The Canterbury Tales recounts the stories told by pilgrims to one another as they make their way from London to Canterbury Cathedral. This volume contains the introduction to those tales by describing the characters who are embarking upon that pilgrimage.The facing page contains Chaucer's original text as it was written in fourteenth century Middle English. Alongside, there is room in the wide outer margins for students to write their own notes on The General Prologue, or perhaps, to define unfamiliar key words. The reverse side of each page contains a new translation into modern English. The translation into modern English differs only slightly from those found elsewhere. Here, the key difference is that lines are translated separately, thereby avoiding the problem seen in some translations that words are borrowed from adjacent lines to help maintain Chaucer's rhyming structure. Accordingly, this translation adheres more closely to Chaucer's own words; although, in doing so, it may occasionally contain rather more descriptive explanations than is usual in translated works. Nevertheless, this 'word for word' approach will greatly assist those new to Chaucer's middle English.Parents will be pleased that The General Prologue contains no lewdness or vulgarity as can be found in some of the other Canterbury Tales. In this regard, it may appropriately be studied at Middle School level.This volume contains the complete and unabridged text (with line numbers), a helpful translation and a personal study notebook - which means it offers excellent value for money.The translator was educated at St Chad's College Durham, Warwick, Exeter and De Montfort Universities. Lately, he was both a Hardwicke and Sir Thomas More scholar of Lincoln's Inn, London. His publications include works on English law and literature.