Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London around 1343, the son of a wine merchant. As a youth he served in the household of the Countess of Ulster, and in 1359–1360 he fought in the Hundred Years' War in France, where he was captured and ransomed; the king contributed to the ransom. He spent his life in royal service as a courtier, diplomat and official, traveling to France and Italy, where he may have encountered the works of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. From 1374 he was controller of customs for the port of London, and he later served as a justice of the peace, a member of Parliament and clerk of the king's works. Alongside these duties he wrote poetry in English at a time when French and Latin were the languages of the court and learning. His works include The Book of the Duchess, The Parliament of Fowls, Troilus and Criseyde and The Canterbury Tales, stories told by pilgrims of many ranks on their way to Canterbury, left unfinished. He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Geoffrey Chaucer is also an author in the library: author page and works.

Faith: A Christian whose works engage heavily with Christian faith; later writers debated whether he was a proto-Protestant. Source: Wikipedia