Geoffrey Chaucer – 14th-century English poet, author of The Canterbury Tales, often called the “father of English literature”. He helped establish literary English and influenced European tradition. His works combined humour, satire, and keen social observation.
📜 Wrote in English when Latin and French dominated literature. ⚔️ Served King Edward III as a court official and diplomat. 💔 Was captured during the Hundred Years’ War and later ransomed. 🏰 Worked as a customs controller in London. 📚 The Canterbury Tales was innovative for its multiple voices and satire. 🖋 Experimented with rhyme and metre. 👑 His work was admired by King Richard II. 📖 Influenced by Dante and Boccaccio. ⚰️ First writer buried in Westminster Abbey’s Poets’ Corner. 😂 Curiosity: as a customs officer, he knew more about wine and trade goods than about manuscripts. 😄 Amusing fact: contemporaries joked he “collected stories as eagerly as taxes”.