| ca. 1340-45 | Geoffrey Chaucer is born in London to Agnes and John Chaucer, wealthy property owners. |
| 1357 | Chaucer serves as a page to the Countess of Ulster. |
| 1359-60 | Chaucer serves in the French army for King Edward III. |
| ca. 1366 | Chaucer and Philippa Roet marry. |
| ca. 1368-80 | Chaucer writes The Book of the Duchess and then Saint Cecilia. He later uses these works in the Second Nun's Tale and some of the Monk's tales. |
| ca. 1372-73 | The King sends Chaucer to Italy (specifically Genoa and Florence) where he learns of the writings of Boccaccio, Petrarch and Dante. |
| 1374 | Edward III appoints him Controller of the Customs and Subsidies on Wool for the port of London. |
| ca. 1378-82 | Chaucer writes The House of Fame and The Parliament of Fowls. |
| ca. 1382-87 | He writes Troilus and Criseyde, Palamoun and Arcite (the Knight's Tale), and The Legend of Good Women. |
| 1385-86 | Chaucer is appointed Justice of the Peace for Kent and then is elected to Parliament. |
| ca. 1387-92 | He writes the General Prologue and some of the Canterbury Tales. |
| 1389 | He is appointed Clerk of the King's Works by Richard II. |
| ca. 1392-1400 | Chaucer writes the Canterbury Tales. |
| 1400 | Chaucer dies and is buried in Westminster Abbey. |
The Canterbury Tales
Chaucer's The Legend of Good Women began with a personal prologue of which Chaucer was a character. It is believed that work may have been inspiration for Chaucer to write another larger, varied piece. There is also speculation that Chaucer lived in Greenwich, and may have been able to see many pilgrams on their way to Canterbury to the shrine of St. Thomas a Becket. These may have combined to inspire him to write the Canterbury Tales.
(from The Mind and Art of Chaucer and Modern Critical Interpretations: Geoffrey Chaucer's The General Prologue to the Canterbury Tales)
Other related sites:
To visit other sites dedicated to Chaucer, click here or here.
To visit another site and read the Canterbury Tales on line, click here.
The Wife of Bath's Tale is also available on line. To visit that website, click here.
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