The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales are a series of short stories written by Geoffrey Chaucer in the late 13th Century. They follow 27 pilgrims as they journey to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. To pass the time, the pilgrims decide to tell a series of tales, and these form the basis of the story. The tales are widely varied, and cover lots of different themes, such as love, treachery and greed, and are told by varied characters, ranging from nobility to peasants. Some are comical, while others are more serious. Chaucer says that they are taking a pilgrimage, but this is mainly a way of bringing together all the characters, as several wouldn't be able (or wouldn't want) to take a pilgrimage.

The Miller's Tale

The Miller's tale is particularly funny, and tells the story of a student, who sleeps with his landlords wife, convinces the landlord that the second flood is coming, and that he should spend the night in a tub hanging from the ceiling. As the student and his landlord's wife spend the night together, another character, a parish clerk, comes to the window and beg's the landlords wife for a kiss. She sticks her bottom out of the window and let's him kiss that. He runs away, returning with a hot poker, and begs for another kiss. The student then sticks his bottom out of the window, and is branded by the hot poker. His cry of "Water!" makes the landlord think the flood has come, and he cuts the tub down from the ceiling and breaks his arm.

The original text and a translation is available at the harvard university's website.

The Tales Today

The tales, although told over 600 years ago, are still alive in Canterbury today. The Canterbury Tales, located near Canterbury Cathedral, retells several of the tales (including the Miller's one). More information can be found on their website