Canterbury Tales
Preserved but no longer current.
Chaucer set it forth that he was in company with a party of pilgrims going to Canterbury to pay their devotions at the shrine of Thomas a Becket. The party assem- bled at an inn in Southwark, called the Tabard, and there agreed to tell one tale each, both in going and returning. He who told the best tale was to be treated with a supper on the homeward journey. The work is incomplete, and we have none of the tales told on the way home.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Canterbury Tales” mean?
Chaucer set it forth that he was in company with a party of pilgrims going to Canterbury to pay their devotions at the shrine of Thomas a Becket. The party assem- bled at an inn in Southwark, called the Tabard, and there agreed to tell one tale each, both in going and returning. He who told the best tale was to be treated with a supper on the homeward journey. The work is incomplete, and we have none of the tales told on the way home.
Is “Canterbury Tales” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.