Geoffrey Chaucer

Lore & Background

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, most likely in the early 1340s (by some accounts, including his monument, he was born in 1343), though the precise date and location remain unknown. His great-grandfather Andrew de Chaucer was a tavern keeper, his grandfather Robert Malyn le Chaucer worked as a purveyor of wines, and his father, John Chaucer, rose to become an important wine merchant with a royal appointment. Several previous generations of Geoffrey Chaucer's family had been vintners and merchants in Ipswich. His surname is derived from the French chaucier, which could refer in Middle English to a maker of shoes, boots, or chausses (leggings). In 1324 his future father, John Chaucer, was kidnapped by an aunt in the hope of marrying the twelve-year-old to her daughter in an attempt to keep the Ipswich property in the family. The aunt was imprisoned and fined £250, now equivalent to about £200,000, suggesting the family was financially secure. John Chaucer married Agnes Copton, who inherited properties in 1349, including 24 shops in London, from her uncle Hamo de Copton, who is described in a will dated 3 April 1354 and listed in the City Hustings Roll as 'moneyer', apparently employed at the Tower of London. In the City Hustings Roll 110, 5, Ric II, dated June 1380, Chaucer refers to himself as me Galfridum Chaucer, filium Johannis Chaucer, Vinetarii, Londonie, Latin for: 'I, Geoffrey Chaucer, son of the vintner John Chaucer, London'. The first of the 'Chaucer Life Records' appears in 1357 in the household accounts of Elizabeth de Burgh, the Countess of Ulster, when he became the noblewoman's page through his father's connections. De Burgh was married to Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, the second surviving son of Edward III. In 1359, in the early stages of the Hundred Years' War, Edward invaded France. Chaucer travelled with Lionel of Antwerp as part of the English army. In 1360 he was captured during the siege of Reims. The king paid £16 for his ransom, equivalent to £14,262 in 2025, and Chaucer was released. Around 1366 Chaucer married Philippa (de) Roet. She was a lady-in-waiting to Edward III's queen, Philippa of Hainault, and a sister of Katherine Swynford, who later (c. 1396) became the third wife of John of Gaunt. It is uncertain how many children Chaucer and Philippa had, but three or four are most commonly cited. His son, Thomas Chaucer,

Reader's Guide

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, writer, and civil servant. He is best known for The Canterbury Tales and is often called the 'father of English literature' or 'father of English poetry'. He was the first writer buried in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey. He also wrote A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his son Lewis and served as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and Member of Parliament for Kent. His other major works include The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, Troilus and Criseyde, and Parlement of Foules. He helped legitimize Middle English as a literary language.

Did You Know?

• Chaucer's great-grandfather Andrew de Chaucer was a tavern keeper.
• In 1360, Chaucer was captured during the siege of Reims, and King Edward III paid £16 for his ransom.
• Around 1366, Chaucer married Philippa (de) Roet, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Philippa of Hainault.
• Chaucer became a member of the royal court as a valet de chambre on 20 June 1367.
• Edward III granted Chaucer a gallon of wine daily for life on Saint George's Day, 1374, likely for an early poetic work.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Ful craftier to pley she was Than Athalus, that made the game First of the ches: so was his name." — Geoffrey Chaucer "Soun is noght but air y-broken, And every speche that is spoken, Loud or privee, foul or fair, In his substaunce is but air; For as flaumbe is but lighted smoke, Right so soun is air y-broke." — Geoffrey Chaucer "Now purs, that be to me my lyves light, And saveour, as doun in this worlde here, Out of this toune help me through your might." — Geoffrey Chaucer "For I am shave as nye as any frere.

But yit I pray un-to youre curtesye: Beth hevy ageyn, or elles mot I die." — Geoffrey Chaucer