Chaucer was a famous poet and author during the Middle Ages. He’s often called the Father of English Literature. His most well-known work is “The Canterbury Tales.” He lived through the reigns of three different rulers: Edward III, Richard II, and Henry IV. Chaucer’s writing introduced nearly 2,000 new English words. Chaucer was the first writer to be buried in a special place for poets, now known as Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey.
In addition to his writing, Chaucer was also known as a philosopher and astronomer. He wrote a scientific book called “A Treatise on the Astrolabe” for his son Lewis when he was just 10 years old. He also had a career in government, working as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.
Chaucer was born in London, probably in the early 1340s, but we don’t know the exact date or place. His family name is derived from the French chaucier, once thought to mean ‘shoemaker’, but now it means a maker of hose or leggings. John Chaucer, his father, married Agnes Copton. The Chaucer family is an exceptional example of moving up in social status.
In 1380, Chaucer described himself as “me Galfridum Chaucer, filium Johannis Chaucer, Vinetarii, Londonie,” which means “I, Geoffrey Chaucer, son of the wine merchant John Chaucer, in London.”
Chaucer’s contemporaries like William Langland and the Gawain Poet, don’t have much information. But we have a wealth of information about Chaucer’s life, because Chaucer served as a public servant, and his official activities are well-documented. The first record about Chaucer’s life dates back to 1357 when he became a page in the household of Elizabeth de Burgh, the Countess of Ulster. This happened through the connections of his father. The countess was married to Lionel of Antwerp, second son of King Edward III. This position brought young Chaucer into the inner circle of the royal court. He worked for the king himself from 1389 to 1391 as the Clerk of the King’s Works.
In 1359, during the Hundred Years’ War, King Edward III of England invaded France. In this campaign, Geoffrey Chaucer travelled along with Lionel of Antwerp as a part of the English army. In 1360, Chaucer was captured as a prisoner. To secure his release, King Edward paid £16 to set Chaucer free. Chaucer traveled to various places, including France, Spain, and Flanders. Around 1366, Chaucer got married to Philippa Roet. It is uncertain how many children Chaucer and Philippa had, but three or four are most commonly cited.
In June 1367 he became a member of the royal court of Edward III, a position which could entail a wide variety of tasks. His wife was also an employee of the royal court. He traveled abroad many times for his work in the royal court. In 1368, the wedding of Lionel of Antwerp to Violante Visconti, daughter of Galeazzo II Visconti, in Milan. Two other literary stars of the era were in attendance: Jean Froissart and Petrarch including Chaucer in the wedding.
During his travels to Italy, Geoffrey Chaucer had the opportunity to connect with influential Italian poets and scholars of his time, including figures like Petrarch and Boccaccio. These encounters exposed him to the world of medieval Italian poetry, its various forms, and the captivating stories it contained. Chaucer’s exposure to Italian literature and its poetic traditions greatly influenced his own work, and he drew inspiration from these experiences, incorporating Italian forms and storytelling techniques into his own writing in the future.
In 1378, Richard II sent Chaucer as an envoy to Milan and he met Sir John Hawkwood, an English mercenary leader. It has been speculated that it was Hawkwood on whom Chaucer based his character the Knight in the Canterbury Tales.
There is a gap in the historical record for a few years of Chaucer’s life, during which he may have taken a break from his poetry career. He later went on a journey to Kent and took on the role of a commissioner. During the early 1380s, his interest in poetry began to flourish, and he embarked on the ambitious project of writing “The Canterbury Tales.” He also assumed the position of Deputy Forester. Unfortunately, in 1400, Chaucer passed away under unknown circumstances.
Some people have wondered if Chaucer might have been killed by enemies of Richard II or even on the orders of the next king, Henry IV. However, there’s no concrete evidence for this. Chaucer was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey in London. In 1556, they moved his remains to a fancier tomb, and this made him the first writer to be buried in the famous place called Poets’ Corner. but the tradition of being buried in Poets’ Corner at Westminster Abbey began with the interment of the poet Edmund Spenser in 1599.
Chaucer’s close friend, John of Gaunt, who was also the Duke of Lancaster, became Chaucer’s brother-in-law when John married Philippa’s sister. In 1369, John’s first wife passed away due to the plague. In remembrance of John of Gaunt’s late wife, Chaucer wrote a poem called “The Book of the Duchess.” A short poem Fortune dedicated to John of Gaunt from Chaucer.
Chaucer’s first major work was The Book of the Duchess, an elegy for Blanche of Lancaster who died in 1368. Two other early works were Anelida and Arcite and The House of Fame. Between 1374 to 1386 Chaucer wrote His Parlement of Foules, The Legend of Good Women, and Troilus and Criseyde. It is believed that he started The Canterbury Tales in the 1380s.
Chaucer is known for metrical innovation, inventing the rhyme royal, and he was one of the first English poets to use the five-stress line (iambic pentameter) in his work. The arrangement of these five-stress lines into rhyming couplets is first seen in his The Legend of Good Women.
After Chaucer’s death, many poets wanted to continue his Tales, like firstly John Lydgate tried to copy his works and continue his works. Then Writers of the 17th and 18th centuries, such as John Dryden, admired Chaucer for his stories. Often Chaucer was presented as the inventor of the English language. John Dryden praised him as The Father of English Poetry. One of his contemporaries, Thomas Hoccleve, admired Chaucer for being the first person to create poetry in English. Sir Philip Sidney greatly praised Troilus and Criseyde in his own Defence of Poesie.
Chaucer’s original audience was a courtly one, the upper social classes. In 1400, Chaucer’s audience had begun to include members of the rising literate, middle, and merchant classes.
Sir William Caxton played a crucial role in the printing of Chaucer’s works. He was the first printer to introduce the art of printing in England. Caxton’s printing press produced the first two editions of “The Canterbury Tales” in 1478 and 1483, presenting Chaucer’s work to a wider audience and contributing to the preservation and dissemination of his literary legacy.