The Canterbury Tales (Broadview Editions) 1st Edition by Geoffrey Chaucer (PDF)

Description

The Broadview Canterbury Tales is a new edition of the complete tales in a text based on the famous Ellesmere Manuscript. Here one may read a Middle English text that is closer to what Chaucer’s scribe, Adam Pinkurst, actually wrote than that in any other modern edition. Unlike most editions, which draw on a number of manuscripts to recapture Chaucer’s original intention, this edition preserves the text as it was found in one influential manuscript. Spellings have not been standardized, the order of the lines and passages has not been altered, the text has only been emended when absolutely necessary for sense, and the original marginal glosses are noted throughout. The edition includes English glosses on the side of the page, and the introduction and notes address aspects of medieval culture, history, and language that may need explanation. A sampling of illustrations from the original manuscript is also included, along with a selection of other works that give the reader a rich sense of the cultural, political, and literary worlds in which Chaucer lived.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “This new Broadview edition by Robert Boenig and Andrew Taylor offers students an ideal means to read, study, and appreciate Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The scholarly introduction discusses Chaucer’s life, the formal features of his extraordinary tale collection, its historical reception, and modern critical approaches to the text. Based on the Ellesmere Manuscript, this attractive, readable edition features Chaucer’s Middle English text, marginal glosses, explanatory footnotes, and illustrative facsimile pages. Especially helpful are the appended background documents, historical and literary, which provide key contexts for the interpretation of Chaucer’s work. A useful bibliography concludes the volume. Highly recommended.” – Ann W. Astell, University of Notre Dame”Britain’s greatest medieval poem by its greatest non-dramatic poet: this new edition will be attractive to students, scholars, and general readers alike. The layout is inviting. Glosses in the margin and explanatory notes at the foot of the page insure easy access to all the necessary linguistic and historical expertise. Boenig and Taylor have done a wonderful job synthesizing the latest scholarship. The decision to concentrate on a single manuscript, the redoubtable Ellesmere, is a sound one. Facsimiles of individual leaves from that manuscript have been scattered throughout the volume to give us a real sense of what it would have been like to open The Canterbury Tales for the first time in the years immediately following Chaucer’s death.” – Larry Scanlon, Rutgers Universit From the Back Cover The Broadview Canterbury Tales is a new edition of the complete tales in a text based on the famous Ellesmere Manuscript. Here one may read a Middle English text that is closer to what Chaucer’s scribe, Adam Pinkurst, actually wrote than that in any other modern edition. Unlike most editions, which draw on a number of manuscripts to recapture Chaucer’s original intention, this edition preserves the text as it was found in one influential manuscript. Spellings have not been standardized, the order of the lines and passages has not been altered, the text has only been emended when absolutely necessary for sense, and the original marginal glosses are noted throughout. The edition includes English glosses on the side of the page, and the introduction and notes address aspects of medieval culture, history, and language that may need explanation. A sampling of illustrations from the original manuscript is also included, along with a selection of other works that give the reader a rich sense of the cultural, political, and literary worlds in which Chaucer lived. About the Author Robert Boenig is Professor of English at Texas A&M University.Andrew Taylor is Associate Professor of English at the University of Ottawa. Read more

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Best for academic purpsoses

⭐This review is for the Broadview Edition of the Tales, edited by Boenig and Taylor. (Sadly, Amazon throws together reviews of ALL editions which is incredibly confusing.) I’ve looked at several editions of the Tales (Riverside, Modern Library, Penguin, ET Donaldson) and this is by far the best edition for actually reading the text of any I’ve found. The reason lies in the way the words and ideas are glossed. Both are done on the same page as the text. Words that are glossed are marked with a super-scripted circle (small “o”). Those words are glossed in the MARGIN, not at the bottom of the page. So you know what word is being defined in the margin and because it is defined in the margin your eyes don’t have to leave the line to find the definition. Perfect. No other version BOTH marks the word and then defines it on the same line in the margin. I have seen an edition or two (ie, Modern Library) that defines in the margin but it does not mark the word being defined so you have to work at finding out. Second, ideas or phrases in the text that require more space to elucidate are marked with a superscripted NUMBER and discussed at the bottom of the page. This makes it easy to know what is being explained and where to find the explanation. Other versions have such explanations but they are NOT marked on the line so you have to look at the bottom of the page, find the line, find the explanation, go back to the text, and try to figure out what is being explained. Sorry, there is no other word for that but stupid. This edition gets it right. Now, I’m not saying there is no place for the other editions; both the Riverside and the Penguin have more explanatory text than the Broadview (though the Broadview has plenty). Both the Riverside and Penguin are more scholarly. (I also recommend Oxford Guides to Chaucer: Canterbury Tales by Helen Cooper as being particularly helpful though the GradeSaver Canterbury Tales–a “Cliff’s Notes” type book written by Harvard Students–is surprisingly helpful for such a short book.) So there is room for all these and more, of course. But for a READING copy where the notes are marked well and located right where you want them, this is the one to get. It looks like there’s a new edition coming out though it doesn’t say when. Worry not. If you want to read the Tales now, I heartily recommend this edition even if published a while ago.

⭐Those who might think reading Shakespeare a tedious trip to an outgrown time must regard reading Chaucer as pointless antiquarian torture. But there’s a reason the classics endure to be rediscovered by every generation. These stories may come dressed in the garb of an ancient time but tell timeless tales seen through a lens of genius. Of course, this is a library of short stories told by Chaucer in different voices. The first tale is “the knight’s tale” which is ornate and erudite. The next story is “the miller’s tale” which couldn’t be more different. The miller is cautioned to tell his story later as he is drunk. The miller admits his drunken state but insists on continuing. His story is lewd, coarse, and quite funny. The funniest moments occur when the pilgrims use their tales to make malicious jabs at their fellow travelers. “The friar’s tale” followed by a rebuttal in “the summoner’s tale” is laugh-out-loud funny. Especially the description of a friar’s place in hell. Some of these are deeply offensive to our sensibilities, and properly so, as for example : The prioress’ tale. Others are as crude and randy as the latest teen movie ( complete with fart jokes.) Though, unlike teen movies, Chaucer does not shy away from explicit sex. I began Chaucer mostly with curiosity but left with the awe and respect due to a first-class magician of a storyteller. Understand though: this book is a (masterful) translation by J.U.Nicolson. I’ve read much of Chaucer in the original but this was easier and more fun.The actual book itself is a thing of beauty. It is elegantly bound with decorative covers and magnificent illustrations. Though published in 1934 it has the pristine look of a book rarely touched by human hands. Too bad for those unknown owners: they had a treasure in their possession but never knew it.

⭐I fell in love with this book after reading an excerpt from an old textbook. I loved this book so much that I had to buy it so that I could take time to savor every word. Unfortunately, this is not the book I fell in love with. This particular edition is a translation into modern English, and the text has lost much of its original beauty. The decoration on the cover is lovely, and the leather makes is seem older and of better quality. I would reccomend this edition to people who simply want to know the story, but NOT to people who would like the full Chaucer experience.

⭐While searching for an edition of;”Canterbury Tales” I came across this 1934 edition. This edition was “Rendered into Modern Translation by J.U. Nicholson. with illustrations by Rockwell Kent and an Introduction by Gordon Hall Gerould. This text contains beautiful artwork and pages which are bordered by calligraphic designs. This is an early 20th century edition with a forward of the view of that era (1934) which is always educational. The text is unique due to this. this edition also has a silk long (10 inches) bookmark. This is a review in process but I find that every volume of period works are unique & educational. Peace

⭐I hadn’t read The Canterbury tales since I was doing A levels many years ago. Back then we had to read the untranslated versions in middle English which was quite laborious and rather took the fun out of it. This is a very simple version written for kids and as such is a short simple read with the stories broken down to the bare bones. This was a revelation. The stories are wry and intriguing in themselves and give a real insight into the tellers of the tales, as Chaucer intended I think. An insight into the fourteenth century mindset which tells us primarily that people do not fundamentally change. You could meet any of these people on the bus today.

⭐I was introduced to this text by a much loved teacher almost fifty years ago!The Middle English rhyme was completely mystifying but was brought to life by the acting skill of a man who lived for language and encouraging a new generation to be aware of the roots of today’s words.I am astonished that I have retained so much knowledge without having to resort to checking explanatory notes!

⭐This book is excellent for children (my son is 11). He got really interested, but probably only because I explained a lot of background to what things were like in the middle ages. He predictably liked the Miller’s Tale best, but also the one about the three idiots killing Death. The stories are re-written in a very digestible manner, so that anyone who has not read Chaucer before could read it and find it very amusing.

⭐Great service. Beautiful folio society edition of this classic book.

⭐Book arrived in excellent condition, but unfortunately the text is not all in Middle English of which it was originally written. Nowhere is it indicated that it’s a translation and so I expected it to be in Middle English but as it’s not, I will have to return it. I really needed it for an essay so I am a bit disappointed.

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