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Known for
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Increasing the prestige of English as a literary language, through his contributions to early English literature
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Introducing rhyme royal, a seven-line stanza in iambic pentameter, to English poetry
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Milestones
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1357 Served as a page to Elizabeth, Countess of Ulster
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1359 Went to France with King Edward III's army and was soon after taken prisoner. He was ransomed in 1360.
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1367 Appointed to a position in the king's service
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1369? Wrote the elegy The Book of the Duchess following the death of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster
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1370s-1380s Wrote the unfinished poem The House of Fame and the love poems The Parlement of Foules and Troilus and Criseyde |
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1374-1386 Served as controller of customs for London
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1387-1400 Wrote The Canterbury Tales, a collection of 24 stories told during a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas à Becket in Canterbury
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1389-1391 Served as clerk of the king's works
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Did You Know
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By writing in English at a time when other poets were using French and Latin, Chaucer influenced the recognition of English as a literary language.
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In the 1360s and 1370s, Chaucer went on numerous diplomatic missions to Europe.
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Chaucer was elected to Parliament in 1386 and served for one year.
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Chaucer is buried in the Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.
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