'That, _according to the customs of the borough of Ipswich_ ... any
heir under age when his heirship shall descend to him shall remain in
the charge of the nearest of his blood, but that his inheritance shall
not descend to him _till he has completed the age of twelve years_ ...
and they say that the said heir of the said Robert _completed the age
of twelve years_ before the suing out of the said writ[16].'
And it was further alleged that the said Agnes, T., G., and L. _did not
cause the said heir to be married_.
'Most of the rest of the membrane,' adds Mr. Rye, 'is taken up with a long
technical dispute as to jurisdiction, of which the mayor and citizens of
London apparently got the best; for the trial came on before R. Baynard and
Hamo de Chikewell [Chigwell] and Nicholas de Farndon (the two latter
sitting on behalf of the City) at St. Martin's the Great (le Grand),
London, on the Sunday [Sept. 7, 1326] next before the Nativity of the
B.V.M. [Sept. 8]; when, the defendants making default, a verdict was
entered for the plaintiffs for 250l. damages.'
Further information as to this affair is given in the Liber Albus, ed.
Riley, 1859, vol. i. pp. 437-444. A translation of this passage is given at
pp. 376-381 of the English edition of the same work, published by the same
editor in 1861. We hence learn that the Staces, being much dissatisfied
with the heavy damages which they were thus called upon to pay, attainted
Richard le Chaucer and his wife, in November, 1328, of committing perjury
in the above-mentioned trial. But it was decided that attaint does not lie
as to the verdict of a jury in London; a decision so important that the
full particulars of the trial and of this appeal were carefully preserved
among the city records.
Mr. Rye goes on to give some information as to a third document relating to
the same affair. It appears that Geoffrey Stace next 'presented a petition
to parliament (2 Edw. III., 1328, no. 6), praying for relief against the
damages of 250l., which he alleged were excessive, on the ground that the
heir's estate was only worth 20s. a year[17]. This petition sets out all
the proceedings, referring to John as "fuiz [fiz] et heire Robert le
Chaucier," but puts the finding of the jury thus: "et trove fu qu'ils
avoient ravi le dit heire, _mes ne mie mariee_," and alleges that "le dit
heire est al large et ove [_with_] les avantditz Richard et Marie demourant
et _unkore dismarie_."' The result of this petition is unknown.
From the above particulars I draw the following inferences.
The fact that Mary le Chaucer claimed to be _nearer in relationship_ to the
heir (being, in fact, his mother) than the Staces, clearly shews that they
also were very near relations. We can hardly doubt that the maiden name of
Mary le Chaucer was Stace, and that she was sister to Thomas and Geoffrey
Stace.
In Dec. 1324, John le Chaucer was, according to his mother's statement,
'under age'; i. e. less than fourteen years old. According to the Staces,
he had 'completed the age of twelve before the suing out, &c.' We may
safely infer that John was still under twelve when the Staces carried him
off, on Dec. 3, 1324. Hence he was born in 1312, and we have seen that his
father Robert married the widow Maria Heyroun not later than 1307 (§ 2).
She was married to Richard in 1323 (_one year_ before 1324), and she died
before 1349, as Richard was then a widower.
The attempt to marry John to Joan de Westhale (probably his cousin) was
unsuccessful. He was still unmarried in Nov. 1328, and still only sixteen
years old. This disposes at once of an old tradition, for which no
authority has ever been discovered, that the poet was born in 1328. The
_earliest_ date that can fairly be postulated for the birth of Geoffrey is
1330; and even then his father was only eighteen years old.
We further learn from Riley's Memorials of London (Pref. p. xxxiii), that
Richard Chaucer was a man of some wealth. He was assessed, in 1340, to lend
10l. towards the expenses of the French war; and again, in 1346, for 6l.
and 1 mark towards the 3,000l. given to the king. In 1345, he was witness
to a conveyance of a shop situated next his own tenement and tavern in La
Reole or Royal Street, near Upper Thames Street.
The last extant document relative to Richard Chaucer is his will. Sir H.
Nicolas (Life of Chaucer, Note A) says that the will of Richard Chaucer,
vintner, of London, dated on Easter-day (Apr. 12), 1349, was proved in the
Hustings Court of the City of London by Simon Chamberlain and Richard
Litlebury, on the feast of St. Margaret (July 20), in the same year. He
bequeathed his tenement and tavern, &c., in the street called La Reole, to
the Church of St. Aldermary in Bow Lane, where he was buried; and left
other property to pious uses. The will mentions only his deceased wife Mary
and her son Thomas Heyroun; and appointed Henry at Strete and Richard
Mallyns his executors[18]. From this we may infer that his stepson John
was, by this time, a prosperous citizen, and already provided for.
The will of Thomas Heyroun (see the same Note A) was dated just five days
earlier, April 7, 1349, and was also proved in the Hustings Court. He
appointed his half-brother, John Chaucer, his executor; and on Monday after
the Feast of St. Thomas the Martyr[19] in the same year, John Chaucer, by
the description of 'citizen and vintner, executor of the will of my brother
Thomas Heyroun,' executed a deed relating to some lands. (Records of the
Hustings Court, 23 Edw. III.)
It thus appears that Richard Chaucer and Thomas Heyroun both died in 1349,
the year of the first and the most fatal pestilence.
§ 4. JOHN CHAUCER. Of John Chaucer, the poet's father, not many particulars
are known. He was born, as we have seen, about 1312, and was not married
till 1329, or somewhat later. His wife's name was Agnes, described in 1369
as the kinswoman (consanguinea) and heiress of the city moneyer, Hamo de
Copton, who is known to have owned property in Aldgate[20]. He was a
citizen and vintner of London, and owned a house in Thames Street[21],
close to Walbrook, a stream now flowing underground beneath Walbrook
Street[22]; so that it must have been near the spot where the arrival
platform of the South-Eastern railway (at Cannon Street) now crosses Thames
Street. In this house, in all probability, Chaucer was born; at any rate,
it became his own property, as he parted with it in 1380. It is further
known that John and Agnes Chaucer were possessed of a certain annual
quit-rent of 40d. sterling, arising out of a tenement in the parish of St.
Botolph-without-Aldgate[23].
In 1338 (on June 12), John Chaucer obtained letters of protection, being
then on an expedition to Flanders, in attendance on the king[24]. Ten years
later, in the months of February and November, 1348, he is referred to as
being deputy to the king's butler in the port of Southampton[25]. In 1349,
as we have seen, he was executor to the will of his half-brother, Thomas
Heyroun. There is a mention of him in 1352[26]. His name appears, together
with that of his wife Agnes, in a conveyance of property dated Jan. 16,
1366[27]; but he died shortly afterwards, aged about fifty-four. His widow
married again in the course of a few months; for she is described in a deed
dated May 6, 1367, as being then the wife of Bartholomew atte Chapel,
citizen and vintner of London, and lately wife of John Chaucer, citizen and
vintner[28]. The date of her death is not known.
§ 5. CHAUCER'S EARLY YEARS. The exact date of Geoffrey's birth is not
known, and will probably always remain a subject of dispute. It cannot, as
we have seen, have been earlier than 1330; and it can hardly have been
later than 1340. That it was nearer to 1340 than 1330, is the solution
which best suits all the circumstances of the case. Those who argue for an
early date do so solely because the poet sometimes refers to his 'old age';
as for example in the Envoy to Scogan, 35-42, written probably in 1393; and
still earlier, probably in 1385, Gower speaks, in the epilogue to the
former edition of his Confessio Amantis, of the 'later age' of Chaucer, and
of his 'dayes olde'; whereas, if Chaucer was born in 1340, he was, at that
time, only forty-five years old. But it is essential to observe that Gower
is speaking comparatively; he contrasts Chaucer's 'later age' with 'the
floures of his youth,' when he 'fulfild the land,' in sundry wise, 'of
ditees and of songes glade.' And, in spite of all the needless stress that
has been laid upon such references as the above, we must, if we really wish
to ascertain the truth without prejudice, try to bear in mind the fact
that, in the fourteenth century, men were deemed old at an age which we
should now esteem as almost young. Chaucer's pupil, Hoccleve, describes
himself as worn out with old age, and ready to die, at the age of
_fifty-three_; all that he can look forward to is making a translation of a
treatise on 'learning to die.'
'Of age am I fifty winter and thre;
Ripeness of dethe fast vpon me hasteth.'
Hoccleve's Poems, ed. Furnivall, p. 119[29].
And further, if, in order to make out that Chaucer died at the age of
nearly 70, we place his birth near the year 1330, we are at once confronted
with the extraordinary difficulty, that the poet was already nearly 39 when
he wrote 'The Book of the Duchesse,' certainly one of the earliest of his
poems that have been preserved, and hardly to be esteemed as a highly
satisfactory performance. But as the exact date still remains uncertain, I
can only say that we must place it between 1330 and 1340. The reader can
incline to whichever end of the decade best pleases him. I merely record my
opinion, for what it is worth, that 'shortly before 1340' fits in best with
_all_ the facts.
The earliest notice of Geoffrey Chaucer, on which we can rely, refers to
the year 1357. This discovery is due to Mr. (now Dr.) E. A. Bond, who, in
1851, found some fragments of an old household account which had been used
to line the covers of a MS. containing Lydgate's Storie of Thebes and
Hoccleve's De Regimine Principum, and now known as MS. Addit. 18,632 in the
British Museum. They proved to form a part of the Household Accounts of
Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster, wife of Lionel, Duke of Clarence, the third
son of King Edward III., for the years 1356-9[30]. These Accounts shew
that, in April, 1357, when the Countess was in London, an entire suit of
clothes, consisting of a paltock or short cloak, a pair of red and black
breeches, and shoes, was provided for Geoffrey Chaucer at a cost of 7s.,
equal to about 5l. of our present money. On the 20th of May another article
of dress was purchased for him in London. In December of the same year
(1357), when the Countess was at Hatfield (near Doncaster) in Yorkshire,
her principal place of residence, we find a note of a donation of 2s. 6d.
to Geoffrey Chaucer for necessaries at Christmas. It further appears that
John of Gaunt, the Countess's brother-in-law, was a visitor at Hatfield at
the same period; which indicates the probable origin of the interest in the
poet's fortunes which that illustrious prince so frequently manifested,
during a long period of years.
It is further worthy of remark that, on several occasions, a female
attendant on the Countess is designated as 'Philippa Pan', which is
supposed to be the contracted form of Panetaria, i. e. mistress of the
pantry. 'Speculations suggest themselves,' says Dr. Bond, 'that the
Countess's attendant Philippa may have been Chaucer's future wife.... The
Countess died in 1363, ... and nothing would be more likely than that the
principal lady of her household should have found shelter after her death
in the family of her husband's mother,' i. e. Queen Philippa. It is quite
possible; it is even probable.
Perhaps it was at Hatfield that Chaucer picked up some knowledge of the
Northern dialect, as employed by him in the Reves Tale. The fact that the
non-Chaucerian Fragment B of the Romaunt of the Rose exhibits traces of a
Northern dialect is quite a different matter; for Fragment A, which is
certainly Chaucer's, shews no trace of anything of the kind. What was
Chaucer's exact position in the Countess of Ulster's household, we are not
informed. If he was born about 1340, we may suppose that he was a page; if
several years earlier, he would, in 1357, have been too old for such
service. We only know that he was attached to the service of Lionel, duke
of Clarence, and of the Countess of Ulster his wife, as early as the
beginning of 1357, and was at that time at Hatfield, in Yorkshire. 'He was
present,' says Dr. Bond, 'at the celebration of the feast of St. George, at
Edward III's court, in attendance on the Countess, in April of that year;
he followed the court to Woodstock; and he was again at Hatfield, probably
from September, 1357, to the end of March, 1358, and would have witnessed
there the reception of John of Ghent, then Earl of Richmond.' We may well
believe that he accompanied the Countess when she attended the funeral of
Queen Isabella (king Edward's mother), which took place at the Church of
the Friars Minors, in Newgate Street, on Nov. 27, 1358.
§ 6. CHAUCER'S FIRST EXPEDITION. 1359-60. A year later, in November, 1359,
Chaucer joined the great expedition of Edward III. to France. 'There was
not knight, squire, or man of honour, from the age of twenty to sixty
years, that did not go[31].' The king of England was 'attended by the
prince of Wales and three other sons,' including 'Lionel, earl of
Ulster[32]'; and we may be sure that Chaucer accompanied his master prince
Lionel. The march of the troops lay through Artois, past Arras to Bapaume;
then through Picardy, past Peronne and St. Quentin, to Rheims, which
Edward, with his whole army, ineffectually besieged for seven weeks. It is
interesting to note that the army must, on this occasion, have crossed the
Oise, somewhere near Chauny and La-Fère, which easily accounts for the
mention of that river in the House of Fame (l. 1928); and shews the
uselessness of Warton's suggestion, that Chaucer learnt the name of that
river by studying Provençal poetry! In one of the numerous skirmishes that
took place, Chaucer had the misfortune to be taken prisoner. This appears
from his own evidence, in the 'Scrope and Grosvenor' trial, referred to
below under the date of 1386; he then testified that he had seen Sir
Richard Scrope wearing arms described as 'azure, a bend or,' before the
town of 'Retters,' an obvious error for Rethel[33], not far from Rheims;
and he added that he 'had seen him so armed during the whole expedition,
until he (the said Geoffrey) was taken.' See the evidence as quoted at
length at p. xxxvi. But he was soon ransomed, viz. on March 1, 1360; and
the King himself contributed to his ransom the sum of 16l.[34] According to
Froissart, Edward was at this time in the neighbourhood of Auxerre[35].
After a short and ineffectual siege of Paris, the English army suffered
severely from thunder-storms during a retreat towards Chartres, and Edward
was glad to make peace; articles of peace were accordingly concluded, on
May 8, 1360, at Bretigny, near Chartres. King John of France was set at
liberty, leaving Eltham on Wednesday, July 1; and after stopping for three
nights on the road, viz. at Dartford, Rochester, and Ospringe, he arrived
at Canterbury on the Saturday[36]. On the Monday he came to Dover, and
thence proceeded to Calais. And surely Chaucer must have been present
during the fifteen days of October which the two kings spent at Calais in
each other's company; the Prince of Wales and his two brothers, _Lionel_
and Edmund, being also present[37]. On leaving Calais, King John and the
English princes 'went on foot to the church of our Lady of Boulogne, where
they made their offerings most devoutly, and afterward returned to the
abbey at Boulogne, which had been prepared for the reception of the King of
France and the princes of England[38].'
On July 1, 1361, prince Lionel was appointed lieutenant of Ireland,
probably because he already bore the title of Earl of Ulster. It does not
appear that Chaucer remained in his service much longer; for he must have
been attached to the royal household not long after the return of the
English army from France. In the Schedule of names of those employed in the
Royal Household, for whom robes for Christmas were to be provided,
Chaucer's name occurs as seventeenth in the list of thirty-seven esquires.
The list is not dated, but is marked by the Record Office '? 40 Edw. III,'
i. e. 1366[39]. However, Mr. Selby thinks the right date of this document
is 1368.
§ 7. CHAUCER'S MARRIAGE: PHILIPPA CHAUCER. In 1366, we find Chaucer already
married. On Sept. 12, in that year, Philippa Chaucer received from the
queen, after whom she was doubtless named, a pension of ten marks (or 6l.
13s. 4d.) annually for life, perhaps on the occasion of her marriage; and
we find her described as 'una domicellarum camerae Philippae Reginae
Angliae[40].' The first known payment on behalf of this pension is dated
Feb. 19, 1368[41]. Nicolas tells us that her pension 'was confirmed by
Richard the Second; and she apparently received it (except between 1370[42]
and 1373, in 1378, and in 1385, the reason of which omissions does not
appear) from 1366 until June 18, 1387. The money was usually paid to her
through her husband; but in November, 1374, by the hands of John de
Hermesthorpe, and in June, 1377 (the Poet being then on his mission in
France), by Sir Roger de Trumpington, whose wife, Lady Blanche de
Trumpington, was [then], like herself[43], in the service of the Duchess of
Lancaster.' As no payment appears after June, 1387, we may conclude that
she died towards the end of that year[44].
Philippa's maiden name is not known. She cannot be identified with Philippa
Picard, because both names, viz. Philippa Chaucer and Philippa Picard,
occur in the same document[45]. Another supposition identifies her with
Philippa Roet, on the assumption that Thomas Chaucer, on whose tomb appear
the arms of Roet, was her son. This, as will be shewn hereafter, is highly
probable, though not quite certain.
It is possible that she was the same person as Philippa, the 'lady of the
pantry,' who has been already mentioned as belonging to the household of
the Countess of Ulster. If so, she doubtless entered the royal household on
the Countess's death in 1363, and was married in 1366, or earlier. After
the death of the queen in 1369 (Aug. 15), we find that (on Sept. 1) the
king gave Chaucer, as being one of his squires of lesser degree, three ells
of cloth for mourning; and, at the same time, six ells of cloth, for the
same, to Philippa Chaucer[46].
In 1372, John of Gaunt married (as his second wife) Constance, elder
daughter of Pedro, king of Castile; and in the same year (Aug. 30), he
granted Philippa Chaucer a pension of 10l. per annum, in consideration of
her past and future services to his dearest wife, the queen of Castile[47].
Under the name of Philippa Chaucy (as the name is also written in this
volume), the duke presented her with a 'botoner,' apparently a button-hook,
and six silver-gilt buttons as a New Year's gift for the year 1373[48]. In
1374, on June 13, he granted 10l. per annum to his well-loved Geoffrey
Chaucer and his well-beloved Philippa, for their service to Queen Philippa
and to his wife the queen [i. e. of Castile], to be received at the duke's
manor of the Savoy[49]. In 1377, on May 31, payments were made to Geoffrey
Chaucer, varlet, of an annuity of 20 marks that day granted, and of 10
marks to Philippa Chaucer (granted to her for life) as being one of the
damsels of the chamber to the late queen, by the hands of Geoffrey Chaucer,
her husband[50]. In 1380, the duke gave Philippa a silver hanap (or cup)
with its cover, as his New Year's gift; and a similar gift in 1381 and
1382[51]. A payment of 5l. to Geoffrey 'Chaucy' is recorded soon after the
first of these gifts. In 1384, the sum of 13l. 6s. 8d. (20 marks) is
transmitted to Philippa Chaucer by John Hinesthorp, chamberlain[52]. The
last recorded payment of a pension to Philippa Chaucer is on June 18, 1387;
and it is probable, as said above, that she died very shortly afterwards.
Sir H. Nicolas mentions that, in 1380-2, Philippa Chaucer was one of the
three ladies in attendance on the Duchess of Lancaster, the two others
being Lady Senche Blount and Lady Blanche de Trompington; and that in June,
1377, as mentioned above, her pension was paid to Sir Roger de Trumpington,
who was Lady Blanche's husband. This is worth a passing notice; for it
clearly shews that the poet was familiar with the name of Trumpington, and
must have known of its situation near Cambridge. And this may account for
his laying the scene of the Reves Tale in that village, without
necessitating the inference that he must have visited Cambridge himself.
For indeed, it is not easy to see why the two 'clerks' should have been
benighted there; the distance from Cambridge is so slight that, even in
those days of bad roads, they could soon have returned home after dark
without any insuperable difficulty.
§ 8. 1367. To return to Chaucer. In 1367, we find him 'a valet of the
king's household'; and by the title of 'dilectus valettus noster,' the
king, in consideration of his _former_ and his future services, granted
him, on June 20, an annual salary of 20 marks (13l. 6s. 8d.) for life, or
until he should be otherwise provided for[53]. Memoranda are found of the
payment of this pension, in half-yearly instalments, on November 6, 1367,
and May 25, 1368[54]; but not in November, 1368, or May, 1369. The next
entry as to its payment is dated October, 1369[55]. As to the duties of a
valet in the royal household, see Life-Records of Chaucer, part ii. p. xi.
Amongst other things, he was expected to make beds, hold torches, set
boards (i. e. lay the tables for dinner), and perform various menial
offices.
§ 9. 1368. The note that he received his pension, in 1368, on May 25, is of
some importance. It renders improbable a suggestion of Speght, that he
accompanied his former master, Lionel, Duke of Clarence, to Italy in this
year. Lionel set off with an unusually large retinue, about the 10th of
May[56], and passed through France on his way to Italy, where he was
shortly afterwards married, for the second time, to Violante, daughter of
Galeazzo Visconti. But his married life was of short duration; he died on
Oct. 17 of the same year, not without suspicion of poison. His will, dated
Oct. 3, 1368, is given in Testamenta Vetusta, ed. Nicolas, p. 70. It does
not appear that Chaucer went to Italy before 1372-3; but it is interesting
to observe that, on his second journey there in 1378, he was sent to treat
with Barnabo Visconti, Galeazzo's brother, as noted at p. xxxii.
§ 10. 1369. In this year, Chaucer was again campaigning in France. An
advance of 10l. is recorded as having been made to him by Henry de
Wakefeld, the Keeper of the King's Wardrobe; and he is described as
'equitanti de guerre (_sic_) in partibus Francie[57].' In the same year,
there is a note that Chaucer was to have 20s. for summer clothes[58].
This year is memorable for the last of the three great pestilences which
afflicted England, as well as other countries, in the fourteenth century.
Queen Philippa died at Windsor on Aug. 15; and we find an entry, dated
Sept. 1, that Geoffrey Chaucer, a squire of less estate, and his wife
Philippa, were to have an allowance for mourning[59], as stated above. Less
than a month later, the Duchess Blaunche died, on Sept. 12; and her death
was commemorated by the poet in one of the earliest of his extant poems,
the Book of the Duchesse (see p. 277).
§ 11. 1370-1372. In the course of the next ten years (1370-80), the poet
was attached to the court, and employed in no less than seven diplomatic
services. The first of these occasions was during the summer of 1370, when
he obtained the usual letters of protection, dated June 10, to remain in
force till the ensuing Michaelmas[60]. That he returned immediately
afterwards, appears from the fact that he received his half-yearly pension
in person on Tuesday, the 8th of October[61]; though on the preceding
occasion (Thursday, April 25), it was paid to Walter Walssh instead of to
himself[62].
In 1371 and 1372, he received his pension himself[63]. In 1372 and 1373 he
received 2l. for his clothes each year. This was probably a customary
annual allowance to squires[64]. A like payment is again recorded in 1377.
Towards the end of the latter year, on Nov. 12, 1372, Chaucer, being then
'scutifer,' or one of the king's esquires, was joined in a commission with
James Provan and John de Mari, the latter of whom is described as a citizen
of Genoa, to treat with the duke, citizens, and merchants of Genoa, for the
purpose of choosing an English port where the Genoese might form a
commercial establishment[65]. On Dec. 1, he received an advance of 66l.
13s. 4d. towards his expenses[66]; and probably left England before the
close of the year.
§ 12. 1373. CHAUCER'S FIRST VISIT TO ITALY. All that is known of this
mission is that he visited Florence as well as Genoa, and that he returned
before Nov. 22, 1373, on which day he received his pension in person[67].
It further appears that his expenses finally exceeded the money advanced to
him; for on Feb. 4, 1374, a further sum was paid to him, on this account,
of 25l. 6s. 8d.[68] It was probably on this occasion that Chaucer met
Petrarch at Padua, and learnt from him the story of Griselda, reproduced in
the Clerkes Tale. Some critics prefer to think that Chaucer's assertions on
this point are to be taken as imaginative, and that it was the Clerk, and
not himself, who went to Padua; but it is clear that in writing the Clerkes
Tale, Chaucer actually had a copy of Petrarch's Latin version before him;
and it is difficult to see how he came by it unless he obtained it from
Petrarch himself or by Petrarch's assistance. For further discussion of
this point, see remarks on the Sources of the Clerkes Tale, in vol. iii.,
and the notes in vol. v.[69] We must, in any case, bear in mind the
important influence which this mission to Italy, and a later one in 1378-9
to the same country, produced upon the development of his poetical
writings.
It may be convenient to note here that Petrarch resided chiefly at Arquà,
within easy reach of Padua, in 1370-4. His death took place there on July
18, 1374, soon after Chaucer had returned home.
§ 13. 1374. We may fairly infer that Chaucer's execution of this important
mission was satisfactorily performed; for we find that on the 23rd of
April, 1374, on the celebration at Windsor of the festival of St. George,
the king made him a grant of a pitcher of wine daily, to be received in the
port of London from the king's butler[70]. This was, doubtless, found to be
rather a troublesome gift; accordingly, it was commuted, in 1378 (April
18), for the annual sum of 20 marks (13l. 6s. 8d.)[71]. The original grant
was made 'dilecto Armigero nostro, Galfrido Chaucer.'
On May 10, in the same year, the corporation of London granted Chaucer a
lease for his life of the dwelling-house situate above the city-gate of
Aldgate, on condition that he kept the same in good repair; he seems to
have made this his usual residence till 1385, and we know that he retained
possession of it till October, 1386[72].
Four weeks later, on June 8, 1374, he was appointed Comptroller of the
Customs and Subsidy of wools, skins, and tanned hides in the Port of
London, with the usual fees. Like his predecessors, he was to write the
rolls of his office with his own hand, to be continually present, and to
perform his duties personally (except, of course, when employed on the
King's service elsewhere); and the other part of the seal called the
'coket' (quod dicitur _coket_) was to remain in his custody[73]. The
warrant by which, on June 13, 1374, the Duke of Lancaster granted him 10l.
for life, in consideration of the services of himself and his wife, has
been mentioned at p. xxi. In the same year, he received his half-yearly
pension of 10 marks as usual; and again in 1375.
§ 14. 1375. On Nov. 8, 1375, his income was, for a time, considerably
increased. He received from the crown a grant of the custody of the lands
and person of Edmond, son and heir of Edmond Staplegate of Kent[74], who
had died in 1372[75]; this he retained for three years, during which he
received in all, for his wardship and on Edmond's marriage, the sum of
104l. This is ascertained from the petition presented by Edmond de
Staplegate to Richard II. at his coronation, in which he laid claim to be
permitted to exercise the office of chief butler to the king[76]. And
further, on Dec. 28, 1375, he received a grant from the king of the custody
of five 'solidates' of rent for land at Soles, in Kent, during the minority
of William de Solys, then an infant aged 1 year, son and heir of John
Solys, deceased; together with a fee due on the marriage of the said
heir[77]. But the value of this grant cannot have been large.
§15. 1376. In 1376, on May 31, he received at the exchequer his own
half-yearly pension of ten marks and his wife's of five marks, or 10l. in
all (see Notes and Queries, 3rd Ser. viii. 63); and in October he received
an advance from the exchequer of 50s. on account of his pension[78]. He
also duly received his annuity of 10l. from the duke of Lancaster (Oct. 18,
1376, and June 12, 1377)[79].
In the same year, we also meet with the only known record connected with
Chaucer's exercise of the Office of Comptroller of the Customs. On July 12,
1376, the King granted him the sum of 71l. 4s. 6d., being the value of a
fine paid by John Kent, of London, for shipping wool to Dordrecht without
having paid the duty thereon[80].
Towards the end of this year, Sir John Burley and Geoffrey Chaucer were
employed together on some secret service (in secretis negociis domini
Regis), the nature of which is unknown; for on Dec. 23, 1376, Sir John 'de
Burlee' received 13l. 6s. 8d., and Chaucer half that sum, for the business
upon which they had been employed[81].
§16. 1377. On Feb. 12, 1377, Chaucer was associated with Sir Thomas Percy
(afterwards Earl of Worcester) in a secret mission to Flanders, the nature
of which remains unknown; and on this occasion Chaucer received letters of
protection during his mission, to be in force till Michaelmas in the same
year[82]. Five days later, on Feb. 17, the sum of 33l. 6s. 8d. was advanced
to Sir Thomas, and 10l. to Chaucer, for their expenses[83]. They started
immediately, and the business was transacted by March 25; and on April 11
Chaucer himself received at the exchequer the sum of 20l. as a reward from
the king for the various journeys which he had made abroad upon the king's
service (pro regardo suo causâ diuersorum viagiorum per ipsum Galfridum
factorum, eundo ad diuersas partes transmarinas ex precepto domini Regis in
obsequio ipsius domini Regis)[84].
While Sir Thomas Percy and Chaucer were absent in Flanders, viz. on Feb.
20, 1377, the Bishop of Hereford, Lord Cobham, Sir John Montacu (i. e.
Montague), and Dr. Shepeye were empowered to treat for peace with the
French King[85]. Their endeavours must have been ineffectual; for soon
after Chaucer's return, viz. on April 26, 1377, Sir Guichard d'Angle and
several others were also appointed to negotiate a peace with France[86].
Though Chaucer's name does not expressly appear in this commission, he was
clearly in some way associated with it; for only six days previously (Apr.
20), letters of protection were issued to him, to continue till Aug. 1,
whilst he was on the king's service abroad[87]; and on April 30, he was
paid the sum of 26l. 13s. 4d. for his wages on this occasion[88]. We
further find, from an entry in the Issue Roll for March 6, 1381 (noticed
again at p. xxix), that he was sent to Moustrell (Montreuil) and Paris, and
that he was instructed to treat for peace.
This is clearly the occasion to which Froissart refers in the following
passage. 'About Shrovetide[89], a secret treaty was formed between the two
kings for their ambassadors to meet at Montreuil-sur-Mer; and the king of
England sent to Calais sir Guiscard d'Angle, Sir Richard Sturey, and sir
Geoffrey Chaucer. On the part of the French were the lords de Coucy and de
la Rivieres, sir Nicholas Bragues and Nicholas Bracier. They for a long
time discussed the subject of the above marriage [the marriage of the
French princess with Richard, prince of Wales]; and the French, _as I was
informed_, made some offers, but the others demanded different terms, or
refused treating. These lords returned therefore, with their treaties, to
their sovereigns; and the truces were prolonged to the first of
May.'--Johnes, tr. of Froissart, bk. i. c. 326.
I think Sir H. Nicolas has not given Froissart's meaning correctly.
According to him, 'Froissart states that, in Feb. 1377, Chaucer was joined
with Sir Guichard d'Angle, &c., to negociate a secret treaty for the
marriage of Richard, prince of Wales, with Mary, daughter of the king of
France,' &c.; and that the truce was prolonged till the first of May. And
he concludes that Froissart has confused two occasions, because there
really was an attempt at a treaty about this marriage in 1378 (see below).
It does not appear that Froissart is wrong. He merely gives the date of
about Shrovetide (Feb. 10) as the time when 'a secret treaty was formed';
and this must refer to the ineffectual commission of Feb. 20, 1377. After
this 'the king of England' really sent 'Sir Guiscard d'Angle' in April; and
Chaucer either went with the rest or joined them at Montreuil. Neither does
it appear that discussion of the subject of the marriage arose on the
English side; it was the French who proposed it, but the English who
declined it, for the reason that they had received no instructions to that
effect. On the other hand, the English ambassadors, having been instructed
to treat for peace, procured, at any rate, a short truce. This explanation
seems to me sufficient, especially as Froissart merely wrote what he had
been informed; he was not present himself. The very fact that the marriage
was proposed by the French on this occasion explains how the English came
to consider this proposal seriously in the following year.
Fortunately, the matter is entirely cleared up by the express language
employed in the Issue Roll of 4 Ric. II., under the date Mar. 6, as printed
in Nicolas, Note R; where the object of the deliberations at Montreuil is
definitely restricted to a treaty for peace, whilst the proposal of
marriage (from the _English_ side) is definitely dated as having been made
in the reign of Richard, not of Edward III. The words are: 'tam tempore
regis Edwardi ... in nuncium eiusdem ... versus Moustrell' et Parys ...
causa tractatus pacis ... quam tempore domini regis nunc, causa locutionis
habite de maritagio inter ipsum dominum regem nunc et filiam eiusdem
aduersarii sui Francie.'
The princess Marie, fifth daughter of Charles V., was born in 1370 (N. and
Q., 3 S. vii. 470), and was therefore only seven years old in 1377; and
died in the same year. It is remarkable that Richard married Isabella,
daughter of Charles VI., in 1396, when she was only eight.
It is worth notice that Stowe, in his Annales, p. 437, alludes to the same
mission. He mentions, as being among the ambassadors, 'the Earle of
Salisbury and Sir Richard Anglisison a Poyton [can this be Sir Guiscard
D'Angle?], the Bishop of Saint Dauids, the Bishop of Hereford, [and]
Geffrey Chaucer, the famous Poet of England.' See Life-Records of Chaucer,
p. 133, note 3.
The payments made to Chaucer by John of Gaunt on May 31 of this year have
been noticed above in § 7, at p. xxi.
The long reign of Edward III. terminated on June 21, 1377, during which
Chaucer had received many favours from the king and the Duke of Lancaster,
and some, doubtless, from Lionel, Duke of Clarence. At the same time, his
wife was in favour with the queen, till her death in August, 1369; and
afterwards, with the second duchess of Lancaster. The poet was evidently,
at this time, in easy circumstances; and it is not unlikely that he was
somewhat lavish in his expenditure. The accession of Richard, at the early
age of eleven, made no difference to his position for some nine years; but
in 1386, the adverse supremacy of Thomas, Duke of Gloucester, caused him
much pecuniary loss and embarrassment for some time, and he frequently
suffered from distress during the later period of his life.
§ 17. CHAUCER'S EARLIER POEMS: TILL THE DEATH OF EDWARD III. It is probable
that not much of Chaucer's extant poetry can be referred to the reign of
Edward III. At the same time, it is likely that he wrote many short pieces,
in the form of ballads, complaints, virelayes, and roundels, which have not
been preserved; perhaps some of them were occasional pieces, and chiefly of
interest at the time of writing them. Amongst the lost works we may
certainly include his translation of 'Origenes upon the Maudelayne,' 'The
Book of the Lion,' all but a few stanzas (preserved in the Man of Lawes
Tale) of his translation of Pope Innocent's 'Wrecched Engendring of
Mankinde,' and all but the first 1705 lines of his translation of Le Roman
de la Rose. His early work entitled 'Ceyx and Alcioun' is partly preserved
in the Book of the Duchesse, written in 1369-70. His A. B. C. is, perhaps,
his earliest extant complete poem.
It seems reasonable to date the poems which show a strong Italian influence
after Chaucer's visit to Italy in 1373. The Compleint to his Lady is,
perhaps, one of the earliest of these; and the Amorous Complaint bears so
strong a resemblance to it that it may have been composed nearly at the
same time. The Complaint to Pity seems to belong to the same period, rather
than, as assumed in the text, to a time preceding the Book of the Duchesse.
The original form of the Life of St. Cecily (afterwards the Second Nonnes
Tale) is also somewhat early, as well as the original Palamon and Arcite,
and Anelida. I should also include, amongst the earlier works, the original
form of the Man of Lawes Tale (from Anglo-French), of the Clerkes Tale
(from Petrarch's Latin), and some parts of the Monkes Tale. But the great
bulk of his poetry almost certainly belongs to the reign of Richard II. See
the List of Works at p. lxii.
§ 18. 1377. (CONTINUED). In the commencement of the new reign, Chaucer was
twice paid 40s. by the keeper of the king's Wardrobe, for his half-yearly
allowance for robes as one of the (late) king's esquires[90]. He also
received 7l. 2s. 6½d. on account of his daily allowance of a pitcher of
wine, calculated from October 27, 1376, to June 21, 1377, the day of king
Edward's death[91].
§ 19. 1378. In 1378, on Jan. 16, Chaucer was again associated with Sir
Guichard d'Angle (created Earl of Huntingdon at the coronation of the new
king), with Sir Hugh Segrave, and Dr. Skirlawe, in a mission to France to
negotiate for the king's marriage with a daughter of the king of
France[92]; this is in accordance with a suggestion which, as noted at p.
xxix., originated with the French. The negotiations came, however, to no
result.
On Mar. 9, 1378, Geoffrey Chaucer and John Beauchamp are mentioned as
sureties for William de Beauchamp, Knight, in a business having respect to
Pembroke Castle[93].
On Mar. 23, 1378, Chaucer's previous annuity of 20 marks was confirmed to
him by letters patent[94]; on April 18, his previous grant of a pitcher of
wine was commuted for an annual sum of twenty marks[95]; and, on May 14, he
received 20l. for the arrears of his pension, and 26s. 8d. in advance, for
the current half-year[96].
CHAUCER'S SECOND VISIT TO ITALY: BARNABO VISCONTI. On May 10, 1378, he
received letters of protection, till Christmas[97]; on May 21, he procured
letters of general attorney, allowing John Gower (the poet) and Richard
Forrester to act for him during his absence from England[98]; and on May
28, he received 66l. 13s. 4d. for his wages and the expenses of his
journey, which lasted till the 19th of September[99]. All these entries
refer to the same matter, viz. his second visit to Italy. On this occasion,
he was sent to Lombardy with Sir Edward Berkeley, to treat with Barnabo
Visconti, lord of Milan, and the famous free-lance Sir John Hawkwood, on
certain matters touching the king's expedition of war (pro certis negociis
expeditionem guerre regis tangentibus); a phrase of uncertain import. This
is the Barnabo Visconti, whose death, in 1385, is commemorated by a stanza
in the Monkes Tale, B 3589-3596. Of Sir John Hawkwood, a soldier of
fortune, and the most skilful general of his age, a memoir is given in the
Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica, vol. vi. pp. 1-35. The appointment of
Gower as Chaucer's attorney during his absence is of interest, and shews
the amicable relations between the two poets at this time. For a discussion
of their subsequent relations, see Sources of the Canterbury Tales, vol.
iii. § 38, p. 413.
§ 20. 1379-80. In 1379 and 1380, the notices of Chaucer refer chiefly to
the payment of his pensions. In 1379, he received 12l. 13s. 4d. _with his
own hands_ on Feb. 3[100]; on May 24, he received the sums of 26s. 4d. and
13l. 6s. 4d. (the latter on account of the original grant of a pitcher of
wine), both _by assignment_[101], which indicates his absence from London
at the time; and on Dec. 9 he received, _with his own hands_, two sums of
6l. 13s. 4d. each on account of his two pensions[102]. In 1380, on July 3,
he received the same _by assignment_[103]; and on Nov. 28, he received the
same _with his own hands_[104], together with a sum of 14l. for wages and
expenses in connexion with his mission to Lombardy in 1378[104], in
addition to the 66l. 13s. 4d. paid to him on May 28 of that year. He also
received 5l. from the Duke of Lancaster on May 11 (N. and Q., 7 S. v. 290).
By a deed dated May 1, 1380, a certain Cecilia Chaumpaigne, daughter of the
late William Chaumpaigne and Agnes his wife, released to Chaucer all her
rights of action against him 'de raptu meo[105].' We have no means of
ascertaining either the meaning of the phrase, or the circumstances
referred to. It may mean that Chaucer was accessory to her abduction, much
as Geoffrey Stace and others were concerned in the abduction of the poet's
father; or it may be connected with the fact that his 'little son Lowis'
was ten years old in 1391, as we learn from the Prologue to the Treatise on
the Astrolabe.
§ 21. 1381. On March 6, Chaucer received 22l. for his services in going to
Montreuil and Paris in the time of the late king, i. e. in 1377, in order
to treat for peace; as well as for his journey to France in 1378 to treat
for a marriage between king Richard and the daughter of his adversary
(adversarii sui)[106]. The Treasury must, at this time, have been slack in
paying its just debts. On May 24, he and his wife received their usual
half-yearly pensions[107].
By a deed dated June 19, 1380, but preserved in the Hustings Roll, no. 110,
at the Guildhall, and there dated 5 Ric. II. (1381-2), Chaucer released his
interest in his father's house to Henry Herbury, vintner, in whose
occupation it then was; and it is here that he describes himself as 'me
Galfridum Chaucer, filium Johannis Chaucer, Vinetarii Londonie [108].' This
is the best authority for ascertaining his father's name, occupation, and
abode. Towards the close of the year we find the following payments to him;
viz. on Nov. 16, sums of 6l. 13s. 4d. and 6_s_. 8d.; on Nov. 28, the large
sum of 46l. 13s. 4d., paid to Nicholas Brembre and John Philipot,
Collectors of Customs, and to Geoffrey Chaucer, Comptroller of the Customs;
and on Dec. 31, certain sums to himself and his wife[109].
§ 22. 1382. We have seen that, in 1378, an ineffectual attempt was made to
bring about a marriage between the king and a French princess. In 1382, the
matter was settled by his marriage with Anne of Bohemia, who exerted
herself to calm the animosities which were continually arising in the
court, and thus earned the title of the 'good queen Anne.' It was to her
that Chaucer was doubtless indebted for some relaxation of his official
duties in February, 1385, as noted below.
On May 8, 1382, Chaucer's income was further increased. Whilst retaining
his office of Comptroller of the Customs of Wools, the duties of which he
discharged personally, he was further appointed Comptroller of the Petty
Customs in the Port of London, and was allowed to discharge the duties of
the office by a sufficient deputy[110]. The usual payments of his own and
his wife's pensions were made, in this year, on July 22 and Nov. 11. On
Dec. 10, a payment to him is recorded, in respect of his office as
Comptroller of the Customs [111].
§ 23. 1383. In 1383, the recorded payments are: on Feb. 27, 6s. 8d.; on May
5, his own and his wife's pensions; and on Oct. 24, 6l. 13s. 4d. for his
own pension[112]. Besides these, is the following entry for Nov. 23: 'To
Nicholas Brembre and John Philipot, Collectors of Customs, and Geoffrey
Chaucer, Comptroller; money delivered to them this day in regard of the
assiduity, labour, and diligence brought to bear by them on the duties of
their office, for the year late elapsed, 46l. 13s. 4d.'; being the same
amount as in 1381[113]. It is possible that the date Dec. 10, on which he
tells us that he began his House of Fame, refers to this year.
§ 24. 1384. In 1384, on Apr. 30, he received his own and his wife's
pensions[114]. On Nov. 25, he was allowed to absent himself from his duties
for one month, on account of his own urgent affairs; and the Collectors of
the Customs were commanded to swear in his deputy[115]. On Dec. 9, one
_Philip_ Chaucer is referred to as Comptroller of the Customs, but Philip
is here an error for Geoffrey, as shewn by Mr. Selby[116].
§ 25. 1385. In 1385, a stroke of good fortune befell him, which evidently
gave him much relief and pleasure. It appears that Chaucer had asked the
king to allow him to have a sufficient deputy in his office as Comptroller
at the Wool Quay (in French, _Wolkee_) of London[117]. And on Feb. 17, he
was released from the somewhat severe pressure of his official duties (of
which he complains feelingly in the House of Fame, 652-660) by being
allowed to appoint a permanent deputy[118]. He seems to have revelled in
his newly-found leisure; and we may fairly infer from the Prologue to the
Legend of Good Women, which seems to have been begun shortly afterwards,
that he was chiefly indebted for this favour to the good queen Anne. (See
the Introduction to vol. iii. p. xix.) On April 24, he received his own
pensions as usual, in two sums of 6l. 13s. 4d. each; and, on account of his
wife's pension, 3l. 6s. 8d.[119]
§ 26. 1386. In 1386, as shewn by the Issue Rolls, he received his pensions
as usual. In other respects, the year was eventful. Chaucer was elected a
knight of the shire[120] for the county of Kent, with which he would
therefore seem to have had some connexion, perhaps by the circumstance of
residing at Greenwich (see § 32). He sat accordingly in the parliament
which met at Westminster on Oct. 1, and continued its sittings till Nov. 1.
He and his colleague, William Betenham, were allowed 24l. 8s. for their
expenses in coming to and returning from the parliament, and for attendance
at the same; at the rate of 8s. a day for 61 days[121]. The poet was thus
an unwilling contributor to his own misfortunes; for the proceedings of
this parliament were chiefly directed against the party of the duke of
Lancaster, his patron, and on Nov. 19 the king was obliged to grant a
patent by which he was practically deprived of all power. A council of
regency of eleven persons was formed, with the duke of Gloucester at their
head; and the partisans of John of Gaunt found themselves in an unenviable
position. Among the very few persons who still adhered to the king was Sir
Nicholas Brembre[122], Chaucer's associate in the Customs (see note above,
Nov. 23, 1383); and we may feel confident that Chaucer's sympathies were on
the same side. We shall presently see that, when the king regained his
power in 1389, Chaucer almost immediately received a valuable appointment.
It was during the sitting of this parliament, viz. on Oct. 15, that Chaucer
was examined at Westminster in the case of Richard, lord Scrope, against
the claim of Sir Robert Grosvenor, as to the right of bearing the coat of
arms described as 'azure, a bend or.' The account of Chaucer's evidence is
given in French[123]; the following is a translation of it, chiefly in the
words of Sir H. Nicolas:--
'Geoffrey Chaucer, Esquire, of the age of 40 years and upwards, armed
for 27 years, produced on behalf of Sir Richard Scrope, sworn and
examined.
'Asked, whether the arms, "azure, a bend or," belonged or ought to
belong to the said Sir Richard of right and heritage? Said--Yes, for he
had seen them armed in France before the town of Retters[124], and Sir
Henry Scrope armed in the same arms with a white label, and with a
banner, and the said Sir Richard armed in the entire arms, Azure, a
bend Or, and he had so seen them armed during the whole expedition,
till the said Geoffrey was taken.
'Asked, how he knew that the said arms appertained to the said Sir
Richard? Said--by hearsay from old knights and squires, and that they
had always continued their possession of the said arms; and that they
had always been reputed to be their arms, as the common fame and the
public voice testifies and had testified; and he also said, that when
he had seen the said arms in banners, glass, paintings, and vestments,
they were commonly called the arms of Scrope.
'Asked, if he had ever heard say who was the first ancestor of the said
Sir Richard who first bore the said arms? Said--No; nor had he ever
heard otherwise than that they were come of old ancestry and of old
gentry, and that they had used the said arms.
'Asked, if he had ever heard say how long a time the ancestors of the
said Sir Richard had used the said arms? Said--No; but he had heard say
that it passed the memory of man.
'Asked, if he had ever heard of any interruption or claim made by Sir
Robert Grosvenor or by his ancestors or by any one in his name, against
the said Sir Richard or any of his ancestors? Said--No; but said, that
he was once in Friday Street, London, and, as he was walking in the
street, he saw a new sign, made of the said arms, hanging out; and he
asked what inn it was that had hung out these arms of Scrope? And one
answered him and said--No, sir; they are not hung out as the arms of
Scrope, nor painted for those arms; but they are painted and put there
by a knight of the county of Chester, whom men call Sir Robert
Grosvenor; and that was the first time that he had ever heard speak of
Sir Robert Grosvenor, or of his ancestors, or of any one bearing the
name of Grosvenor.'
The statement that Chaucer was, at this time, of the age of 'forty and
upwards' (xl. ans et plus) ought to be of assistance in determining the
date of his birth; but it has been frequently discredited on the ground
that similar statements made, in the same account, respecting other
persons, can easily be shewn to be incorrect. It can hardly be regarded as
more than a mere phrase, expressing that the witness was old enough to give
material evidence. But the testimony that the witness had borne arms for
twenty-seven years (xxvii. ans) is more explicit, and happens to tally
exactly with the evidence actually given concerning the campaign of 1359; a
campaign which we may at once admit, on his own shewing, to have been his
first. Taken in connexion with his service in the household of the Countess
of Ulster, where his position was probably that of page, we should expect
that, in 1359, he was somewhere near 20 years of age, and born not long
before 1340. It is needless to discuss the point further, as nothing will
convince those who are determined to make much of Chaucer's allusions to
his 'old age' (which is, after all, a personal affair), and who cannot
understand why Hoccleve should speak of himself as 'ripe for death' when he
was only fifty-three.
It was during the session of this same parliament (Oct. 1386) that Chaucer
gave up the house in Aldgate which he had occupied since May, 1374; and the
premises were granted by the corporation to one Richard Forster, possibly
the same person as the Richard Forrester who had been his proxy in
1378[125]. In this house he must have composed several of his poems; and,
in particular, The Parlement of Foules, The House of Fame, and Troilus,
besides making his translation of Boethius. The remarks about 'my house' in
the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women, 282, are inconsistent with the
position of a house above a city-gate. If, as is probable, they have
reference to facts, we may suppose that he had already practically resigned
his house to his friend in 1385, when he was no longer expected to perform
his official duties personally.
Meanwhile, the duke of Gloucester was daily gaining ascendancy; and Chaucer
was soon to feel the resentment of his party. On Dec. 4, 1386, he was
deprived of his more important office, that of Comptroller of the Customs
of Wool, and Adam Yerdeley was appointed in his stead. Only ten days later,
on Dec. 14, he lost his other office likewise, and Henry Gisors became
Comptroller of the Petty Customs[126]. This must have been a heavy loss to
one who had previously been in good circumstances, and who seems to have
spent his money rather freely[127]. He was suffered, however, to retain his
own and his wife's pensions, as there was no pretence for depriving him of
them.
§ 27. 1387. In 1387, the payment of his wife's pension, on June 18, appears
for the last time[128]. It cannot be doubted that she died during the
latter part of this year. In the same year, and in the spring of 1388, he
received his own pensions, as usual[129]; but his wife's pension ceased at
her death, at a time when his own income was seriously reduced.
§ 28. 1388. In 1388, on May 1, the grants of his two annual pensions, of 20
marks each, were cancelled at his own request, and assigned, in his stead,
to John Scalby[130]. The only probable interpretation of this act is that
he was then hard pressed for money, and adopted this ready but rather rash
method for obtaining a considerable sum at once. He retained, however, the
pension of 10l. per annum, granted him by the duke of Lancaster in 1374.
Chaucer was evidently a hard worker and a practical man. We have every
reason for believing that he performed his duties assiduously, as he
himself asserts; and the loss of his offices in Dec. 1386 must have
occasioned a good deal of enforced leisure. This explains at once why the
years 1387 and 1388 were, as appears from other considerations, the most
active time of his poetical career; he was then hard at work on his
Canterbury Tales. And though the loss of his wife, at the close of 1387,
must have caused a sad interruption in his congenial task, we can hardly
wonder if, after a reasonable interval, he resumed it; it was perhaps the
best thing that he could do.
§ 29. 1389. This period of almost complete leisure came to an end in July,
1389; owing, probably, to the fact that the king, on May 3 in that year,
suddenly took the government into his own hands. The influence of the duke
of Gloucester was on the wane; the duke of Lancaster returned to England;
and the cloud that had lain over Chaucer's fortunes was once more
dispersed. His public work required some attention, though he was allowed
to have a deputy, and the time devoted to the Canterbury Tales was
diminished. It is doubtful whether, with the exception of a few occasional
pieces, Chaucer wrote much new poetry during the last ten years of his
life.
On July 12, Chaucer received the valuable appointment of Clerk of the
King's Works at the palace of Westminster, the Tower of London, the Mews at
Charing Cross, and other places. Among them are mentioned the Castle of
Berkhemsted (Berkhamstead, Herts.), the King's manors of Kennington (now in
London), Eltham (Kent), Clarendon (near Salisbury), Sheen (now Richmond,
Surrey)[131], Byfleet (Surrey), Childern Langley (i. e. King's Langley,
Hertfordshire), and Feckenham (Worcestershire); also the Royal lodge of
Hatherbergh in the New Forest, and the lodges in the parks of Clarendon,
Childern Langley, and Feckenham. He was permitted to execute his duties by
deputy, and his salary was 2s. per day, or 36l. 10s. annually, a
considerable sum[132]. A payment to Chaucer, as Clerk of the Works, is
recorded only ten days later (July 22); and we find that, about this time,
he issued a commission to one Hugh Swayn to provide materials for the
king's works at Westminster, Sheen, and elsewhere[133].
§ 30. 1390. In 1390, on March 13, Chaucer was appointed on a commission,
with five others, to repair the banks of the Thames between Woolwich and
Greenwich (at that time, probably, his place of residence); but was
superseded in 1391[134].
In the same year, Chaucer was entrusted with the task of putting up
scaffolds in Smithfield for the king and queen to see the jousts which took
place there in the month of May; this notice is particularly interesting in
connexion with the Knightes Tale (A 1881-92). The cost of doing this,
amounting to 8l. 12s. 6d., was allowed him in a writ dated July 1, 1390;
and he received further payment at the rate of 2s. a day[135].
About this time, in the 14th year of king Richard (June 22, 1390-June 21,
1391), he was appointed joint forester, with Richard Brittle, of North
Petherton Park, in Somersetshire, by the earl of March, the grandson of his
first patron, Prince Lionel. Perhaps in consequence of the death of Richard
Brittle, he was made sole forester in 21 Ric. II. (1397-8) by the countess
of March; and he probably held the appointment till his death in 1400. No
appointment, however, is known to have been then made, and we find that the
next forester, appointed in 4 Hen. V. (1416-17), was no other than Thomas
Chaucer, who may have been his son[136]. It is perhaps worthy of remark
that some of the land in North Petherton, as shewn by Collinson, descended
to Emma, third daughter of William de Placetis, which William had the same
office of 'forester of North Petherton' till his death in 1274; and this
Emma married John Heyron, who died in 1326-7, seised of lands at Enfield,
Middlesex, and at Newton, Exton, and North Petherton, in the county of
Somerset (Calend. Inquis. post Mortem, 1806, vol. i. p. 333; col. 1). If
this John Heyron was related to the Maria Heyron who was Chaucer's
grandmother, there was perhaps a special reason for appointing Chaucer to
this particular office.
On July 12, 1390, he was ordered to procure workmen and materials for the
repair of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, then in a ruinous condition; this
furnishes a very interesting association[137].
On Sept. 6, 1390, a curious misfortune befell the poet. He was robbed twice
on the same day, by the same gang of robbers; once of 10l. of the king's
money, at Westminster, and again of 9l. 3s. 2d., of his horse, and of other
property, near the 'foul oak' (_foule ok_) at Hatcham, Surrey (now a part
of London, approached by the Old Kent Road, and not far from Deptford and
Greenwich). One of the gang confessed the robberies; and Chaucer was
forgiven the repayment of the money[138].
§ 31. 1391. In 1391, on Jan. 22, Chaucer appointed John Elmhurst as his
deputy, for superintending repairs at the palace of Westminster and the
tower of London; this appointment was confirmed by the king[139]. It was in
this year that he wrote his Treatise on the Astrolabe, for the use of his
son Lowis. By this time, the Canterbury Tales had ceased to make much
progress. For some unknown reason, Chaucer lost his appointment in the
summer; for on June 17, a writ was issued, commanding him to give up to
John Gedney[140] all his rolls, &c. connected with his office[141]; and on
Sept. 16, we find, accordingly, that the office was held by John
Gedney[142]; nevertheless, payments to Chaucer as 'late Clerk of the Works'
occur on Dec. 16, 1391, Mar. 4 and July 13, 1392, and even as late as in
1393[143].
§ 32. 1392-3. Chaucer was now once more without public employment. No doubt
the Canterbury Tales received some attention, and perhaps we may assign to
this period various alterations in the original plan of the poem. The
author must by this time have seen the necessity of limiting each of his
characters to the telling of _one_ Tale only. The Envoy to Scogan and the
Complaint of Venus were probably written in 1393. According to a note
written opposite l. 45 of the former poem, Chaucer was then residing at
Greenwich, a most convenient position for frequent observation of pilgrims
on the road to Canterbury. See §§ 26 and 30.
§ 33. 1394. Chaucer was once more a poor man, although, as a widower, his
expenses may have been less. Probably he endeavoured to draw attention to
his reduced circumstances, or Henry Scogan may have done so for him, in
accordance with the poet's suggestion in l. 48 of the Envoy just mentioned.
In 1394, on Feb. 28, he obtained from the king a grant of 20l. per annum
for life, payable half-yearly at Easter and Michaelmas, being 6l. 13s. 8d.
less than the pensions which he had disposed of in 1388[144]; but the first
payment was not made till Dec. 20, when he received 10l. for the half-year
from Easter to Michaelmas, and the proportional sum of 1l. 16s. 7d. for the
month of March[145].
§ 34. 1395. The difficulties which Chaucer experienced at this time, as to
money matters, are clearly illustrated during the year 1395. In this year
he applied for a loan from the exchequer, in advance of his pension, no
less than four times. In this way he borrowed 10l. on April 1; 10l. on June
25; 1l. 6s. 8d. on Sept. 9; and 8l. 6s. 8d. on Nov. 27. He repaid the first
of these loans on May 28; and the second was covered by his allowance at
Michaelmas. He must also have repaid the small third loan, as the account
was squared by his receipt of the balance of 1l. 13s. 4d. (instead of 10l.)
on March 1, 1396[146]. All the sums were paid into his own hands, so that
he was not far from home in 1395. The fact that he borrowed so small a sum
as 1l. 6s. 8d. is significant and saddening.
In 19 Ric. II. (June, 1395-June, 1396), Chaucer was one of the attorneys of
Gregory Ballard, to receive seizin of the manor of Spitalcombe, and of
other lands in Kent[147].
§ 35. 1396. In 1396, as noted above, he received the balance of his first
half-year's pension on March 1. The second half-year's pension was not paid
till Dec. 25[148]. The Balades of Truth, Gentilesse, and Lak of
Stedfastnesse possibly belong to this period, but some critics would place
the last of these somewhat earlier.
§ 36. 1397. In 1397, the payment of the pension was again behindhand; there
seems to have been some difficulty in obtaining it, due, probably, to the
lavish extravagance of the king. Instead of receiving his half-yearly
pension at Easter, Chaucer received it much later, and in two instalments;
viz. 5l. on July 2, and 5l. on Aug. 9. But after this, things mended; for
his Michaelmas pension was paid in full, viz. 10l., on Oct 26[149]. It was
received for him by John Walden, and it is probable that at this time he
was in infirm health.
§ 37. 1398. We may certainly infer that, at this time, Chaucer was once
more in great distress for money, and considerably in debt. It is also
probable that he was becoming infirm; for indeed, his death was now
approaching. In the Easter term of 1398 (Apr. 24-May 20), one Isabella
Buckholt sued him for the sum of 14l. 1s. 11d. He did not, however, put in
an appearance; for the sheriff's return, in the Michaelmas term (Oct.
9-Nov. 28), was--'non est inventus'; and a similar return was again made in
the Trinity term of 1399 (June 4-25)[150].
We are tempted to suspect that the sheriff was not particularly diligent in
his search after the debtor. That Chaucer was well aware of the awkwardness
of his position, is shewn by the fact that on May 4, 1398, just at the very
time when the suit was brought, he applied for, and obtained, letters of
protection from the king against his enemies, forbidding any one to sue or
arrest him on any plea, except it were connected with land, for the term of
two years[151]. This furnishes an additional reason why the sheriff did not
'find' him. When the two years terminated, in May, 1400, he had not half a
year to live.
On June 3, 1398, Chaucer was again unable to receive his pension himself,
but it was conveyed to him by William Waxcombe[152]. At the close of the
next month, he was reduced to such pitiable straits that we find him
applying _personally_ to the exchequer, for such a trifling advance as 6s.
8d., on July 24; and for the same sum only a week later, on July 31[152].