Quite simply amazing. A source of language second only to Shakespeare, a torrent of humanity and inventiveness, wrapped in stylish meter and (for us) historical fascination. Enriching. And that's just the Canterbury Tales - with gems such as the introduction to The Legend of Good Women, The House of Fame and Troilus and Cressida thrown in, this is an epic compendium of early English; hard work in places (particularly with the frankly cruddy annotation style of the Gutenberg e-Text), but worth pursuing. Reading this leaves one feeling as though a missing piece of the language has slotted neatly into place. ( )