Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343 – October 25, 1400), is considered the greatest poet of the Middle Ages and the Father of English literature.  His many works include The Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde. He is best known for his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales. His work may have often been written with the nobility as the likely audience;  Edward III granted him a “gallon of wine a day for the rest of his life” as a token of his appreciation.

Chaucer was born in London to a family with propertied interests and connections with the aristocracy. At the age of 14 he became the page to the Countess of Ulster, who was the wife of the Duke of Clarence, second son of King Edward III. The position brought him into the court circle, where he served first as esquire to the royal court of Edward III. He traveled abroad frequently, representing the crown as an envoy, and came into contact with medieval Italian poetry.  He served as comptroller for the port of London for twelve years and later as clerk of the king’s works, supervising work on Westminster Palace and the Tower of London.  He was the first poet to be buried in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.