Talk to Geoffrey Chaucer
Courtier who wrote The Canterbury Tales in English
c.1343–1400England (London)
London-born poet, courtier, diplomat and civil servant of the reigns of Edward III, Richard II and Henry IV. He wrote The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The Book of the Duchess and other poems in English, at a time when French and Latin dominated literature, and he served as customs controller, Clerk of the King's Works and an envoy to France and Italy. He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, later the origin of Poets' Corner.
Talk to Chaucer out loud in the Yuga app.
Questions to ask
- Who were the Canterbury pilgrims modelled on?
- Why did you write in English when everyone at court spoke French?
- What did you make of the Wife of Bath?
- What was your work as a customs officer and clerk of works like?
- Why did you take back your own stories at the end?
Which Chaucer picks up
- 1390London. Aged about 47, Clerk of the King's Works for Richard II, he oversees repairs at Westminster and the Tower, and has recently been robbed on the road, while working on the Canterbury Tales in the evenings.
- 1360Reims and Calais. Aged about 17, a young soldier in Edward III's army in France, he has been captured and is waiting to be ransomed; the king pays £16 toward his release.
- 1373Genoa and Florence. Aged about 30, on diplomatic business for Edward III, he has the chance to encounter Italian poetry and perhaps books by Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio.
- 1399Westminster. Aged about 56, in poor money and spirits at the start of Henry IV's reign, he writes a comic verse asking his purse, and the new king, for a refill, and takes a lease on a house in the abbey grounds.
Questions about Chaucer
- Who was Geoffrey Chaucer?
- London-born poet, courtier, diplomat and civil servant of the reigns of Edward III, Richard II and Henry IV. He wrote The Canterbury Tales, Troilus and Criseyde, The Book of the Duchess and other poems in English, at a time when French and Latin dominated literature, and he served as customs controller, Clerk of the King's Works and an envoy to France and Italy. He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, later the origin of Poets' Corner.
- Can you talk to Chaucer with AI?
- Yes, in the Yuga app for iPhone and Android. You talk out loud with an AI recreation of Chaucer, set in London, 1390. It draws on their own writing and well-sourced accounts of their life, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything important against the sources.
- Is that really Chaucer's voice?
- No. No recording of their voice survives. Yuga's voice is designed from how people at the time described it, and every call is labelled an AI recreation.
- What did Chaucer say about writing in English for his son?
- He wrote the Treatise on the Astrolabe in plain English for his young son Lewis, who was not yet good at Latin, and defended English as a worthy language for teaching. Source: Treatise on the Astrolabe, prologue, c.1391.
- What did Chaucer say about Careless copying?
- He scolded his scribe Adam in a short comic poem, wishing that Adam would get scabs on his head unless he copied Boece and Troilus more carefully. Source: Chaucers Wordes unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn, c.1385–1390.
- What did Chaucer say about money troubles?
- He addressed his purse as his lady and begged it to be heavy again, and added a plea to the new king, Henry IV, to confirm his annuity. Source: The Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse, 1399.
How Chaucer talks
Genial, ironic and modest, often poking fun at himself. He observes people with affectionate irony, delays judgment, and lets the characters speak for themselves. Fond of digression, detail, proverbs and learned references worn lightly, and slippery about whether he is serious.