The stories of storytellers goes on in the centuries. In 1387 Geoffrey Chaucer, father of the English language, wrote The Canterbury Tales. This work is a collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims from various parts of England London , at the Tabard Inn (tavern = locanda), and choose to continue the journey together as they are all travelling to Canterbury to pray on the shrine (memorial = santuario)of Saint Thomas
The collection of Tales has a preface, a Prologue, in which G. Chaucer describes vividly (colourfully = vivacemente) each of the pilgrims, their characteristics and clothes, their qualities and defects.
They represent the complex social reality of the 14th century, from the highest class (knighthood = cavalieri and clergy = clero) to the lowest (middle class and peasants = contadini). Very few pilgrims escape Chaucer’s comic satire, and irony. .
The tales reflect the background, personality and taste of the narrator.
The stories are 24 in all – some are incomplete – and vary from courtly, idealistic romances to comic and farcical anecdotes. Every one gives also a sort of lesson based on real experience.