Experience the works of the father of English poetry the way some of his earliest readers did via digital copies of his works held in our collections. Houghton has digitized two 16th century editions of Chaucer’s works. Richard Pynson published editions of The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, and The House of Fame together in 1526, marking the first collected edition of Chaucer’s works. Houghton’s copy of the 1598 edition of the works is enhanced by the handwritten annotations of 16th century scholar Francis Thynne.
If your interests run more to the scientific, Chaucer has you covered there as well. Our manuscript of his Treatise on the Astrolabe, written as an instruction manual on the use of the instrument for his son Lewis, dates nearly to Chaucer’s lifetime.
Houghton From Home is a series of posts highlighting our digitized collections. For more items from across the Harvard Library, visit Harvard Digital Collections.
Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (HEW 5.11.8), Houghton Library, Harvard University.