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Geoffrey Chaucer Facts

Geoffrey Chaucer Facts
Geoffrey Chaucer was the greatest poet of the Middle Ages, and is regarded as the Father of English literature. He was born in London, England c. 1343 to John Chaucer and Agnes Copton, and affluent couple in the wine trade. Geoffrey attended St. Paul's Cathedral School where it is believed he discovered the writing of Ovid and Virgil, which would serve as influence for his own writing in later years. Geoffrey became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster in 1357, a position he held for the rest of his life. In 1359 Geoffrey fought in the Hundred Years' War in France, and was captured and held for ransom. King Edward III helped pay for his return and he joined the Royal Service.
Interesting Geoffrey Chaucer Facts:
Geoffrey Chaucer traveled through France with the Royal Service in the early to mid-1360s.
King Edward Gave Geoffrey a pension of 20 marks for his service with the Royal Service.
Geoffrey married Philippa Roet in 1366. She was the daughter of Sir Payne Roet. The marriage helped Geoffrey's career.
In 1368 Geoffrey Chaucer became one of King Edward III's esquires. His position sent him on diplomatic missions, also giving him time to familiarize himself with the work of poets such as Petrarch and Dante.
Geoffrey Chaucer's passion for poetry grew as his career advanced. In 1385 he asked for a temporary leave. He lived in Kent for four years but still found little time to write as a Parliament member.
In 1387 Philippa died, and Geoffrey's financial situation became dire. It was Philippa's royal annuities that kept them living so well, and those annuities disappeared when she died. This meant Geoffrey had to work and could not devote himself to writing.
It is believed that Geoffrey Chaucer's Parliament of Fouls was written in 1380. It was a poem about courtly love and its inauthentic quality.
It is believed that Geoffrey Chaucer wrote Troilus and Criseyde in the mid-1830s, a poem about his character's tragic love story. This poem is considered by many to be one of his greatest works.
It is not known when Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Legend of Good Women, a poem that was left unfinished.
Geoffrey Chaucer's work The Canterbury Tales was originally meant to be 120 stories long. It was only completed to 24 stories, and his characters did not make it to Canterbury at all. The work was never finished but is highly regarded in literature.
While working as Clerk of the Works Geoffrey was robbed twice, and he eventually gave up his position to work as the gardener in Somersetshire in the King's park.
Geoffrey Chaucer's major works include Roman de la Rose, The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, Anelida and Arcite, Parliament of Foules, Boece, Troilus and Criseyde, The Legend of Good Women, The Canterbury Tales, and A Treatise on the Astrolabe.
Geoffrey Chaucer died on October 25th, 1400 in London, at the age of 60. He was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Geoffrey Chaucer's gravestone became the first of what would be called Poet's Corner in the abbey.


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