Classic Literature Writer

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London between 1340 and 1344 — son of a wealthy wine merchant with powerful connections. Very little is known about the first stage of his life; what information is available is inconclusive and cannot be confirmed. As a boy, he was a page to the Countess of Ulster, and was later employed as a valet in the royal houshold. Later, while serving in the army of Edward III in 1359, he was taken prisoner in France and ransomed. Thereafter, he spent his years in service to the king. We know that Chaucer was awarded a royal pension for life, which indicates that he was valuable to his liege.

In 1366, he married Philippa Roet. In 1372-73, he was sent to Genoa on a comercial mission; in 1376, he was appointed comptroller of the customs for the Port of London; in 1385, he was appointed justice of the peace for Kent; in 1386, he was elected to Parliament. He spent his last years in Greenwich, where he died on October 25, 1400.