April brings its buds and showers, said Chaucer, “Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages.” Indeed they did. His pilgrims from Southwark to Becket’s shrine at Canterbury were a cross- section of the 14th-century middle class. As they went on their way, they opened windows on themselves, each telling his or her tale. They made little reference to the purpose of their trip, let alone to religion. Today they would be termed a tour group, people at leisure, freed from home and hearth, sharing a new experience with others.