Chaucer biography timeline with paragraphs
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1337-1404) serves in the household of Queen Philippa.
1366 Chaucer marries Philippa Roet, a lady-in-waiting in the Queen's household.
1366 Chaucer travels to Spain.
1366 Death of John Chaucer, Chaucer's father.
1367 Birth of Chaucer's son, Thomas.
1367 Chaucer serves as a valettus and later as a squire in the court of Edward III; granted a payment of 20 marks per annum for life.
1368 Chaucer travels to the continent (France probably) on "the King's service."
1368 Birth of Thomas Hoccleve (died 1450), who wrote poems as a "disciple" of Chaucer.
1368-72 Chaucer writes "Fragment A" of the Romaunt of the Rose, The Book of the Duchess, probably a good many lyrics in French and English, now lost, and such lyrics as The Complaint unto Pity and The Complaint to His Lady.
1369 Chaucer serves with John of Gaunt's army in France.
1370 Birth of John Lydgate, admirer and imitator of Chaucer (died 1450).
1370 Chaucer again serves with the army in France.
1372 Chaucer's wife Philippa in the household of John of Gaunt's wife.
1372 Chaucer travels to Italy (Genoa and Florence) on a diplomatic mission.
1374 Death of Petrarch.
1374 Chaucer is granted a gallon pitcher of wine daily for life.
1374 Chaucer is appointed controller of the customs; granted a lease on a dwelling over Aldgate.
1375 Death of Boccaccio.
1375 Chaucer and Otho de Graunson (French knight and poet on whose poems Chaucer drew for his "Complaint of Venus") both receive grants from John of Gaunt.
1376-77 Several trips to France, negotiating for peace and the marriage of Richard.
1377 Edward III died; Richard II becomes king.
1377 Pope Gregory XI condemns doctrines of John Wycliffe (1335/38-1384); Lollard movement grows.
1378 The "Great Schism" -- rival Popes in Rome (Urban) and Avignon (Clement); see Deliberations of the University of Paris.
The legal matter is evidently resolved fairly quickly, since there is no other mention of it in Chaucer's records.
1382
Troilus and Criseyde and Parlement of Foules
Chaucer composes the 700-line poem Parlement of Foules (also spelled Fowles). Robbers take away 10 pounds at Westminster and 9 pounds, 43 pence at Hatcham.
The robbers were caught, tried and convicted.
1391
Chaucer is robbed twice. The schism ends 1409.
1378 Chaucer travels to Italy (Milan) on diplomatic mission.
1378 John Gower and Richard Forester have Chaucer's power of attorney while he travels abroad.
late 1370s Chaucer writes Saint Cecelia (possibly later); The House of Fame, Anelida and Arcite.
1380 Cecily Chaumpaigne signs a document, releasing Chaucer from all actions "in the case of my rape" (de raptu meo).
1380 Birth of Chaucer's second son, Lewis.
1380 Chaucer writes The Parliament of Fowls.
1381 The Peasants' Revolt; see the accounts in Gray's Scalacronica and the Anonimalle Chronicle.
1381 Death of Chaucer's mother, Agnes Chaucer.
1382-86 Chaucer writes Boece and Troilus and Criseyede.
1382 Chaucer's controllorship of the customs is renewed, with permission to have a deputy.
1382 The Bible is translated into English (The "Wyclifite Bible"; a later versions is made in 1388).
1385 Chaucer is granted a permanent deputy in the customs.
1385 Eustache Deschamps sends Chaucer a poem of praise, hailing him as "great translator, noble Geoffrey Chaucer." See Chaucer's Reputation.
1385-87 Chaucer writes "Palamoun and Arcite" (later used as The Knight's Tale); The Legend of Good Women (though some parts are probably earlier and the prologue was later revised).
1385-89 Chaucer serves as justice of peace for Kent.
1386 Chaucer gives up the house in Aldgate; resigns from customs.
1386 Chaucer serves as member of Parliament for Kent (where he now probably lives).
1386/87 (Perhaps earlier) Chaucer is praised as a poet of Love and Philosophy by Thomas Usk, a younger contemporary (1350-88), author of The Testament of Love.
1387-90 John Gower's Confessio amantis (first "published" 1390; later revised).
1387-92 Chaucer begins The Canterbury Tales.
1388 Some of King Richard II's closest supporters removed by the Lords Appellant; some (including Thomas Usk, an admirer and imitator of Chaucer) are executed.
1389 Chaucer is appointed clerk of the works at Westminster, Tower of London, and other royal estates.
1390 As clerk of the works, Chaucer has scaffolds built for jousts in Smithfield.
1390 Chaucer is robbed of horse, goods, 20 pounds, 6 shillings, 8 pence at Hacham, Surrey (perhaps robbed again a bit later).
1391-92 Chaucer writes Treatise of the Astrolabe (with additions 1393 and later).
1392-95 Chaucer writes most of The Canterbury Tales, including probably "The Marriage Group."
1394 King Richard II grants Chaucer an annuity of 20 pounds a year.
c.
In this capacity, he oversees jobs at the Tower of London, Westminster Palace, Windsor Castle, and St. George's Chapel.
Sep 1390
Robbed
Chaucer is robbed while at work. Records show that he may have been injured during the robbery.
Jun 1391
Changes Jobs
Chaucer leaves the King's Works job and begins working as a Deputy Forester in the royal forest of North Petherton.
1398
Completes Canterbury Tales
As the end of the 1390s approaches, Chaucer ceases work on The Canterbury Tales.
Oct 25, 1400
Chaucer Dies
Geoffrey Chaucer dies of unknown causes.
1556
Tomb Moved
Chaucer's remains are moved to a more elaborate tomb in a different part of Westminster Abbey.
The forestership was a responsible position which demanded skill in handling money and men.
1391-1392
Chaucer writes The Treatise of the Astrolabe (with additions in 1393 and later) for his son Lewis.
1392-1395
Most of The Canterbury Tales, including probably "The Marriage Group."
1393
Chaucer is awarded 10 pounds by the King for services rendered.
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He also begins work on The Legend of Good Women, a poem completed between 1386 and 1388.1387
Wife Dies
Philippa Chaucer dies.
1406).
1346 English victory at Crecy; see Jean Froissart on the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).
1348-50 The Black Death; see the chilling description of the Plague in Boccaccio'sDecameron, the introduction to the First Day.
1349-51 Boccaccio'sDecameronwritten.
1356 English victory at Poitiers; see Jean Froissart, on the Hundred Years War (1337-1453).
1357 Chaucer is a page in the household of the Countess of Ulster.
1359-60 Chaucer serves in the war in France.
1360 Chaucer, captured by the French, is ransomed (for 16 pounds).
1360 Peace with France, Treaty of Bretigny (lull in Hundred Years War; resumes in 1369).
1361-62 Severe recurrence of the Plague.
1360s Langland's Piers Plowman (The "A text").
1361-67 Jean Froissart, French poet and chronicler (c.
Around this time, Chaucer also begins work on the epic poem Troilus and Criseyde. They have three or four children, the first of whom - a son named Thomas - is born about a year later.
Jun 20, 1367
Becomes a Member of Court
Chaucer becomes a member of the royal court as a valet to King Edward III.
1369
Begins Book of the Duchess
Chaucer begins work on the Book of the Duchess, an elegy for noblewoman Blanche of Lancaster that is commissioned by her husband.
Geoffrey Chaucer Timeline
How It All Went Down
1343
Chaucer Born
Geoffrey Chaucer is born to upper-middle class parents, John and Agnes Copton Chaucer. He is the nephew of Chaucer's political patron, John of Gaunt, which is good news for Chaucer's career.
1379
The House of Fame
Chaucer begins The House of Fame, a poem with 2,000-plus lines.
However, the legal records differ widely and it is impossible to determine whether there were three robberies or only one.
1391
Chaucer retired from Clerkship of the King's works. In the twelve years during which he holds this position, he writes most of his poetic works.
1375
Anelida and Arcite
Around this time, Chaucer begins work on the poem Anelida and Arcite.
It describes a vision he received in a dream, and is completed the following year.
May 4, 1380
Accused of Crime
Chaucer appears in a legal document in connection with the raptus - either rape or kidnapping - of Cecilia Chaumpaigne. He reads Italian medieval poetry, an influence on his own creative work.
Jun 8, 1374
Becomes Comptroller
Chaucer is appointed to the lucrative job of Comptroller of Customs for the Port of London.
Scholars believe he was born in London, but the exact place and year of his birth is unknown.
1357
Becomes a Page
A teenage Chaucer gets a job as a page to the Countess of Ulster.
1359
Joins the Army
Edward III invades France during the Hundred Years' War between France and England.
1396 Chaucer writes "The Envoy to Bukton," in which the addressee is urged to read "The Wife of Bath."
1396-1400 Chaucer writes the latest of the Tales, including probably The Nun's Priest's Tale, The Canon's Yeoman's Tale (though part is probably earlier), the Parson's Tale, and several short poems, including the envoys to Scogan and Bukton and the "Complaint to His Purse."
1398 Chaucer is granted a tun of wine a year.
1399 Richard II is deposed; Henry IV becomes king.
1399 Chaucer leases a tenement, for 53 years, in the garden of the Lady Chapel at Westminster Abbey.
1399 King Henry IV confirms, and adds to, Chaucer's royal annuities.
1400 "The Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse."
1400 Chaucer's death (on 25 October, according to tradition).
Chronology of Geoffrey Chaucer's life and times
As Clerk of the works, Chaucer has scaffolds built for jousts in Smithfield.
Chaucer is appointed Commissioner of Walls and Ditches, responsible for works on the Thames between Woolwich and Greenwich.
Chaucer is robbed of horse, goods, 20 pounds, 6 shillings, 8 pence at Hatcham (Surrey).
Scholars believe Troilus and Criseyde was composed between 1382 and 1388.
1385
Justice of the Peace
Chaucer takes a four-year position as a Justice of the Peace in Kent, where he now resides.
1386
Joins Parliament, Writes Poem
Geoffrey Chaucer resigns as Comptroller and becomes a member of Parliament, representing Kent.