Every serious work of the time, including Geoffrey Chaucer's legendary "Canterbury Tales, " employed this script.

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They inspired Geoffrey Chaucer, whose "Canterbury Tales" contain five fabliaux, and Giovanni Boccaccio's "Decameron" draws on them as well, says Yale University French professor R.

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The English of Geoffrey Chaucer (born in the 14th century), for example, is incomprehensible to modern laymen, whereas that of William Shakespeare (born in the 16th) is not only comprehensible but held by some to be a model.

ECONOMIST: Linguistic evolution: Received pronunciation | The