Geoffrey Chaucer and early English writing

Study note

Geoffrey Chaucer was a writer of the Middle Ages who is best remembered for The Canterbury Tales. This is a famous collection of stories told by a group of pilgrims travelling to Canterbury. Chaucer wrote it in English at a time when much serious writing was still done in French or Latin.

The Canterbury Tales is regarded as one of the first major works of literature written in the English language, which makes Chaucer an important figure in the history of English writing. He is the author to remember for this work, rather than later writers such as William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens or Robert Burns. The key fact is simple: Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales.

Memory tip: Chaucer wrote 'The Canterbury Tales', early literature in English.