The Riverside Chaucer is considered the definitive text for what scholars believe belong to the body of work written and/or translated by Geoffrey Chaucer, “the father of English literature.” The editors have reproduced the entire text in Middle English which does take some getting used to. Fortunately, the editors provide introductions, copious “translation to modern English” footnotes, a glossary of Middle English words, and lengthy anecdotal footnotes that discuss various interpretations, explanations, and meanings for a Middle English audience.

Canterbury Tales

The most well known of Chaucer’s writings, The Canterbury Tales survive in various fragmented forms. Many tales were tacked onto the original versions by later authors, but The Riverside Chaucer has tried diligently to weed out these extras. This is an especially difficult task given that no original manuscript survives and the editors had to piece together the Tales from various manuscripts published up to 200 years after Chaucer’s death.

Chaucer frames the Tales with a General Prologue that describes each of the pilgrims and sets up the story of their pilgrimage to the Cathedral at Canterbury. The host of the tavern where the pilgrims gather before setting off, Harry Bailey, suggests that the pilgrims play a game of telling tales to each other to while away the time as they travel. The original plan called for four tales from each pilgrim. Whether Chaucer ran out of time or simply never intended to complete four tales for each pilgrim is unknown, but most of the pilgrims tell only one tale, and the ones called upon to tell more than one tale are not able to complete all of their tales.

The pilgrims are a mishmash of clergy, nobles, tradespeople, and commoners. In the interstices between the tales they squabble and poke at each other and often use their turn at storytelling to wreak revenge on the previous teller. For example, the Miller tells a fabliau tale as a rebuttal to the drawn-out romance related by the Knight. Because the Miller makes fun of a carpenter in his tale, the Reeve, a carpenter by trade, makes a miller the butt of his fabliau.

Chaucer plays with a variety of styles in his tales: romance, saints’ lives, miracles of the Virgin Mary, fabliaux, exempla, sermons, literary confession, and allegory. Most of Chaucer’s material did not originate with him; rather, Chaucer used literature available to him and adapted the stories for his own purposes, translating and rewriting them into Middle English poetry. Chaucer also avails himself of different rhyme schemes and formats that fit either the pilgrim telling the tale or the style of the tale itself.

Other Works

Since my seminar focused on The Canterbury Tales, I am less well-versed in Chaucer’s other work though I did read the sections assigned from various pieces because Chaucer mimicked some of his own earlier writings when composing The Canterbury Tales.

The Book of the Duchess: In this poem, Chaucer commemorates the death of the Duchess of Lancaster, the wife of his patron, John of Gaunt. As with other poems, Chaucer uses a dream framework through which to narrate the poem and console John of Gaunt (the mourning knight) for the loss of his wife (the beautiful woman).

The House of Fame: Another dream vision, this poem takes the dreamer on a trip to heaven and vaguely resembles Dante’s Divine Comedy in some respects.

The Parliament of Fowls: In this poem, various birds debate the nature of love, poetry and philosophy. This poem is possibly the very first romantic tribute to Valentine’s Day and is extremely comic.

Boece or Boethius: This poem takes on a more serious tone, and is one of the few works that Chaucer does not retract at the end of The Canterbury Tales. Much of Boece is Chaucer’s translation from Latin into Middle English verse and showcases the ancient philosopher Boethius’s Platonic dialogues with Lady Philosophy and the goddess Fortuna. Chaucer’s translation of Boethius had a profound effect on his own beliefs, evident in much of his poetry.

The Romaunt of the Rose: This poem once again translates another work, specifically the Roman de la rose from French. Also a dream vision, the lover wanders through a garden and faces various trials and triumphs concerning love, encompassing both male and female points of view.

The Riverside Chaucer also includes: Troilus and Criseyde, The Legend of Good Women, An ABC, Anelida and Arcite, A Treatise on the Astrolabe, and other poems possibly composed by Chaucer.

Organization

The text presents all of Chaucer’s writings in Middle English, most of which is footnoted throughout. If a particular Middle English term is not footnoted, one may also consult the glossary included at the back of the book. Copious textual notes follow Chaucer’s writings. Rather than flip back and forth, I found it easier to read the introductions in the textual notes to various Tales and then consult the notes when I had questions about a part of the text or after I had finished reading the piece entirely. Though I’m not very fond of the “flip” method, I think it would detract from the poetry if the editors had included the explanatory notes as the reader went along.

Overall

While not many people will run out and buy an expensive book mostly in Middle English, The Riverside Chaucer is considered the most complete and well-annotated text of Chaucer’s work. It’s a must for any Chaucer scholar and also the ultimate reference book for anyone studying The Canterbury Tales or medieval literature, especially for finding critical interpretations and for understanding medieval imagery.

What follows is a review of this book itself, not its contents. Chaucer rules; this book sucks. Here's why:

Let me state at the outset that I am not an anti-capitalist. Quite the contrary. I think free markets are awesome, unfairly denigrated, and usually blamed for things that are actually the result of unfree markets. This book is a classic case.

This book is a chore in every sense: to buy, to carry, to read, to cite. No consumer would choose this book of their own free will. For the cost, you could buy Chaucer's works as a multi-volume set instead (think Norton Critical Editions). This solution would be more pleasurable to read and less likely to give you a hernia. It is also a pain to cite from Riverside when you want to delineate various works, critical introductions, etc. "But Dave," you say, "its a one-volume authoritative edition!" So. What possible reason is there for forcing everything between two covers? Price? Since when do colleges care about the cost of textbooks? Convenience? What about this book is convenient? No, this book screams "I don't give a crap about the reader. You're gonna buy this big-ass book and you're gonna like it. You will never read this book after college anyway so who cares. This form is convenient and functional for the institutions and our convenience matters more than yours."

If consumers [students] had any say in the textbook market, this garbage would not exist. It is only because of the ridiculous hegemony of our system of higher learning that such affronts to good taste exist. Design by committee blows.

I discovered the other evening that I can read Middle English. I bought this book about 15 years ago and stuck it on the shelf. Only picked it up again on a whim, and found the language amazingly 'earthy', the words rolling and alive in my mouth as I read aloud. Not at all like the translations, which are like saccharine syrup when compared to the chopping, guttural and yet beautiful real thing. Translations always miss much, so I'm glad I picked up the lingo so easily. An effortlessly acquired new skill that opens doors to further adventures is wonderful. I've got Piers Plowman somewhere as well. But this book is a good 5 inches thick so should keep me going for some time yet.

My personal favorite tale is "The Merchant's Tale", but my favorite overall is the dream vision "House of Fame." Chaucer is spectacular in dealing with the English language, especially as he helped form it from the manifold influences in 14th century London.

This is THE Chaucer book, it has everything plus helpful comments and annotations. I wish I had the time to read it front to back, but for now I only had the time to read some of the Tales and the Romaunt of the Rose.

If you're looking for some Chaucer, this is the best, most comprehensive collection of his work. If you're not looking for some Chaucer, well, then this book would just be a silly choice.

How could I critique Chaucer?
Wading through the middle English is difficult but so worth it. This assumes, of course, that you have the time to do so. I was lucky enough to learn from a British professor who read this stuff out loud as it would have been pronounced in the 1300s. I have only appreciation and admiration for this author.

I've read nearly every edition of Chaucer I've come across. I have a Master's degree with a focus in Medieval lit and for my money, this is the finest edition. It's weighty, beautiful and well researched.

All right, all right - I did not, in fact, read the entire book, as it is a textbook (literally). However, I am working my way through bits and pieces with my class this semester and I am quite enjoying it. Four stars because it's heavy, and lugging it around is painful.

This is of course classwork but I had forgotten how much I loved the clever, dirty-minded old bastard when I last read him in my first undergraduate career in the 1970s. The footnotes and end notes are helpful but a glossary would be wonderful but then it would weigh even more.

A scholar's dream--the extra goodies in the back (explanatory notes, bibliographies, etc.) are wonderful. The text is very clear (though in Middle English, I should probably warn you of that; if that's not your forte, Penguin makes some great translations) and well printed. I would definitely recommend the hardback over the paperback, though; it's more expensive, but it's such a hefty volume that the paperback just doesn't cut it.

to be fair, I only read 'The Canterbury Tales' from this book--making use, too, of the "Introduction," "Explanatory Notes," and "Glossary." Enjoyed Chaucer's snark thoroughly, and am incredibly impressed with his accomplishments--in so far as I am still realizing them. The punning is hilarious.

Favorite Tales (in no particular order) on the first read through (though this is not to suggest the Tales were not read more than once, which they were):

"The Wife of Bath"
"The Clerk's Tale"
"The Miller's Tale"
"The Nun's Priest's Tale"