Who Was Chaucer?
Geoffrey Chaucer is the famed medieval author of The Canterbury Tales. Though much is known about this and other works, it is more difficult to trace his biography. He is the best English writer of his time period. Much of his work is directly copied and enhanced from French and Italian writers, but this follows the literary convention of the time, where invention of new works was considered not as respectable as recreating or translating existing works. Literary historians believe Chaucer was born in England in the 1340s CE. Chaucer became a page in 1357 to Prince Lionel, then served as a soldier for Edward III, and spent some time in France. He married Phillipa Roet, somewhere in this time period. His death is reported in the year 1400. His first work The Tale of the Duchess, written in 1369, is a lament for the death of John of Gaunt’s wife. While he continued writing, Chaucer also continued to work for the English court. He served as an emissary to Italy on several diplomatic missi
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, around 1345, into a well-connected family of wine-merchants. As a young teenager he was taken into an aristocratic household. Still in his teens, he fought in Edward III’s army in France. During a botched attack on Rheims, Chaucer was taken prisoner, but released after a ransom was paid, in part by the king himself. By 1367, he had entered royal service under the patronage of the king’s son, the powerful John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. When the duke’s wife died two years later, Chaucer composed the ‘Book of the Duchess’ in her memory, his first known poem. For the rest of his life, Chaucer’s fortunes were tied to the political intrigues of court life. While John of Gaunt’s influence was in the ascendant he did well, obtaining generous pensions and lucrative administrative appointments, such as Comptroller of the Custom and Subsidy of Wools, Hides and Woodfells. Diplomatic duties took him to France and Italy, where he became familiar with the works
Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London in the early 1340s. His father, John, was a wealthy wine-merchant who held a minor position at court. In 1385 Chaucer moved to Kent, which he represented as a Member of Parliament for three years. Although he fought as a soldier in France for Edward III and earned his living as a royal and civil servant, it is as a writer that Chaucer is known today. Indeed he is often referred to as “the father of English poetry”. This site is not about Chaucer’s life or qualities as a writer, but about the first printed editions of his most famous work. Geoffrey Chaucer is buried in “Poets’ Corner” in Westminster Abbey, London. What are the Canterbury Tales? Chaucer’s reputation today depends upon his longest work, which he began in around 1387. The Canterbury Tales is a series of stories, many of them bawdy, told by pilgrims on their journey to Canterbury in Kent. Chaucer had travelled in Spain and Italy, and was influenced by contemporary European literature as w
Geoffrey Chaucer is credited with having set the style for Middle English literature. He was born in London, around 1345, into a well-connected family of wine-merchants and earned his living as an administrative servant of the royal court. His first literary works were translations of French originals or much influenced by them. Later, Chaucer’s writing picks up an Italian flavour through his diplomatic visits there. Finally, French, Italian and classical influences are synthesised into a truly English style in Chaucer’s two mature works: ‘Troilus and Criseyed’ and the ‘Canterbury Tales’. The continuous publication of the ‘Canterbury Tales’ since the author’s death, and the inspiration the stories have provided for other writers and artists, are testimony to the enduring appeal of Chaucer’s writing.
