Chaucer (1340 -1400)I. England’s first great writer

A. Demonstrated English could be respectable literary language.B. Cornerstone of English literature.

II. Befriended by RoyalsA. Family was well-off financially

1. Served as an attendant in a royal household2. Came in contact w/ John of Gaunt & other influential people

B. Royal contacts aided his future1. Joined army against French in the 100 Years War2. Given diplomatic missions, including as a royal messenger3. Married Philippa, a lady in waiting to the queen.4. Appointed a knight and became a member of Parliament

III. Early inspirationsA. Read Dante, Petrarch, and BocaccioB. Began writing by translating other author’s works from Latin to English

IV. Fruitful yearsA. Wrote best during the last 20 years of his lifeB. The Canterbury Tales

1. Stories told by group traveling on a religious pilgrimage from London to Canterbury (4 stories/pilgrim – 2 each way)

2. Unfinished at time of his death

Chaucer (1340 -1400)

V. Uncommon honorA. Buried at Westmister AbbeyB. Began Poet’s Corner, where other great English writers are buried.

VI. The Canterbury TalesA. Characters brought together for first time all of Medieval society.

1. Feudal= land related2. Ecclesiastical= church related3. Urban= city traders

B. Written in heroic couplets (a pair of rhyming lines written in iambic pentameters)

Chaucer (1340 -1400)

Beheaded

Burned at Stake

Life in Chaucer’s Time

Hanging

Life in Chaucer’s Time

The Rack

Life in Chaucer’s Time