The biography of Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the great figures of English literature and is held up as the father of modern English. He is best known as the author of The Canterbury Tales, but was a polymath distinguished in philosophy, astronomy and politics.

While good records exist for time as a public servant, we have only estimates for the year of his birth in 1343, death in 1400 after which he disappeared from the public records. He married around 1366 to Philippa Roet and they are believed to have had four children.

He was buried in Westminster Abbey and his remains were later moved in 1556 to the area that became the famous Poet's Corner.

He came from a wealthy family of wine merchants and moved in Royal circles even from a young age, as a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster. This was to prove very useful to Chaucer when he was taken prisoner in France in 1359 and King Edward III, paid his ransom and later sent him to Europe as a diplomat.

His public service continued and included prestigious roles as the Controller of Customs in 1374 and as a Member of Parliament and Justice of the Peace in 1386. He was later the Clear of the King's Works in charge of the King's building projects. This role ended after Chaucer was robbed and most likely injured in 1391. He was granted a pension of £20 a year in 1394 by Richard II.