Post on 31-Dec-2015
Geoffrey Chaucer
• HUGE influence on language and literature of England.
• French was widely spoken amongst the educated people
• His work is considered a cornerstone of English literature.
Early Life
• Born sometime between 1340-1343, most likely in London.
• Middle Ages were coming to a close• Family was not noble, but well off. They made $
in the wine and leather trades.• Chaucer = French for shoemaker• Parents sent him to Edward III’s son house, able
to learn upper-class life & meet important people
Teenage Chaucer
• At age 14, he joined the king’s army to fight the French in 100 Years War
• Captured by the French• Later he served as a royal messenger• Given more important diplomatic missions.• Met his wife Philippa, married in 1374
Early Inspirations
• He traveled to France and Italy so he was exposed to the latest in literature
• His first work with literature was his translation of a part of The Romance of a Rose, a Medieval poem.
• Shortly after he wrote his first original work, The Book of the Duchess was a long poem.
• Then wrote The House of Fame
Turbulent Times
• He was in to writing, but primary career was diplomatic affairs.
• Earned royal favor• Richard II was king (a boy when he became
king)• Chaucer writes The Parliament of Fowls in 1382• 1386- appointed to a knight, became a member
of Parliament
Continued…
• 1390s- enjoyed royal appointments• Richard II reign was marked by conflict. He
had to go off and tend to the peasants’ revolt• Richard’s cousin becomes King Henry IV
Fruitful Years
• The Canterbury Tales- a collection of verse & prose tales of many kinds.
• Chaucer decided to pretend that the tales are told by members of a group of travelers journeying to London to Canterbury.
• Began working on these in 1387
Death of Chaucer
• When Chaucer died in 1400 he had written nearly 20,000 lines
• Many more were
planned
Uncommon Honor
Rare honor for a common man to be buried in Westminster Abbey
• 1566- admirer builds a marble tomb for his remains. This is the beginning of the famous “Poet’s Corner” at Westminster Abbey
St. Thomas à Becket
• Characters in The Canterbury Tales gather to go to Canterbury to see the shrine of St. Thomas à Becket.
• Homework: Find out who St. Thomas à Becket is!