The Canterbury Tales recounts the stories told by pilgrims to one another as they make their way from London to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury. This volume contains the popular Friar's tale which paints a vivid picture of the corrupt and seedy world of Summoners in the early Middle Ages.
The facing page contains Chaucer's original text as it was written in fourteenth century Middle English. Alongside, there is room in the wider outer margins and line spacing for students to write their own notes on the Friar's Tale, or perhaps, to define unfamiliar key words.
The reverse side contains a new translation into modern English which differs only slightly from those found elsewhere. Here, each line is translated separately, which means no words have been substituted or borrowed from adjacent lines simply to help maintain the original rhyming structure. Accordingly, this translation adheres very closely to Chaucer's own original meaning; although, in doing so, it may occasionally contain rather more descriptive explanation than is usual in translated works. Nevertheless, this 'word for word' approach will greatly assist those who are new to Chaucer's Middle English.
Parents will be pleased to see that the Friar's Tale contains none of the vulgarity found in some other Canterbury Tales, which makes this edition ideal for Middle and High school students.
This volume contains the complete and unabridged text of the prologue and tale (with line numbers), a helpful new translation together with a personal study notebook. This means it offers excellent value for money.