Geoffrey Chaucer

c. 1343 – 1400 · died at about 57^[1][2]

Literature

Fun Facts About Geoffrey Chaucer

• Geoffrey Chaucer is believed to have made the first recorded link between Valentine's Day and romantic love, in his 1382 poem Parlement of Foules, about birds choosing their mates.^[1]
• As a member of the English army in the Hundred Years' War, Chaucer was captured during the siege of Reims in 1360, and the king paid £16 for his ransom.^[1]
• King Edward III granted Chaucer "a gallon of wine daily for the rest of his life", thought to be a reward for a poem.^[1]
• Chaucer's day job was customs official: he served 12 years as Comptroller of the Customs for the port of London, and wrote many of his major works during that time.^[1]
• Chaucer wrote A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his ten-year-old son Lewis, and it is sometimes cited as the first example of technical writing in English.^[1]
• Chaucer was the first writer buried in what later became Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, a right he had as a tenant of the abbey's close.^[1]
• Geoffrey Chaucer was alive at the same time as Ibn Battuta — their lives overlapped for about 26 years (c. 1343–c. 1369).^[1][2][3][4]
• Geoffrey Chaucer lived to about 57, from c. 1343 until 1400.^[1][2]

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet, writer and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the 'father of English literature', or alternatively, the 'father of English poetry'. He was the first writer to be buried in what has since become Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.^[1]

Contemporaries

Ibn Khaldun

57 yr overlap

Timur

57 yr overlap

Zheng He

29 yr overlap

Ibn Battuta

26 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Geoffrey Chaucer

When was Geoffrey Chaucer born?

Geoffrey Chaucer was born about 1343 and died in 1400.

How old was Geoffrey Chaucer at death?

Geoffrey Chaucer died in 1400 at about 57 years old (c. 1343–1400).

What was Geoffrey Chaucer known for?

Geoffrey Chaucer was known for: Author of The Canterbury Tales. Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet, writer and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the 'father of English literature', or alternatively, the 'father of English poetry'. He was the first writer to be buried in what has since become Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Who was alive at the same time as Geoffrey Chaucer?

Geoffrey Chaucer's closest contemporary was Ibn Khaldun. Their lives overlapped for 57 years.