Geoffrey Chaucer

Father of English Literature · Poet · c.1343–1400

The medieval poet of 'The Canterbury Tales', who dared to make great literature in the English of the people and captured a whole society in the voices of his pilgrims.

Who was Chaucer?

Geoffrey Chaucer was a vintner's son who rose through royal service as page, soldier, diplomat and controller of customs on the wool trade. Steeped in French and Italian poetry — Dante, Boccaccio — he chose, boldly, to write great verse in ENGLISH, then thought too rough for high art. He wrote 'Troilus and Criseyde' and, unfinished at his death, 'The Canterbury Tales': a company of pilgrims riding to Thomas Becket's shrine, each telling a story, from the noble Knight to the bawdy Miller, the worldly Wife of Bath to the corrupt Pardoner — a whole society talking, satirised and celebrated. He served through the turbulent reigns of Edward III and Richard II, and is buried in Westminster Abbey, in what became Poets' Corner.

Major achievements

• Wrote 'The Canterbury Tales', a masterpiece of medieval literature
• Helped establish English as a language fit for great poetry
• Wrote 'Troilus and Criseyde', a major narrative poem
• Portrayed the full range of medieval society through his pilgrims
• Was honoured as the founder of English poetry, buried in Poets' Corner

Life in brief

• c.1343 — Born in London: A vintner's son.
• 1359 — Soldier in France: Captured and ransomed during the Hundred Years' War.
• 1372 — Italy: Diplomatic missions bring him Dante and Boccaccio.
• 1374 — Customs official: Controller of customs on wool in London.
• c.1387 — The Canterbury Tales: Begins his great, unfinished work.
• 1400 — Dies: Buried in Westminster Abbey's Poets' Corner.

Explore the life of Chaucer — five chapters

1. A Servant of Kings — From wine merchant's son to royal official
2. Discovering Italian Poetry — New models for English verse
3. The Canterbury Tales — A whole society on the road
4. Shaping the English Language — A tongue for great poetry
5. The Father of English Literature — A source that later ages returned to

Read the five-chapter life of Geoffrey Chaucer →

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