Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) was a court poet for Edward III and Richard II. This meant that he was writing for the Aristocracy, an educated audience. Because of this, Chaucer's fables have references to educated sources.
'The Nun's Priest's Tale' (from 'The Canterbury Tales') starts off with some philosophy about free choice. Chaucer implies that is there such a thing as free will or has God got everything pre-ordained? This is even on the level of a cockerel eating worms with his seven hens.
The next example of Chaucer's education comes when, in 'The Nun's Priest's Tale', he produces a subtle attack on the reliability of women. He quotes a Norse proverb that roughly means "Women's advice is often flawed"; he also says that Eve got Adam kicked out of Eden because of her advice. This shows that Chaucer is an educated man, having made reference to philosophical text and the Bible. …
