Chapter 26 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
2. Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer. 3. The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons. 4.
Chapter 26 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems is here in full — 238 sentences across 48 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/47 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
possessive form of “bernard” — French physiologist noted for research on secretions of the alimentary canal and the glycogenic function of the liver (1813-1878)
English poet remembered as author of the Canterbury Tales (1340-1400)
From this reading “Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.”
plural of “la” — a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading “Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.”
plural of “lea” — a unit of length of thread or yarn
From this reading “Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.”
restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
From this reading “Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.”
the event of being born
From this reading “The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.”
something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares
From this reading “Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.”
plural of “theme” — the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading “The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 3.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
a statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
possessive form of “bernard” — French physiologist noted for research on secretions of the alimentary canal and the glycogenic function of the liver (1813-1878)
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
English poet remembered as author of the Canterbury Tales (1340-1400)
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
having or given a form or shape
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
plural of “la” — a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
plural of “lea” — a unit of length of thread or yarn
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
the mother of Jesus; Christians refer to her as the Virgin Mary; she is especially honored by Roman Catholics
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
used to form the superlative
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
the event of being born
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
more often or more frequently
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
Identical; not different.
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
plural of “sermon” — an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service)
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
plural of “theme” — the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading Leas: leash, snare; the same as “las,” oftener used by Chaucer.
a person who has never had sex
From this reading The nativity and assumption of the Virgin Mary formed the themes of some of St Bernard’s most eloquent sermons.
Chapter 26 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer holds 238 sentences, grouped into 48 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 26 holds 238 sentences of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems, unabridged, divided into 48 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 238 sentences, grouped into 48 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 48 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 48 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 26 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9557 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2383 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2383, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1912 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
