Geoffrey Chaucer was born in the year 1343 in London to vintner John Chaucer. In 1357 Chaucer was a page to Lady Elizabeth, wife of the Duke of Clarence, and in 1359 Chaucer was made a prisoner in France while he was serving in the military. However he was ransomed back to England in 1360. In 1366 Chaucer married Phillippa Roet, daughter to Sir Payne Roet, and lady in waiting to the queen. One of Chaucer's first literary works appeared in 1369, it was the Book of the Duchess, which told of the death of Blanche, wife of John of Gaunt. Chaucer held various jobs in his lifetime including: Comptroller of the Customs and Subsidy of Wool, Skins, and Leather, Comptroller of the Petty Customs, the Clerk of the King's works; also during this time he was writing. The Canterbury Tales were written between 1387 and 1400 they contain some 18,000 lines, but were never completed. Geoffrey Chaucer died on October 25, 1400; he is buried at Westminster Abbey.
My favorite story from The Canterbury Tales is the Pardoner's Tale. I found it absolutely amazing how a man could pretend to be a man of the cloth and sanctioned by the church was actually a con artist. I think why I found this story so compelling was the fact that he told the other people who were going on the pilgrimage how he got people to give him money. He told them that he had documents from the church stating that he was a Pardoner and he could forgive people of their sins and he would preach. He also told how he carried a bag of fake relics, and people would give him money for the privilege of seeing the relics. After he tells his tale he then has the nerve to ask if anyone would care to see his relics for a price. This led me to believe that the Pardoner was not very bright or he thought the people he was traveling with were not very intelligent; I feel it was the Pardoner. I would like to think that Chaucer included this tale as a way of making people realize that not everything they see can be believed.
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/bio.Chaucer.htm
My favorite story from The Canterbury Tales is the Pardoner's Tale. I found it absolutely amazing how a man could pretend to be a man of the cloth and sanctioned by the church was actually a con artist. I think why I found this story so compelling was the fact that he told the other people who were going on the pilgrimage how he got people to give him money. He told them that he had documents from the church stating that he was a Pardoner and he could forgive people of their sins and he would preach. He also told how he carried a bag of fake relics, and people would give him money for the privilege of seeing the relics. After he tells his tale he then has the nerve to ask if anyone would care to see his relics for a price. This led me to believe that the Pardoner was not very bright or he thought the people he was traveling with were not very intelligent; I feel it was the Pardoner. I would like to think that Chaucer included this tale as a way of making people realize that not everything they see can be believed.
http://www.britainexpress.com/History/bio.Chaucer.htm
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