Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340/42–1400) was an English writer and poet. He was probably born in London and came from a prosperous family of wine merchants. Chaucer served at the royal court and undertook diplomatic missions to France and Italy during the fourteenth century. He also worked as a customs inspector. Through his travels, he encountered Italian literature, including the works of Boccaccio and Dante. Chaucer wrote in Middle English; his best-known work is *The Canterbury Tales*. He is regarded as one of the founders of English poetry.