Chaucer biography timeline activities

Chaucer disappears from the historical record inand is thought to have died soon after. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience.

In there is a record of a Philippa Chaucer, a lady-in-waiting in the royal household. Nothing definite is known of Philippa's origins, but one theory says she was the sister of Katherine Swynford, the mistress and later third wife of John of Gaunt, uncle of Richard II and father of Henry IV, and one of Chaucer's patrons see below. Chaucer and Philippa probably had four children: Thomas a knightElizabeth a nunAgnes and Lewis to whom Chaucer dedicated his Treatise on the Astrolabe.

An esquire was a knight's attendant and shield-bearer. An annuity was a fixed sum of money paid annually; see also Le Roman de la Rosecomposed in two stages in the thirteenth century by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun, is an allegorical dream vision which instructs its readers on the Art of Love. Chaucer is believed to have produced the first part of the Middle English translation.

The poem is a verse elegy for Blanche of Lancaster, first wife of John of Gaunt. Chaucer became acquainted with the poetry of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, which will influence his own writing. Both the post and the accommodation would have allowed Chaucer to enjoy a comfortable life-style with sufficient time for writing.

Chaucer biography timeline activities: Born into a middle-class London family

A dream vision in which the poet finds himself in a glass temple decorated with images of famous people and their deeds. Guided by an eagle, he contemplates the nature of fame and the reliability of written accounts. The poem is influenced by Italian literature, namely Dante's Divine Comedy. A dream vision, set on Valentine's Day, in which the narrator is taken by a guide to Venus's temple, where he witnesses the parliament at which the birds choose their mates.

During this time he was appointed as a Justice of Peace — and a Member of Parliament The move to Kent may have motivated the composition of The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer's poetic retelling of the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against the backdrop of the Trojan War. Another dream vision: in the prologue Chaucer is reprimanded by the god of love and his queen for depicting women in a negative light in his poetry.

Chaucer biography timeline activities: Geoffrey Chaucer () was born in

To atone, he writes ten stories of virtuous women, including Cleopatra and Dido. This poem is the first significant literary work in English to use the iambic pentameter. The literary work for which Chaucer is probably best known. In October peace negotiations were arranged at Calais. Prince Lionel paid Chaucer for carrying letters from Calais to England.

These diplomatic errands and messenger services were the first of many journeys. Accession of Charles V. His mother remarries shortly. Chaucer is first recorded as a member of the royal household on 20 June when he was granted a royal annuity for life of 20 pounds. Birth of Chaucer's son, Thomas. The King addresses Parliament for the the first time in English.

He also writes poetry in French. Renewal of the war with France. Queen Philippa dies in August Birth of John Lydgate, admirer and imitator of Geoffrey Chaucer. He goes to Genoa to establish an English port for Genoese trade and to Florence to negotiate a loan for the King. Also, Chaucer is granted a pitcher of wine daily by the King. John of Gaunt grants Chaucer an annuity of 10 pounds.

However, the lollard movement grows. John Gower and Richard Forester have Chaucer's power of attorney while he travels abroad. They have three or four children, the first of whom - a son named Thomas - is born about a year later. Chaucer begins work on the Book of the Duchessan elegy for noblewoman Blanche of Lancaster that is commissioned by her husband.

It is completed bywhen her widower John of Gaunt pays Chaucer for the book. Chaucer completes his second tour in the English Army, after spending one year fighting in France under John of Gaunt.

Chaucer biography timeline activities: Geoffrey Chaucer (born c.

Chaucer visits Genoa and Florence. He reads Italian medieval poetry, an influence on his own creative work. Chaucer is appointed to the lucrative job of Comptroller of Customs for the Port of London. In the twelve years during which he holds this position, he writes most of his poetic works. Around this time, Chaucer begins work on the poem Anelida and Arcite.

Like most of Chaucer's works, it's impossible to know the exact date at which the poem was written. Scholars believe the poem was composed in the late s. King Edward III dies.