Geoffrey Chaucer was a 14th century English nobleman who, among many more stately occupations, was a celebrated poet and playwright. Although he wrote many poems and plays, he has been called the father of English Literature for his work on The Canterbury Tales.

Though born into a middle-class merchant family, Chaucer was introduced into courtly life at a young age when he became a page for a noblewoman. He went on to travel with Lionel of Antwerp, First Duke of Clarence, during the England's invasion of France during the Hundred Years' War. When he was captured, King Edward III contributed to the ransom that freed Chaucer.

Afterwards he would hold many governmental jobs, including soldier, squire, diplomat, customs controller, justice of the peace, Parliament member, clerk, and forest official.

• The Book of the Duchess
• The House of Fame
• Anelida and Arcite
• Parlement of Foules
• Troilus and Criseyde
• The Legend of Good Women
• The Canterbury Tales
• Treatise on the Astrolabe

He is honored as the "Father of English Literature" not only because of the stylistic achievements of The Canterbury Tales, but chiefly because he wrote the poem in the native Middle English tongue. Until that point, the overwhelming majority of literature, primarily poetry and romances, was written in French. By writing a legitimate masterpiece in English, Chaucer brought artistic legitimacy to the entire English nation.

• c. 1343: Born

• 1357: Worked as Page for Elizabeth de Burgh

• 1359: Travelled with English Army During Hundred Years' War

• 1360: Captured by the French and Ransomed for 16 Pounds

• 1366: Marries Philippa Roet, Death of his Father

• 1367: Begins Translating Romaunt of the Rose

• 1368: Book of the Duchess in Memory of the Duchess of Lancaster

• 1378: Begins The House of Fame, which would later become The Knight's Tale, a story in The Canterbury Tales

• 1380: Parliament of the Fowles

• 1381-85: Boece and Troilus and Criseyde

• 1386: Legend of Good Women

• 1387: Chaucer's Wife Dies, begins The Canterbury Tales

• 1391: Treatise of the Astrolabe

• 1392-95: Writes most of The Canterbury Tales

• 1396: Adds The Nun's Priest's Tale, The Canon's Yeoman's Tale and The Parson's Tale to The Canterbury Tales

• 1400: The Complaint of Chaucer to His Purse

• October 25, 1400: Died

• The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups

• 1954: BBC Sunday Night Theatre: Troilus and Cressida

• 1956: Warner Brothers Presents: The Deadly Riddle

• 1966: Troilus and Cressida

• 1972: Racconti di Canterbury I

• 1978: The Last Waltz

• 1981: Troilus & Cressida

• 1985: Ribald Tales of Canterbury

• 1998-2000: The Canterbury Tales

• 2003: The Canterbury Tales