appeared in print in Thynne’s 1532 edition.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1532 (first print)
The Book of the Duchess
poem · Posthumous
A sleepless reader dreams of a hunt and encounters a knight dressed in black whose account of sorrow he struggles to understand. The poem approaches grief through conversation, images and the distance between what one person says and another can hear. Composed in memory of Blanche of Lancaster after her death in 1369, it first appeared in print in William Thynne’s 1532 edition of Chaucer’s works; its exact composition date is uncertain.
Not yet in our collection
Published 1532 (first print)
The Legend of Good Women
poem · Unfinished · Posthumous
Rebuked by the God of Love, a dreaming poet is charged with telling stories of faithful women. His retellings of classical narratives bring figures including Dido, Ariadne and Lucretia into an unfinished sequence about devotion, betrayal and the responsibilities of storytelling. Much of the work is generally dated to approximately 1385–1387, with later revision to the prologue; it was first printed in Thynne’s 1532 edition.
Not yet in our collection
Geoffrey Chaucer (born in the early 1340s, died 1400) was an English poet and translator who wrote in Middle English. His writing moves between courtly romance, comic argument and reflection on grief, desire and the stories people tell about themselves. In The Canterbury Tales, a company of pilgrims becomes a gathering of competing voices: the tellers interrupt, answer and challenge one another, making the journey as important as the individual tales.
Chaucer combined writing with work at court, in London customs and on diplomatic missions, including journeys to Italy. His poems draw on French and Italian literature as well as classical sources, reshaping inherited stories through an inquisitive, sometimes comically uncertain narrator. Troilus and Criseyde gives sustained attention to love and human choice, while the dream poems The Book of the Duchess and The House of Fame explore mourning and reputation. His prose includes a translation of Boethius and a practical guide to the astrolabe.
He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey; the traditional date of his death is 25 October. His works circulated in manuscripts before reaching print in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The publication dates in this bibliography identify the first printed editions, with approximate dates marked; the posthumous labels refer to those editions, not to the beginning of his readership.