The Ricardian Poets: a Timeline
This timeline shows the historical context of three of the so-called Ricardian Poets (Chaucer, Langland and Gower), to give a sense of their chronological relation to each other and to the events of the time. The Gawain-poet is not included here, since we have no firm knowledge of the dates of his works or any details of his biography. It is probable, though, that he was writing during the period covered here.
1327 | Coronation of Edward III |
c. 1330 | Birth of Langland and Gower |
1337 | Beginning of Hundred Years War |
c. 1340 | Chaucer probably born in London, in the early 1340s |
1348 | Black Death reaches England |
1351 | Statute of Labourers |
1357 | First record of Chaucer, as a member of the household of the Countess of Ulster, wife of Prince Lionel |
1359 | Chaucer accompanies Lionel, as valettus, to fight in France |
1360 | Chaucer captured by French soldiers and ransomed for £16 |
" | Chaucer carries letters from Calais to England for Lionel |
1365 | Piers Plowman Z-text? |
" | Gower purchases the manor of Aldington Septvauns in Kent |
1366 | Death of Chaucer's father, John |
" | Chaucer travels to Spain, and is given safe conduct by Charles II of Navarre |
c. 1366 | Chaucer marries Philippa |
1367 | Birth of a son, Thomas, to Chaucer |
1368 | Chaucer listed as a squire |
" | -1372 Chaucer: Book of the Duchess |
1369 | Chaucer apparently on campaign with John of Gaunt in France |
c. 1370 | Piers Plowman A-text |
1371 | Chaucer listed as an esquire of the King's chamber (until 1373) |
1372 | Constance of Castile, in whose service is Philippa Chaucer, marries John of Gaunt |
1374 | Chaucer granted a gallon of wine a day for life |
" | Chaucer appointed Controller of Customs for wool in London, and given a house rent-free in return for seeing to its upkeep |
" | Chaucer granted an annuity of £10 by John of Gaunt |
1376 | -1378 Gower: Mirour de l'Omme |
" | The "Good Parliament" |
1377 | Death of Edward III; accession of Richard II |
1378 | Chaucer travels to Milan |
" | Gower granted power of attorney for Chaucer whilst he travels |
" | -1380 Chaucer: The House of Fame |
" | -1382 Gower: Vox Clamantis |
" | Great Schism (Western Schism) |
c. 1379 | Piers Plowman B-text |
1380 | Chaucer released from the charge of raptus brought by Cecily Champaign |
" | Possible date of birth of second son, Lewis, to Chaucer |
" | -1382 Chaucer: Parliament of Fowls |
" | -1387 Chaucer: Legend of Good Women |
1381 | Peasants' Revolt |
1382-6 | Chaucer: Troilus and Criseyde |
1385-6 | Piers Plowman C-text |
c.1386 | Death of Langland |
" | Chaucer moves from London to Kent, appointed a "knight of the shire" of Kent and sits as MP for Kent in the Oct./Nov. Parliament |
1387 | Chaucer makes apparently his final trip abroad, to Calais |
1388 | Chaucer resigns his royal annuities |
" | -1400 Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales |
" | The "Merciless Parliament" |
1389 | Chaucer appointed Clerk of the King's Works (until 1391) |
c. 1390 | Gower: Confessio Amantis |
1394 | Chaucer granted an annuity of £20 for life by Richard II |
1398 | Gower marries Agnes Groundolf |
1399 | Chaucer living again in London, in the grounds of Westminster Abbey |
" | Richard II forced to abdicate by Henry Bolingbroke, who is crowned as Henry IV |
1400 | Death of Chaucer, apparently on October the twenty-fifth |
" | (c. 1400) Gower: In Praise of Peace |
1408 | Death of Gower |
Select recent bibliography:
Arner, L. "History Lessons from the End of Time: Gower and the English Rising of 1381." Clio 31, (2002): 237-57.
Bennett, J. M. "The Curse of the Plowman." The Yearbook of Langland Studies 20, (2006): 215-26.
Dodd, G. "Changing Perspectives: Parliament, Poetry and the 'Civil Service' under Richard II and Henry IV." Parliamentary History 25, (2006): 299-322.
Friedman, J. B. "Chaucer's Pardoner, Rutebeuf's “Dit De L'herberie," the “Dit Du Mercier," and Cultural History." Viator 38, (2007): 289-319.
Giancarlo, M. Parliament and Literature in Late Medieval England Cambrige: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Hanna, R. London Literature, 1300-1380. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Hewett-Smith, K. M. "Allegory on the Half-Acre: The Demands of History." The Yearbook of Langland Studies 10, (2006): 1-22.
Hudson, A. "Langland and Lollardy?" The Yearbook of Langland Studies 17, (2003): 93-105.
Lacey, H. "‘Grace for the Rebels': The Role of the Royal Pardon in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381." Journal of Medieval History 34, (2008): 36-63.
Matthews, D. "Recent Chaucer Criticism: New Historicism, New Discontents?" Modern Philology 106, (2009): 117-27.
Scanlon, L. "King, Commons, and Kind Wit: Langland's National Vision and the Rising of 1381." Kathy Lavezzo (ed.) Imagining a Medieval English Nation (2004): 191.
Sobecki, S. I. "Educating Richard: Incest, Marriage, and (Political) Consent in Gower's 'Tale of Apollonius'." Anglia 125, (2007): 205-16.
Turner, M. Chaucerian Conflict: Languages of Antagonism in Late Fourteenth-Century London Oxford University Press, 2007.
Valente, C. The Theory and Practice of Revolt in Medieval England Ashgate, 2003.
Bennett, J. M. "The Curse of the Plowman." The Yearbook of Langland Studies 20, (2006): 215-26.
Dodd, G. "Changing Perspectives: Parliament, Poetry and the 'Civil Service' under Richard II and Henry IV." Parliamentary History 25, (2006): 299-322.
Friedman, J. B. "Chaucer's Pardoner, Rutebeuf's “Dit De L'herberie," the “Dit Du Mercier," and Cultural History." Viator 38, (2007): 289-319.
Giancarlo, M. Parliament and Literature in Late Medieval England Cambrige: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Hanna, R. London Literature, 1300-1380. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Hewett-Smith, K. M. "Allegory on the Half-Acre: The Demands of History." The Yearbook of Langland Studies 10, (2006): 1-22.
Hudson, A. "Langland and Lollardy?" The Yearbook of Langland Studies 17, (2003): 93-105.
Lacey, H. "‘Grace for the Rebels': The Role of the Royal Pardon in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381." Journal of Medieval History 34, (2008): 36-63.
Matthews, D. "Recent Chaucer Criticism: New Historicism, New Discontents?" Modern Philology 106, (2009): 117-27.
Scanlon, L. "King, Commons, and Kind Wit: Langland's National Vision and the Rising of 1381." Kathy Lavezzo (ed.) Imagining a Medieval English Nation (2004): 191.
Sobecki, S. I. "Educating Richard: Incest, Marriage, and (Political) Consent in Gower's 'Tale of Apollonius'." Anglia 125, (2007): 205-16.
Turner, M. Chaucerian Conflict: Languages of Antagonism in Late Fourteenth-Century London Oxford University Press, 2007.
Valente, C. The Theory and Practice of Revolt in Medieval England Ashgate, 2003.