Chaucer was the first great poet writing in English, whose best-known work is 'The Canterbury Tales'.
Geoffrey Chaucer was born between 1340 and 1345, probably in London. His father was a prosperous wine merchant. We do not know any details of his early life and education.
In 1357, he was a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster, wife of Edward III's third son. Chaucer was captured by the French during the Brittany expedition of 1359, but was ransomed by the king. Edward III later sent him on diplomatic missions to France, Genoa and Florence. His travels exposed him to the work of authors such as Dante, Boccaccio and Froissart.
Around 1366, Chaucer married Philippa Roet, a lady-in-waiting in the queen's household. They are thought to have had three or four children. Philippa's sister, Katherine Swynford, later became the third wife of John of Gaunt, the king's fourth son and Chaucer's patron.
In 1374, Chaucer was appointed comptroller of the lucrative London customs. In 1386, he was elected member of parliament for Kent, and he also served as a justice of the peace. In 1389, he was made clerk of the king's works, overseeing royal building projects. He held a number of other royal posts, serving both Edward III and his successor Richard II.
Chaucer's first major work was 'The Book of the Duchess', an elegy for the first wife of his patron John of Gaunt. Other works include 'Parlement of Foules', 'The Legend of Good Women' and 'Troilus and Criseyde'. In 1387, he began his most famous work, 'The Canterbury Tales', in which a diverse group of people recount stories to pass the time on a pilgrimage to Canterbury.
Chaucer disappears from the historical record in 1400, and is thought to have died soon after. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Interesting Facts About His Life
- In 1357, Chaucer was sent by his family to live in the house of a countess. He stayed in and around the court until he died some thirty-three years later, between the ages of 55 and 60.
- Was Chaucer murdered? Terry Jones (medieval scholar and former Monty Python member) has recently suggested that he had been. It’s an interesting theory (and perhaps even a probable one), but at this point most scholars seem to consider it just a rumor.
- Think you’ve held a lot of jobs? Chaucer worked as a page, a soldier, an esquire, a diplomat, a customs controller, justice of the peace, member of Parliament, Clerk of the Works of Westminster, Commissioner of Walls and Ditches, and Deputy Forester of the Royal Forest.
- Besides The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer is also known for “The Book of the Duchess,” “Troilus and Criseyde,” “The Legend of Good Women,” and numerous other short and long poems.
- His death sparked a tradition: Chaucer was the first poet to be buried in Poet’s Corner, Westminster Abbey (not even Shakespeare could claim that—he has a monument there but was buried elsewhere).
Most Expensive Book
The news of an original copy of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales made it to the Guinness Book of World Records in 1998. The original copies of Canterbury Tales were printed in 1477 by William Caxton, the first printer to introduce the printing press in England. Only one of these first copies is still in private hands and was sold in an auction on July 8, 1998, for £4,621,500, making it the most expensive book ever sold.
Fat Monks and the Sin of Gluttony
Chaucer’s Monk in the Canterbury Tales was described in the Prologue as “a lord ful fat and in good point” (line 200). A new study finds that Chaucer’s description of the Monk as a person who loves to eat and is overweight is accurate. A 2004 study by archaeologists at University College London found that monks during medieval days were actually gluttons. Archaeologists studied one hundred monk skeletons at 3 abbeys dating from the medieval period. The bones were thick; joint problems from obesity were evident; and there were signs of arthritis—all of these proved that monks were actually overweight, as portrayed in paintings and literature of medieval times. Another study estimates that some monks consumed about 6,000 calories a day. Eating was a physical pleasure monks could enjoy!
The final Curious © phrase:
“Forbid us something, and that thing we desire”
(Geoffrey Chaucer)
