Theme : English ballads in the 14th and 15th century

Geoffrey Chaucer
(1340 - 1400)

Geoffrey Chaucer is listed by most scholars as one of the three greatest poets in English literature (along with William Shakespeare and John Milton). He was born in London. His father, John Chaucer, was a wine merchant. In 1357 Geoffrey was listed as a page in the household of the wife of Prince Lionel, a son of Edward III. His service in that household indicates that his family had sufficient social status for him to receive a courtly education. Throughout the rest of his lifetime, Chaucer was in some way connected with members of the royal family. In 1366 Chaucer married Philippa Roet, a lady-in-waiting to the Queen. Chaucer rose socially through his marriage. In 1368 he became one of the King’s esquires, which in those days meant that he worked in the
administrative department of the King’s government. One of his duties was to act as a government envoy on foreign Diplomatic missions. Chaucer’s diplomatic missions took him first to France and later to Italy.
Chaucer’s poetry is generally divided into three periods.