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Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1343 in medieval Britain. At a time when the dominant languages of the aristocracy were French and Latin, Chaucer wrote his poems in Middle English, the language of the common people. Chaucer confirmed a trend set by several earlier writers, and was a crucial figure in the foundation, development and acceptance of Middle English in written literature. Chaucer is now considered the “Father of English literature”.

Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales as a narrative of the stories told by twenty-nine fictional travellers on their pilgrimage to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. In 1478, William Caxton published the first type-set printed version of The Canterbury Tales.

Other workd include: The Legend of Good Women, Troilus and Criseyde and Parliament of Foules.

Chaucer was buried in Westminster Abbey in London, in 1400 and, in 1556, his remains were transferred to a more ornate tomb, making Chaucer the first to beinterred in the area now known as Poets’ Corner.

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