Sahana Premkumaar, Ryan Rahman, Pranav Subramanian

 Born - c. 1343 to John Chaucer & Agnes Copton (most likely in
London)
 Parents were well-off, owned several buildings in London
 Dad (John Chaucer) a wealthy wine merchant
 Nice education (probably had some exposure to Latin, Greek, and classics)
 1357 - Became a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster (wife of
King Edward III’s son)
 Joined English army’s invasion of France during The Hundred
Years’ War  Taken prisoner during Siege of Rheims; King
Edward III of England paid his ransom in 1360
King Edward III

 1366 - Married Philipa de Roet, a lady-in-waiting for king’s wife
 1367 – Received life pension from King
 Had 4 kids with Philipa (Thomas Chaucer, Elizabeth Chaucy, Agnes and
Lewis Chaucer)
 Heavily influenced by his dealings in “exotic” places in Genoa
 Began writing poems in 1370
Portrait of Chaucer

 Page, courtier, member of Parliament (elected in 1386 for Kent), collector of scrap metal, justice of peace, clerk
 June 20, 1367- Appointed as valet for the king
 1372 & 1378 - Was sent on diplomatic missions to other nations like
France and Genoa
 Exposed to great men like Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio
 June 8, 1374 - Appointed as comptroller of customs for wools, skins, and hides for London; a lucrative job
 Held the above post for a dozen years
 Worked on some of his most famous works
Chaucer on diplomatic missions

 1387 - Wrote The Canterbury Tales
 Oversaw royal projects & worked with both Edward III and Richard II (Edward III’s successor)
 Death - October 25, 1400
Chaucer’s most famous work

 Father of English Poetry
 First poet to be buried in the “Poet’s
Corner” of Westminster Abbey
 Decasyllabic couplet used in The Canterbury
Tales evolved into the heroic couplet, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry in English
 Pioneered the regular use of iambic pentameter
Chaucer’s Tomb at Westminster Abbey

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Geoffrey Chaucer
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Dec. 2014.
< http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID&SingleRecord=True >.
Strohm, Paul. "Chaucer, Geoffrey." World Book Advanced . World Book, 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.
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 http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/5-geoffrey-chaucergranger.jpg
 http://home.gwu.edu/~jhsy/wma-tomb.jpg
 http://cdn.rainbowresource.netdna-cdn.com/products/000645.jpg
 http://people.umass.edu/eng2/images/auth/chaucer.jpg