ABSTRACT
The anonymous author of The Tale of Beryn calls himself “a son of Thomas’s church” (Canterbury Cathedral). His is the first known work after Chaucer’s death to attempt a continuation of The Canterbury Tales, for which Chaucer had intended to provide further tales told by the pilgrims on the road back from Canterbury. As a resident familiar with Canterbury, he realistically and wittily describes in his prologue (ll. 1–732) the activities of the simpler pilgrims within the town; and then he provides a second tale (ll. 733–4024) for Chaucer’s Merchant.
