Chaucer--Wedded bliss?

Let's look in on Mr. and Mrs. Chaucer--Geoffrey and Philippa.
     Derek Brewer, the Chaucer expert, wrote the Chaucer entry in the Britannica. He gives facts without speculation.

     By 1366 Chaucer had married Philippa, a lady-in-waiting to the queen. When the queen died, Philippa became lady-in-waiting to the second wife of John of Gaunt. Her sister, Katherine Swynford, was a mistress of John of Gaunt.
     Chaucer probably had two sons, and that is all that is known of his family.

Later sleuthing and comparisons add considerable interest.
     The biographer Peter Ackroyd, for example, takes the limited number of statements in official records and augments them with the circumstances of the times. The Chaucer union, he says, is a "career marriage" like that of many young folks in royal service. They are a "professional couple"; as their first duty, they did what the job called for. If Geoffrey traveled to Italy for six months, his wife accepted it. If the queen sojourned in Ireland, Philippa abided there and Geoffrey understood. Peasants might have had a cozy little cottage, but not those serving royalty. Other benefits, however, like being supplied with expensive garments for all occasions, a lifetime annuity, gifts of various sorts, and prestige, were balanced against a life of one's own.

Young Chaucer spent time in the military and rose to the diplomatic corps, associating with the world of wealth and power. No doubt he would have been treated well by hosts who desired a favorable outcome. Do you get a picture of Chaucer the youthful soldier and then the envoy surrounded by those eager to please? Hold on to that picture. We'll examine it with a different point of view later.

And what of Philippa, Mrs. Chaucer, serving the queen and later in service to John of Gaunt's household? Philippa, most likely, had two children. An Elizabeth Chaucy entered a local convent. We know this from a record telling that John of Gaunt covered the expenses of her admission to the nunnery; no more is known about her. And a Thomas Chaucer, who served the household of John of Gaunt from an early age, went on to become rich and successful. John repeatedly assisted Thomas' advancement in his career and marriage arrangement.
     Over the years, John had many mistresses. (As a matter of fact, Philippa's sister, Katherine, upon the death of John's second wife, advanced in position from his mistress to his wife.) Speculation says that Elizabeth and Thomas were two of John of Gaunt's many illegitimate children--made legitimate because Philippa was married to Geoffrey.
     I'll interject a twentieth-century comparison to illustrate the royal perspective. Edward VII of Britain, in the early 1900s, had numerous mistresses, but they say he was "discreet." They were attractive married women, a practical plan. Edward never acknowledged any illegitimate children.

     One more son is mentioned by the poet himself--little Lewis. Some scholars barely speak of his existence, but . . . The boy was probably born in 1381, because in 1391 Chaucer refers to the boy's tenth birthday. Ten years before, as a persistent lawyer and researcher concluded, "Chaucer and his wife were not living together during this legal action." Geoffrey kept house in London, while his wife served John of Gaunt's needs elsewhere. And what kind of legal action are we referring to? Stay tuned.

In the beginning, Chaucer . . .

The year 1340 generally serves as the agreed-upon year of Chaucer's birth, though it may have been two or three years later. The family background is the wine trade and serving in the king's household. As a boy, Chaucer would have been schooled in Latin and Latin authors. In 1357, an entry in the household accounts of Lionel, Duke of Ulster, indicates that Chaucer is a page there. Youngsters in such an environment learned grammar, reading and writing, languages (the royal family was as much French as English), matters of diplomacy, and how to serve their betters. With an eye to the future, these young men would be instructed in music, dancing, singing and conversing in Latin and French. Adolescent Chaucer and his fellow pages were well prepared.
     The family name, Chaucer, has been said to be a form of the French chaucier, which means shoemaker. The final  r,  however, would not be pronounced! I take the poet's name, instead, to be a form of chasseur, meaning hunter. That will be a fun factor after a bit.
     Young Geoffrey spent Christmastide of 1357 with Lionel's family. John of Gaunt, the Duke's younger brother, nearly Chaucer's age, joined them. (John would become a political power and the poet's patron in years to come.)
     In 1359, Chaucer served in the army of King Edward III as Edward renewed his effort to rule both England and France. Geoffrey's probable rank would be a man-at-arms; his primary weapon a simple spear wielded from horseback or on foot.
     Edward planned to cross the English Channel to Calais, an English possession on the coast of the County of Flanders, and march into France with his army--only fighting if attacked. (Remember Flanders!) The campaign, however, did not develop as planned. Instead of landing in the spring--the beginning of good weather--they actually arrived in Calais October 28! Edward's army faced steady rain followed by bitter cold.
     Weeks went by; the English army waited and endured. Knowing how spirit and discipline decline in a do-nothing army, Edward allowed (or ordered) raiding parties to keep up his army's morale. French forces slew, or captured stragglers and foragers from these small groups. Chaucer was among those captured. He was held prisoner until March 1360, when King Edward ransomed his valued servant.
     Shortly after Chaucer's release, the still hopeful king-to-be turned to a policy of devastation. The countryside was ravaged at will. The brutal onslaught proved effective. During peace negotiations a few months later, Chaucer received his first recorded assignment as an envoy of the English crown, carrying official letters from England to Calais.
     Several years follow where there is no record of Chaucer's whereabouts, but in 1363 a Philippa Chaucer became servant to the queen. When or where Philippa and Geoffrey were married is not recorded, but we know that our poet had taken a wife. He would soon become a man of the world.