Dale Mendenhall, age 16, of Lowell, Mass., for his question:

WHO WROTE 'THE CANTERBURY TALES'?

"The Canterbury Tales" is a group of stories by the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. It is considered by scholars to be the outstanding work in Middle English, the form of English used from about 1,100 to about 1450.

Chaucer worked on "The Canterbury Tales" from about 1385 until his death in 1400. He did not complete the work, but his plan is suggested in the general prologue. He gathered 29 pilgrims at the Tabard Inn in south London for a pilgrimage to Canterbury. Each pilgrim agreed to tell two tales going and two tales returning.

Only 24 of the tales were written by Chaucer, and four of these are incomplete.

The pilgrims approach Canterbury on the fourth day. There is no return journey. Many scholars believe this one way pilgrimage actually represents Chaucer's intended plan: a pilgrimage of human life that suggests the journey from earth to heaven.

Chaucer introduces the pilgrims in the prologue. The knight, the parson and the plowman are idealized portraits representing the medieval three estates: the aristocracy, the clergy and the workers.

Other pilgrims are traditional characters of medieval society.