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Geoffrey Chaucer Biography

Geoffrey Chaucer(c.1340-c.1400) was the father of English literature. In the earliest ages of evolution of linguist history, Chaucer was the ensign of vernacular development in English. His immortal works, The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The book of the Duchess are said to be the framework-maker of medieval English Literature.

Time is the most unstoppable truth of human life. Trillions of names had vanished in the flow of time. Despite that, some names become immortal with their deeds.

The prudent who had reminded us that time and tide wait for no man are the ones we always discuss. One of them is none other than Geoffrey Chaucer commonly known as the father of English literature.

Geoffrey Chaucer works

Contents

Let us start with the works of Chaucer. We shall divide his large paraphernalia of work into two sub-sections for our convenience. One will be his administrative works and others will obviously be his literary works.

Administrative works

Illustration of Chaucer's work

Chaucer was always very close to imperial power. His administrative works are well documented because of his civil service. As per recorded articles in the year 1357, he was first appointed as a member of the household of Elizabeth, countess of Ulster.

In the year 1359, Chaucer traveled to France with the duke of Clarence as part of the English army. In the very next year, he was incarcerated during the siege of Rheims.

The next incident proves the veracity of his closeness to the system. He was released for a ransom of amount £16 which significantly was paid by Edward III. After this Chaucer started to roam over countries like Spain, France, and Flanders as an envoy.

After that, he just climbed the stairs one by one and get closer to power. After studying law in the Inner Temple, he got posted as an esquire and became a member of the prestigious royal court of Edward III.

Characteristics of Literary works of Chaucer

For bureaucratic works, Chaucer had to horse through various places in Europe. He journeyed largely for diplomatic missions as well. These visits significantly influenced his writings. Let us try to enumerate some shreds of evidence in favor of this statement.

It can be inferred from various documents that in the year 1368 Chaucer had departed for Milan to attend the wedding of the daughter of Galeazzo II Visconti, Violante Visconti to Lionel of Antwerp.

Two other celebrated knights of that time, Jean Froissart and Petrarch were also present in that ceremony. It is believed that Chaucer had written one of his famous books The Book of Duchess around that time.

In the year of 1373, Chaucer peregrinated to Florence and Geona. It is claimed that Chaucer had met with Boccaccio and Petrarch and became familiar with the medieval Italian poetry. Numerous scholars said that he was largely influenced by these. The influences are shown in his most acclaimed works like The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde.

Francesco Petrarch
Francesco Petrarch, Italian poet of medieval period,
Giovanni Boccaccio
Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian poet. Decameron is one of his famous works.
  •  In 1378 Chaucer was sent to Sir John Hawkwood as a messenger of Richard II. It is assumed that Chaucer had built the character Knight of the knight’s tale based on Sir John Hawkwood.

Basically we can conclude this section with the assumption that there was a great impact of his administrative life on literary life. These make us more curious to know more about his literary works.

Geoffrey Chaucer famous works

To know more about his literature we have to analyze his famous works.

  •     Canterbury Tales is the most celebrated works of Chaucer. Previously we have discussed the influence of medieval Italian literature for this writing. It is considered hypothetically that Canterbury Tales were inspired by Boccaccio’s work Decameron.

Manuscript of Chaucer's one of writings

In this poem, the poet has questioned the system with the help of satire. Basically the story is all about tales told by twenty-four pilgrims on the way to Canterbury. From the tales, we get to know about the system, hegemony of the society, and the psychology of people of that time.

  •      Troilus and Criseyde are considered as the finest complete work of Chaucer. Here the inspiration came from another Italian poet Petrarch’s Sonnet 88 from Canzoniere.

In this poem, the poet narrates a tragic love story. The background of the story was the war during the Siege of Troy. Although the characters are from ancient Greek Literature, the story was based on medieval origin. The significance of the poem lies in this fact that it has its foot plunged inside the predicts of time.

  •      The Book of the Duchess is also one of the notable works. It is also known as The Deth of Blaunche. It is one of the major works of Chaucer’s early age.

The poem was written to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster, wife of John of Gaunt. The poem was mounted with the story of the characters from ancient Greek mythology, Alcyone and Ceyx. This poem was highly appreciated by John of Gaunt himself and he rewarded Chaucer with a yearly ten pounds for his whole life.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s books

  1. The Canterbury Tales
  2. Troilus and Criseyde

    Cover of Troilus and Cressida
    Cover of Troilus and Cressida
  3. The Book of the Duchess
  4. General Prologue
  5. The Knight’s Tale
  6. The Wife of Bath’s Tale
  7. The Miller’s Tale
  8. The Pardoner’s Tale
  9. The Legend of Good Woman
  10. The House of Fame
  11. Parlement of Foules
  12. The Nun’s Priest’s Tale
  13. The Riverside Chaucercovers of The Riverside Chaucer
  14. The Prioress’s Tale
  15. The Merchant’s Tale
  16. The Clerk’s Tale
  17. A Treatise on The Astrolabe
  18. The Reeve’s Tale
  19. The Parson’s Tale
  20. The Franklin’s Tale
  21. The Friar’s Tale
  22. The Monk’s Tale
  23. Anelida and Arcite
  24. The Man of Law’s Tale
  25. Sir Thopas
  26. The Manciple’s Tale
  27. The Shipman’s Tale
  28. Love visions
  29. The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale
  30. The Tale of Melibee

Interesting facts about Geoffrey Chaucer

In 1966 Chaucer get married to Philippa (de) Roet who was a lady-in-waiting to Edward III’s queen. We get some interesting information about his in-laws. One of his sisters-in-law Katherine Swynford later became the third wife of John of Gaunt.

Wife of Chaucer
Philippa (de) Roet

One of Chaucer’s sons Thomas Chaucer was chief butler to four kings, later he became Speaker of The House of Commons. Thomas’s daughter Alice was married to the duke of Suffolk. Thomas’s great-grandson, Chaucer’s great-great-grandson was John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln who was one of the heirs of Richard III’s throne.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s death

The last life of Chaucer was not so pleasing. He was robbed in the year 1390 and maybe injured partially. Despite that, he continues his job in some sinecure posts. Later in the year 1394, he was rewarded with a pension yearly 20 pounds by Richard II.

The situation became more pathetic after Richard’s era. Although new Emperor renewed the grants we get to know from some pieces of evidence that Chaucer claimed that the money was not paid to him.

Chaucer died for some unknown reason on 25th October 1400. The date is known from the tomb on his grave which was erected after 100 years of his death. The place was later renamed as Poet’s Corner.

poet's corner
Poets’ Corner Westminster Abbey London England

Geoffrey Chaucer’s quotes

Quotes are such things which reflect the psychology and philosophy of the far-sighted man. Let us have a look at such quotes of Chaucer

“Time and tide wait for no man.”

“The guilty think all talk is of themselves.”

“The life so short, the crafts so long to learn.”

Some facts about Chaucer

Q. What did Geoffrey Chaucer do for a living?

Ans. Chaucer did various prestigious jobs for living. He was valet de chamber, yeoman as well as an esquire of the court of Edward III. Later he roamed various places of Europe as an envoy and he served several kings. Besides he was one of the greatest poets of all time. The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde are examples of his great works.

Q. What is Geoffrey Chaucer known for?

Ans. Chaucer is known for his great contribution to the English literature.

Q. What is Geoffrey Chaucer’s most famous work?

Ans. The Canterbury Tales is considered as his most famous work, though some scholars claim that Troilus and Criseyde is his finest complete work.

Q. What kind of writer was Geoffrey Chaucer?

Ans.  Geoffrey Chaucer is respectably termed as Bard of Early English Literature. In the dawn of linguistic evolution, Chaucer had framed many constructions of the language which were furthermore modernized by Shakespeare and Milton in the following ages.

He is called “the father of English literature” for his wonderful creations.

Q. Who is the father of Geoffrey Chaucer?

Ans.  His father was John Chaucer who was vintner as well as a merchant in Ipswich. The family name Chaucer generated from the French word chasseur which means shoe-maker.

Q. Why is Geoffrey Chaucer important?

Ans. Alighting on English rather than French, Geoffrey Chaucer had almost changed the course of linguist evolution. The Language, which was full of kerns and rustic sound graphs, was not only sobered by him but also the language was sophisticated. Chaucer implemented many modern tonalities and phonological uses which we continue to use to date.

Q. What language did Chaucer write in?

Ans. Chaucer chose English as the language to write instead of French. This decision was a leap for the evolution and metamorphosis of the English language. Chaucer conjured up a creative cognition in modernizing and sophisticating the otherwise rustic and fragile lingo.

Q. When and where was Geoffrey Chaucer born?

Ans. It is hard to tell about the actual birth date and birthplace where Geoffrey Chaucer was born. There is also a controversy regarding his birth year. Most of the scholars accept the year 1340 as the year of his birth.

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