Geoffrey Chaucer

.Birth 1342/43
.Death october 25 1400

.Notable works - The canterbury Tales, The House of Fame, Legend

of Good Women, The Book of the Duchess

.arguably – the greatest poet of the Middle English period, he was

also a public servant who worked as a soldier, diplomat, comptroller
of customs, justice of the peace, clerk of works and a forest official –
so his life is well represented in surviving documents.

.Chaucer was well connected at the royal court. He was married to

the sister of Katherine Swynford, who was the mistress and latterly
the wife of one of the most powerful nobles in the realm – John of
Gaunt, who was the uncle of the king, Richard II. It was probably
through these kinds of connections that Chaucer found some of his
patrons.

.Chaucer’s life as a public servant also gave him the opportunity to

travel. He made trips to France and Italy, and the influence of the
literary cultures of these two countries can be seen in his verse, an
example being The Legend of Good Women