History’s Great Writers — Chaucer: The Father of English Literature and Master Storyteller
Romantic tales of chivalry, bawdy comedies, moral fables, and religious allegories.
Geoffrey Chaucer, born in 1343 London, was a man of many talents.
He wasn’t just a poet. He was a philosopher, astronomer, and bureaucrat. It’s his writing that made him famous, especially his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales.
Chaucer grew up in a time of big changes. The Black Death had swept through Europe, killing millions. The Hundred Years’ War between England and France was raging. The English language was starting to come into its own, replacing French as the language of the court.
As a young man, Chaucer worked as a page in the royal household. He later became a diplomat, traveling to France and Italy on government business.
These trips exposed him to the works of great European writers like Dante and Boccaccio, which would later influence his own writing.
Chaucer’s early works were love poems and translations of French and Italian literature. His…
