Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his ten-year-old son, Lewis. He maintained a career in public service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat and member of the Parliament of England, having been elected shire knight for Kent.
Vie et carrière
Amongst his other works are The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, The Legend of Good Women, Troilus and Criseyde, and Parlement of Foules. A prolific writer, Chaucer has been seen as crucial in legitimising the literary use of Middle English at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were still Anglo-Norman French and Latin. His contemporary Thomas Hoccleve hailed him as "the firste fyndere of our fair langage" (i.e., the first one capable of finding poetic matter in English). Almost two thousand English words are first attested in Chaucerian manuscripts.
Faits clés
- Born: January 1, 1340 in London, England
- Décès : 1400
- Domaine : Literature
Héritage et influence
The influence of Geoffrey Chaucer extends far beyond his own lifetime. He fundamentally shaped literature and the written word, and his written works and literary innovations remain foundational to this day.
Though he passed away in 1400, his ideas continue to be studied, debated, and built upon by scholars and practitioners worldwide.
Geoffrey Chaucer demeure l'un des esprits les plus célèbres issus de England, témoignage du riche héritage intellectuel de la région.
Génies notables de England
England a donné naissance à de nombreux esprits remarquables. Aux côtés de Geoffrey Chaucer :
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