Geoffrey Chaucer, best renowned for his work in The Canterbury Tales, was a patron and personal friend of John of Gaunt. Lancaster and Chaucer became brothers-in-law at the end of their lives. Geoffrey's father died when he was a young man, and he was brought up by his uncle, Thomas Chaucer. He began writing poems at the age of 30 and continued for the rest of his life. Most scholars believe that The Canterbury Tales was completed around 1357 or 1358. It is an anthology of thirty-three French tales told by pilgrims on their way to Canterbury Cathedral for the annual festival. Chaucer decided which parts of the journey would be told from each pilgrim's point of view, and he assigned them to different speakers in order to show how diverse people are. The original version of The Canterbury Tales included no names of persons or places; it was not published until 1465, nearly twenty years after Chaucer's death. However, many modern adaptations have included details about real people involved with the story. John of Gaunt was one of the most powerful men in England during Chaucer's time. He inherited the throne at the age of twenty-five, when his father Henry III died without children. Young John married Catherine of Valois, the daughter of the French king, and they had three children together.