Publisher description: With over 2,000 entries from an international team of scholars, this new Oxford Companion provides a wealth of clear, up-to-date assessments on all aspects of Chaucer. Entries, both short and long, from "Aaron" to "Zodiac," provide information on Chaucer's life and times, his works and the characteristics in them, his language and meter, his reading and the creative uses he made of it, and on his major moral and literary themes. Extensive reference is also made to the development of critical opinion about his works over the centuries. Complete with a chronology, a note to readers, illustrations, and extensive cross-referencing, this is a fascinating, practical guide to readers of Chaucer at every level.