We feel Chaucer 's childhood relates a lot towards the development of The Canterbury tales. For example, it has been suggested that Chaucer as a child had an stringed instrument called a Psaltery, this is a the equivalent to a modern day guitar, which he played and sang to, this too, was the case with the student Nicholas in The Millers Tale, "an al above ther lay a gay sautrie on we he mad a nightes melodie"

Furthermore Nicholas in The Millers Tale, is the use of "augrym stones", the English name for this was augrim or now the line abacus.

Nicholas posses these stones along with the books, psaltery and astrolabe. The stones were counters which should be place on a cloth or board. Each counter signified units, tens or hundredths. This method was established in England and was used to calculate the Kings revenues.

As Nicholas...