The Book of the Duchess, also known as The Deth of Blaunche, is the earliest of Chaucer's major poems, preceded only by his short poem, "An ABC", and possibly by his translation of The Romaunt of the Rose. Based on the themes and title of the poem, most sources put the date of composition after 12 September 1368 and before 1372, with many recent studies privileging a date as early as the end of 1368.
Opening title of The Dreame of Chaucer, commonly referred to as The Book of the Duchess, Geoffrey Chaucer's first own work, which was written probably between 1368 and 1372; published 1532 in the first collected edition of Chaucer's works, edited by William Thynne
Geoffrey Chaucer was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for The Canterbury Tales. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He was the first writer to be buried in what has since come to be called Poets' Corner, in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer also gained fame as a philosopher and astronomer, composing the scientific A Treatise on the Astrolabe for his 10-year-old son Lewis. He maintained a career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier, diplomat, and member of parliament.
Manuscript portrait, 1412
Chaucer as a pilgrim, in the early 15th-century illuminated Ellesmere manuscript of the Canterbury Tales
A 19th-century depiction of Chaucer
Blue plaque at the site of the Tabard inn in Southwark, London where in 1386 the pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales set off to visit Canterbury Cathedral
