Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, most likely in the early 1340s. Some accounts, including his monument, suggest he was born in 1343, though the precise date and location remain unknown. His great-grandfather Andrew de Chaucer worked as a tavern keeper. His grandfather Robert Malyn le Chaucer served as a purveyor of wines. His father John Chaucer rose to become an important wine merchant with a royal appointment. Several previous generations of Geoffrey Chaucer's family had been vintners and merchants in Ipswich. The surname derives from the French chaucier, which now refers to a maker of chausses or leggings rather than shoemakers. In 1324 his future father John Chaucer was kidnapped by an aunt hoping to marry the twelve-year-old boy to her daughter. This attempt aimed to keep Ipswich property within the family. The aunt was imprisoned and fined £250, suggesting the family was financially secure at that time. John Chaucer married Agnes Copton who inherited properties in 1349. She received twenty-four shops in London from her uncle Hamo de Copton. Hamo is described in a will dated the 3rd of April 1354 as a moneyer employed at the Tower of London. A document from June 1380 lists Chaucer himself as me Galfridum Chaucer filium Johannis Chaucer Vinetarii Londonie meaning I Geoffrey Chaucer son of the vintner John Chaucer of London.
Public Service And Court Life
Chaucer served as a public servant whose official life was very well documented with nearly five hundred written items testifying to his career. The first record appears in 1357 when he became the Countess of Ulster's page through his father's connections. De Burgh was married to Lionel of Antwerp Duke of Clarence making this position bring the teenage Chaucer into the close court circle where he remained for the rest of his life. He worked as a courtier diplomat and civil servant while also working for the king from 1389 to 1391 as Clerk of the King's Works. In 1359 Edward invaded France during the early stages of the Hundred Years' War. Chaucer traveled with Lionel of Antwerp as part of the English army. In 1360 he was captured during the siege of Reims. The king paid £16 for his ransom and Chaucer was released. Around 1366 Chaucer married Philippa de Roet who was a lady-in-waiting to Edward III's queen Philippa of Hainault. She was a sister of Katherine Swynford who later became the third wife of John of Gaunt. It is uncertain how many children Chaucer and Philippa had but three or four are most commonly cited. His son Thomas Chaucer had an illustrious career as chief butler to four kings envoy to France and Speaker of the House of Commons. On the 20th of June 1367 Chaucer became a member of the royal court of Edward III as a valet de chambre yeoman or esquire on that day which could entail a wide variety of tasks.