The Book of the Duchess

Chaucer, Geoffrey (c.1343–1400), translated by Kline, A.S., (contact-email)

The Book of the Duchess is a narrative poem by Geoffrey Chaucer, serving as an elegy for Blanche of Lancaster, the first wife of John of Gaunt. Written in the dream vision form, it chronicles the poet’s encounter with a grieving knight in a fantastical dreamscape. This interaction leads to the recounting of the knight’s deep love and the devastating loss of his lady. The work is noted for its emotional narrative, the depiction of courtly love, and its allegorical use of the dream as a storytelling device. Chaucer’s handling of the octosyllabic couplet in this early poem prefigures his more mature works in Middle English literature.

Author Details

Geoffrey Chaucer was born c1343 in London to a prosperous family of wine-merchants. Through his father’s connections, he began his official duties as page to the Countess of Ulster, the wife of Lionel, second son to the king, Edward III. Chaucer subsequently served as courtier, diplomat and civil servant while also establishing his poetic reputation.

He appears to have travelled widely in Europe during his varied court career. He married Philippa de Roet, lady-in-waiting to the queen, and sister to Katherine Swynford, John of Gaunt’s third wife, and flourished under John of Gaunt’s patronage. His most prolific period of writing was during his time as comptroller of customs for the port of London, between 1374 and 1386, both “Troilus and Criseyde”, his finely constructed poem based on classical and Renaissance sources, and the early “Canterbury Tales”, his celebration of the English social landscape, dating from that time.

Chaucer is thought to have died in October 1400, not long after the overthrow of his royal patron Richard II and the accession of Henry IV, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey, in what has become known as Poet’s Corner, that being his right as a tenant of the Abbey Close. His son Thomas had a significant career at the court of successive kings, and as Speaker of the House of Commons.

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Kline, A.S.,

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