The Canterbury Tales


Lu par LibriVox Volunteers

(3.4 stars; 74 reviews)

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century (two of them in prose, the rest in verse). The tales, some of which are originals and others not, are contained inside a frame tale and told by a group of pilgrims on their way from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral.

The themes of the tales vary, and include topics such as courtly love, treachery, and avarice. The genres also vary, and include romance, Breton lai, sermon, beast fable, and fabliau. The characters, introduced in the General Prologue of the book, tell tales of great cultural relevance.
The version read here was edited by D. Laing Purves (1838-1873) “for popular perusal” and the language is mostly updated.
(Summary by Wikipedia/Gesine)

(19 hr 23 min)

Chapitres

Preface 6:21 Lu par Gesine
The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer 58:18 Lu par Chip
The General Prologue 39:00 Lu par Thomas Hoover
The Knight’s Tale, Part 1 1:06:20 Lu par Ted Delorme
The Knight's Tale, Part 2 1:19:51 Lu par Ted Delorme
The Miller's Tale 54:42 Lu par Gord Mackenzie
The Reeve's Tale 23:26 Lu par Alex Foster
The Cook's Tale 7:51 Lu par Chip
The Men of Law's Tale 1:19:51 Lu par Chip
The Wife of Bath's Tale 1:03:23 Lu par Kristin LeMoine
The Friar's Tale 22:53 Lu par Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
The Sompnour's Tale 43:03 Lu par Chip
The Clerk's Tale 1:20:06 Lu par Chip
The Merchant's Tale 1:21:25 Lu par Cynthia Lyons (1946-2011)
The Squire's Tale 43:41 Lu par Joshua Young
The Franklin's Tale 31:34 Lu par Alex Foster
The Doctor's Tale 17:01 Lu par Fox in the Stars
The Pardoner's Tale 40:02 Lu par David Barnes
The Shipman's Tale 27:36 Lu par Gwen
The Prioress's Tale 15:06 Lu par Fox in the Stars
The Tale of Sir Thopas 10:12 Lu par Jim Mowatt
Chaucer’s Tale of Meliboeus 36:01 Lu par Kirsten Ferreri
The Monk's Tale 47:29 Lu par Andy Minter (1934-2017)
The Nun’s Priest’s Tale 47:07 Lu par Graham Williams
The Second Nun’s Tale 27:43 Lu par Alys AtteWater
The Canons Yeoman’s Tale 37:28 Lu par Joshua Young
The Manciple’s Tale 17:04 Lu par Thomas Hoover
The Parson’s Tale 54:57 Lu par Robert Foster
Preces de Chauceres 3:48 Lu par Gesine

Critiques

Wife of Bath's Tale Review


(4 stars)

Excellent reading of the middle english text (untranslated, thanks!) with modern vowels. Very listenable and clear.

Poetry


(4.5 stars)

None of these readers were bad, and some of them were quite good! As for the story, I found some of it hard to follow on audiobook, but I found that when I picked up the physical copy of the book, I had a much richer experience. The Miller's Tale made me laugh aloud. Quite good, but understand that most of it is poetry, not prose.

Genius


(4.5 stars)

Chaucer captures the social and intellectual culture of England in c. 1400 with it's many nuances, by writing idiomatically and in character. The satire is rich, the social commentary is prophetic. maybe this is too random a comparison but he stands to his culture something like Mark Twain in the America of the Gilded Age.

Very Poor Middle English


(2 stars)

It is obvious that this reader has studied little or no Middle English pronunciation. If it is your intent to listen to this recording to improve your Middle English, search for Jess B Bessinger Jr.'s reading of the General Prologue.

More than one rotten apples...


(2 stars)

This set of recordings suffers as do many others published with multiple collaborators as opposed to a single reader.

The Canterbury Tales


(0.5 stars)

The narrator for The Knight's Tale cannot be understood and his style/lisp ruin my favorite story.

Couldn't make it past the prologue


(0.5 stars)

Chaucer is not this reader's forte. No poetry in his annoying voice.


(3.5 stars)

Some readers are better than others, but everything was clear.