Amazon.com description: Product Description: Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1343-1400) was an English author, poet, philosopher, bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Sometimes called the father of English literature, Chaucer is credited by some scholars as being the first author to demonstrate the artistic legitimacy of the vernacular English language, rather than French or Latin. Chaucer's first major work, The Book of the Duchess (1369), was an elegy for Blanche of Lancaster. Two other early works were Anelida and Arcite and The House of Fame (1380). He wrote many of his major works in a prolific period when he held the job of customs comptroller for London (1374 to 1386). His Parlement of Foules (1380), The Legend of Good Women (1386) and Troilus and Criseyde (1386) all date from this time. He is best known as the writer of The Canterbury Tales (c1400), which is a collection of stories told by fictional pilgrims on the road to the cathedral at Canterbury; these tales would help to shape English literature.