Middle English literature

Middle English literature
England's first great author, [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] (1340 -1400), wrote in Middle English. His most famous work is ''[[The Canterbury Tales]]'', a collection of stories in a variety of genres, ostensibly told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury. Remarkably, they are from all walks of life, which is reflected as much in the language they use as in the content of their stories. But, though Chaucer is most certainly an English author, he was inspired by literary developments taking place elsewhere in Europe, especially in Italy. ''The Canterbury Tales'' are quite indebted to [[Giovanni Boccaccio]]'s ''[[Tetrameron]]''. The [[Renaissance]] was making its way to Britain.