num_pages: 1167
description: Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343–10/25/1400), known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages &amp; was the 1st poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. While he achieved fame during his lifetime as an author, philosopher, alchemist &amp; astronomer, composing a scientific treatise on the astrolabe for his 10 year-old son Lewis, he also maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier &amp; diplomat. Among his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women &amp; Troilus &amp; Criseyde, he's best known today for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer's a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French &amp; Latin.
language: English
title: Chaucer's Poetry: An Anthology for the Modern Reader
publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc. (NY et al.)