Your conclusion is an opportunity to summarize everything you've discussed in your paper and leave the reader with "something to think about."

A great way to do this is by including an answer to one of the following prompts in your conclusion:

1. Why does this matter?

2. How does this connect to modern times?

3. What lesson can we learn from this?

4. How does this topic fit into the larger scope of things?

In a paper on the age of Chaucer, you could take it in several different directions. You could easily connect what you've discussed to modern life or modern writing/storytelling through comparison or contrast. You also could pose a question about what lasting impacts of Chaucer and his contemporaries had in English literature. If you prefer to keep "modern times" out of it, you could finish by reflecting on how Chaucer can be distinguished from his contemporaries and why he was the one whose works have lasted.

I certainly wouldn't include all of this, but you can choose what works for you!

The Norton Anthologies of literature always do a good job with summarizing the different periods on their website and in their textbooks. A link is included below. When writing a conclusion about the age of Chaucer, one could discuss any similarities and differences from then and today's world. For example, Chaucer's world revolved around the Catholic church, but not everyone was pious. Is that similar or different from today? Also, one could focus on the language and how it has evolved since his time and how it is used today. The Medieval world was dark and very primitive, remember. Technology was at its best with the candle and the wheel at that time; but even so, Chaucer was able to capture the human condition in a variety of ways and through a variety of characters. His storytelling abilities must have mirrored the best types of tales that were told in front of the fireside at night in the homes of peasants and nobles alike.