By Jennifer Schuessler For nearly 150 years, a cloud has hung over the reputation of Geoffrey Chaucer, the author of “The Canterbury Tales,” long seen as the founder of the English literary canon.

(Image: Portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer based on a 19th century engraving by James Thomson Credit: Stock Montage/Getty Images) ...

He was born between 1340 and 1343, son of John Chaucer, a London vintner, and Agnes (Copton). Geoffrey began his career in the service of Lionel, third son of King Edward III, and held various offices ...

Geoffrey Chaucer is considered one of the most formative writers in the English literary canon. His work—written at a time when English literature was beginning to take shape—spanned poetry ...

The life of Geoffrey Chaucer (ca. 1340-1400), often labeled “the father of English poetry,” ought to be an open book: He is ...

(Image: Portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer based on a 19th century engraving by James Thomson Credit: Stock Montage/Getty Images) ...