The task of the historian of language is to recreate texts as they were at a given stage of their linguistic life. The texts which follow have been selected and edited in the hope of providing means for understanding the English language of the age of Chaucer. The selection in this volume have been chosen to illustrate the history of the English language in the XIVth. Century. This anthology was conceived, at least in part, because I agree with the idea that it is in literature and in the works written by the most outstanding writers that a language displays its full power. Each selection is supplied with a brief introduction, which gives information as to the source and background necessary for understanding the text, and brief bibliography on MSS, modern editions, and language and literature criticism.