The Cook’s Tale

work by Chaucer

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Article History

The Cook’s Tale, an incomplete story in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, published in 1387–1400.

This 58-line fragment of a tale of “harlotrie,” as the poet described it, tells of a womanizing, gambling apprentice cook who is dismissed from his job. He moves in with a fellow reveler and his wife, a shopkeeper by day and prostitute by night. Scholars are uncertain how Chaucer intended the story to end, and some manuscript versions of The Canterbury Tales omit this fragment altogether.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.