`Brewer brings to his task a full scholarly knowledge of the sources of Chaucerian biography... Of obvious value to students reading Chaucer and to all who read him for pleasure; more advanced scholars will also find in it much to provoke thought and advance understanding.' TLS Chaucer's tales, rich in comedy and pathos, have an immediate appeal. They draw freely and vividly from the romance and colour of the times in which he lived, and his world that of thesecond half of the 14th century is rich in cultural interest. It was a time of new exploration and new individualism, of peasant revolt and passionate religious dissent, and of a remarkable flowering of the arts. Chaucer lived at the very centre of the action, and this book follows the stages of his career, illuminating with reference to the art and architecture of the time and through reference to his writings, the physical environment and intellectual climate in which he lived. DEREK BREWERis Professor of English Literature emeritus, University of Cambridge.