The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories written between 1387 and 1400 by Geoffrey Chaucer. In the frame story, which surrounds the narrative, approximately 30 pilgrims are traveling from London to Canterbury to see the shrine of St. Thomas Becket. They propose a contest wherein each pilgrim would tell two stories on the way there and two on the way back, with the winner, the person with the best tales, receiving a free meal on their return.

The collection of tales is not complete; however, the work is considered one of the most significant in English literature and is regarded as one of the main works to popularize the use of Middle English in literature, as opposed to the Latin or French that was more popular in the day.

Though the titles of Chaucer’s pilgrims and the content of their tales do not align with those in Hyperion, the concept of pilgrims sharing stories while in a liminal space (a place between other spaces, both geographically and metaphorically) is shared. Both groups are between their embarkation point and destination, and both have yet to receive what they are seeking at the endpoint.