The Canterbury Tales is a VERY long poem about a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. Writen by Geoffrey Chaucer, it is by far one of the best peices of literature ever writen, even though it is not complete or perfect.

The Canterbury Tales was what many later authors aimed at, it was even (apparently) an influence to the great Shakespeare.

The book (or poem if you will) by itself was not much; it consisted of a main plot (a poet joining a pilgrimage to Canterbury and during the trip everyone must tell stories), and several stories intertwined within. So why is it so excellent? The way Chaucer pieced togther the stories was genuis. You best understand the characters by the story they tell, or how they tell it - something even modern writers would have difficulty doing.
