Name: 傑弗裡-喬叟 (Geoffrey Chaucer)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T06:38:23.000Z
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Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer , known as the Father of

English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and

進階被動語態

was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. While

he achieved fame during his lifetime as an author, philosopher, alchemist and astronomer,

composing a scientific treatise on the astrolabe for his ten year-old son Lewis, Chaucer also

maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Among

his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend

of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde, he is best known today for The Canterbury Tales.

Chaucer is a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English,

at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin.

Life Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London sometime

around 1343, though the precise date and location of his birth remain unknown. His father and

grandfather were both London vintners; several previous generations had been merchants in

Ipswich. (His family name derives from the French chausseur, meaning "shoemaker".) In

1324 John Chaucer, Geoffrey's father, was kidnapped by an aunt in the hope of marrying

the twelve-year-old boy to her daughter in an attempt to keep property in Ipswich. The

aunt was imprisoned and the £250 fine levied suggests that the family was financially secure—bourgeois,

if not elite. John Chaucer married Agnes Copton, who, in 1349, inherited properties including

24 shops in London from her uncle, Hamo de Copton, who is described in a will dated 3

April 1354 and listed in the City Hustings Roll as "moneyer"; he was said to be moneyer

at the Tower of London. In the City Hustings Roll 110, 5, Ric II, dated June 1380, Geoffrey

Chaucer refers to himself as me Galfridum Chaucer, filium Johannis Chaucer, Vinetarii,

Londonie'. While records concerning the lives of his

contemporary poets, William Langland and the Pearl Poet are practically non-existent, since

Chaucer was a public servant, his official life is very well documented, with nearly

five hundred written items testifying to his career. The first of the "Chaucer Life Records"

appears in 1357, in the household accounts of Elizabeth de Burgh, the Countess of Ulster,

when he became the noblewoman's page through his father's connections. She was married

to Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the second surviving son of the king, Edward III, and the position

brought the teenage Chaucer into the close court circle, where he was to remain for the

rest of his life. He also worked as a courtier, a diplomat, and a civil servant, as well as

working for the king, collecting and inventorying scrap metal.

In 1359, in the early stages of the Hundred Years' War, Edward III invaded France and

Chaucer travelled with Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, Elizabeth's husband,

as part of the English army. In 1360, he was captured during the siege of Rheims. Edward

paid £16 for his ransom, a considerable sum, and Chaucer was released.

After this, Chaucer's life is uncertain, but he seems to have travelled in France, Spain,

and Flanders, possibly as a messenger and perhaps even going on a pilgrimage to Santiago

de Compostela. Around 1366, Chaucer married Philippa (de) Roet. She was a lady-in-waiting

to Edward III's queen, Philippa of Hainault, and a sister of Katherine Swynford, who later

(c. 1396) became the third wife of John of Gaunt. It is uncertain how many children Chaucer

and Philippa had, but three or four are most commonly cited. His son, Thomas Chaucer, had

an illustrious career, as chief butler to four kings, envoy to France, and Speaker of

the House of Commons. Thomas's daughter, Alice, married the Duke of Suffolk. Thomas's great-grandson

(Geoffrey's great-great-grandson), John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, was the heir to

the throne designated by Richard III before he was deposed. Geoffrey's other children

probably included Elizabeth Chaucy, a nun at Barking Abbey. Agnes, an attendant at Henry

IV's coronation; and another son, Lewis Chaucer. Chaucer’s “Treatise on the Astrolabe”

was written for Lewis. Chaucer probably studied law in the Inner

Temple (an Inn of Court) at this time. He became a member of the royal court of Edward

III as a varlet de chambre, yeoman, or esquire on 20 June 1367, a position which could entail

a wide variety of tasks. His wife also received a pension for court employment. He travelled

abroad many times, at least some of them in his role as a valet. In 1368, he may have

attended the wedding of Lionel of Antwerp to Violante Visconti, daughter of Galeazzo

II Visconti, in Milan. Two other literary stars of the era were in attendance: Jean

Froissart and Petrarch. Around this time, Chaucer is believed to have written The Book

of the Duchess in honour of Blanche of Lancaster, the late wife of John of Gaunt, who died in

1369. Chaucer travelled to Picardy the next year

as part of a military expedition; in 1373 he visited Genoa and Florence. Numerous scholars

such as Skeat, Boitani, and Rowland suggested that, on this Italian trip, he came into contact

with Petrarch or Boccaccio. They introduced him to medieval Italian poetry, the forms

and stories of which he would use later. The purposes of a voyage in 1377 are mysterious,

as details within the historical record conflict. Later documents suggest it was a mission,

along with Jean Froissart, to arrange a marriage between the future King Richard II and a French

princess, thereby ending the Hundred Years War. If this was the purpose of their trip,

they seem to have been unsuccessful, as no wedding occurred.

In 1378, Richard II sent Chaucer as an envoy (secret dispatch) to the Visconti and to Sir

John Hawkwood, English condottiere (mercenary leader) in Milan. It has been speculated that

it was Hawkwood on whom Chaucer based his character the Knight in the Canterbury Tales,

for a description matches that of a 14th-century condottiere.

A possible indication that his career as a writer was appreciated came when Edward III

granted Chaucer "a gallon of wine daily for the rest of his life" for some unspecified

task. This was an unusual grant, but given on a day of celebration, St George's Day,

1374, when artistic endeavours were traditionally rewarded, it is assumed to have been another

early poetic work. It is not known which, if any, of Chaucer's extant works prompted

the reward, but the suggestion of him as poet to a king places him as a precursor to later

poets laureate. Chaucer continued to collect the liquid stipend until Richard II came to

power, after which it was converted to a monetary grant on 18 April 1378.

Chaucer obtained the very substantial job of comptroller of the customs for the port

of London, which he began on 8 June 1374. He must have been suited for the role as he

continued in it for twelve years, a long time in such a post at that time. His life goes

undocumented for much of the next ten years, but it is believed that he wrote (or began)

most of his famous works during this period. He was mentioned in law papers of 4 May 1380,

involved in the raptus of Cecilia Chaumpaigne. What raptus means is unclear, but the incident

seems to have been resolved quickly and did not leave a stain on Chaucer's reputation.

It is not known if Chaucer was in the city of London at the time of the Peasants' Revolt,

but if he was, he would have seen its leaders pass almost directly under his apartment window

at Aldgate. While still working as comptroller, Chaucer

appears to have moved to Kent, being appointed as one of the commissioners of peace for Kent,

at a time when French invasion was a possibility. He is thought to have started work on The

Canterbury Tales in the early 1380s. He also became a Member of Parliament for Kent in

1386. There is no further reference after this date to Philippa, Chaucer's wife, and

she is presumed to have died in 1387. He survived the political upheavals caused by the Lords

Appellants, despite the fact that Chaucer knew some of the men executed over the affair

quite well. On 12 July 1389, Chaucer was appointed the

clerk of the king's works, a sort of foreman organising most of the king's building projects.

No major works were begun during his tenure, but he did conduct repairs on Westminster

Palace, St. George's Chapel, Windsor, continue building the wharf at the Tower of London,

and build the stands for a tournament held in 1390. It may have been a difficult job,

but it paid well: two shillings a day, more than three times his salary as a comptroller.