Geoffrey Chaucer
c.1343-1400
'Of old the bard who struck the noblest strains
Great Geoffrey Chaucer, now this tomb retains.
If for the period of his life you call,
The signs are under that will note you all.
In the year of our Lord 1400, on the 25th day of October.
Death is the repose of cares.
N. Brigham charged himself with these in the name of the Muses
1556'
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Geoffrey Chaucer is buried in 'Poets' Corner', Westminster Abbey, London,
England.
Tomb of Geoffrey Chaucer
He was the first poet to be buried in the Abbey.
However, this was because he
had been Clerk of Works to the Palace of Westminster and not because he had written The Canterbury
Tales.
Chaucer was buried at the entrance to St.
Benedicts Chapel in the South Transept of the Abbey. Originally the only memorial to
him was a leaden plate hung on an adjacent pillar.
In 1556 a more magnificent tomb was constructed by the poet Nicholas Brigham. This
Purbeck marble monument may have been brought from a dissolved monastery. |
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Chaucer Inscription.
Photograph by Mike
Reed
| And smale foweles maken
melodye, |
| That slepen al the nyght
with open ye |
| (So priketh hem nature in
hir corages); |
| Thanne longen folk to goon
on pilgrimages. |
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From The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue |
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Chaucer's wife was the sister of John of
Gaunt's third wife and as a result John of Gaunt became Chaucer's patron for many
years.
Chaucer held many positions in the court of Richard II and
frequently travelled abroad on diplomatic missions. While visiting Italy it is
possible that he met Boccaccio (the author of The Decameron) and
Petrarch
(the inventor of the sonnet.)
The Canterbury Tales were written towards the end of
Chaucer's life and took twelve years to complete. Originally he was planning to
write 120 separate tales but succeeded in writing only 24.
The official date of Chaucer's death is given as 25th October 1400
however, there is considerable conjecture surrounding this date. It is also unclear
how he died and some have speculated that he may have been murdered.
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