Canterbury Tales uses abstruse vocabulary, which is difficult to understand, but in fact it is not Old English. According to the strict definition of historical linguistics, the language of this book belongs to Middle English or Middle English. This is a combination of old English and old French. Its grammar and spelling are very similar to modern English today, but some pronunciations are different. At that time, French was the most important writing style in mainstream English literature, but Chaucer insisted on writing a book in the London dialect at that time.
About the author:
The Canterbury Tales requires pilgrims from all walks of life and different occupations to tell two stories to show the whole society at that time. Chaucer didn't create this writing technique, but it was developed here. During the Renaissance, Italian humanist writer Giovanni Boccaccio adopted this writing technique for the first time in his masterpiece decameron.
Chaucer once visited Italy as an assistant to the king in 1367, where he met Boccaccio and they talked about literature, so Chaucer's Canterbury Tales was deeply influenced by decameron. The difference is that the story in The Canterbury Tales is more absurd and humorous, while the story in decameron is more realistic.