The Canterbury Tales (Middle English)


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Chaucer's famous and important work is predicated upon the premise that a group of Christian folks from various occupations, familiar in the Middle Ages and a goodly number of them in the Church, are on a pilgrimage to worship at the burial site of Thomas Becket in the Cathedral at Canterbury. The host suggests that to pass the time each traveler tell a tale. So, we are entertained by quite a variety of stories, almost all of which, though, have a moral purpose. Of course, Chaucer and his folk spoke an English that is between the Anglo-Saxon beginnings, which is totally foreign to us, and the Modern. This form of English, therefore, is called Middle English, which can sometimes sound somewhat familiar and at other times be absolutely incoherent to the modern ear. (Summary by Jim Locke) (24 hr 18 min)

Chapters

The Prologue 57:15 Read by Tony Addison
The Knight's Tale - Part One 44:19 Read by Tony Addison
The Knight's Tale - Part Two 36:55 Read by Tony Addison
The Knight's Tale - Part Three 42:59 Read by Tony Addison
The Knight's Tale - Part Four 46:00 Read by Tony Addison
The Miller's Tale 53:23 Read by Tony Addison
The Reeve's Tale 32:49 Read by Tony Addison
The Cook's Tale 8:36 Read by Tony Addison
The Man of Law's Prologue 12:19 Read by Tony Addison
The Man of Law's Tale - Part One 20:03 Read by Tony Addison
The Man of Law's Tale - Part Two 39:14 Read by Tony Addison
The Man of Law's Tale - Part Three 21:35 Read by Tony Addison
The Shipman's Tale 34:39 Read by Tony Addison
The Prioress's Tale 20:39 Read by Tony Addison
Chaucer's Tale of Thopas 12:38 Read by Jim Locke
The Tale of Melibeus - Part One 33:35 Read by Jim Locke
The Tale of Melibeus - Part Two 30:32 Read by Jim Locke
The Tale of Melibeus - Part Three 29:36 Read by Jim Locke
The Tale of Melibeus - Part Four 31:47 Read by Jim Locke
The Monk's Tale - Part One 31:01 Read by Jim Locke
The Monk's Tale - Part Two 23:39 Read by Jim Locke
The Nonne Prestes Tale - Part One 27:08 Read by Jim Locke
The Nonne Prestes Tale - Part Two 16:55 Read by Jim Locke
The Phisician's Tale and Words of the Host 18:35 Read by Jim Locke
The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale 34:49 Read by Jim Locke
The Wife of Bath's Prologue - Part One 28:18 Read by Jim Locke
The Wife of Bath's Prologue - Part Two 20:24 Read by Jim Locke
The Tale of the Wife of Bath 22:27 Read by Jim Locke
The Friar's Prologue and Tale 22:45 Read by Jim Locke
The Summoner's Prologue and Tale 32:04 Read by Jim Locke
The Clerk's Prologue and Tale - Parts One, Two, and Three 34:15 Read by Jim Locke
The Clerk's Tale - Parts Four, Five, and Six and Lenvoy de Chaucer 32:17 Read by Jim Locke
The Marchante's Prologue and Tale - Part One 32:42 Read by Jim Locke
The Marchante's Tale - Part Two - and Epilogue 27:55 Read by Jim Locke
The Squier's Prologue and Tale and Words of the Frankelin 35:13 Read by Jim Locke
The Frankelin's Prologue and Tale - Part 1 25:14 Read by Jim Locke
The Frankeleyn's Tale - Part 2 24:23 Read by Jim Locke
The Seconde Nonnes Prologue and Tale 30:45 Read by Jim Locke
The Canon Yeoman's Prologue and Tale - Part 1 24:20 Read by Jim Locke
The Chanouns Yemannes Tale - Part 2 25:42 Read by Jim Locke
The Ma(u)nciple's Prologue and Tale 19:57 Read by Jim Locke
The Parson's (Persones) Prologue and Tale - Part 1 39:02 Read by Jim Locke
The Parson's Tale - Part 2 37:42 Read by Jim Locke
The Parson's Tale - Part 3 38:00 Read by Jim Locke
The Parson's Tale - Part 4 36:59 Read by Jim Locke
The Parson's Tale - Part 5 26:37 Read by Jim Locke
The Parson's Tale - Part 6 26:56 Read by Jim Locke
Appendix to Group A - The Tale of Gamelyn - Part 1 33:02 Read by Jim Locke
The Tale of Gamelyn - Part 2 20:58 Read by Jim Locke