The Age of Chaucer (1340—1400)
The Age of Chaucer covers the period from 1340 to 1400. He was born in the reign of Edward III, lived through that of Richard II, and died the year after Henry IV ascended the throne. His life thus covers a period of glaring social contrasts and political change.
The principal events, trends, and movements of this age-the age of Chaucer- in the political, economic, social, religious, and literary spheres are important for a proper understanding of the background of Chaucer’s life and work. Every man is a child of his age. He is influenced by it, though, if he is a great man, he may influence it also. A great writer like Shakespeare or Chaucer is generally said to be “not of an age, but of all ages.”
But in spite of his universal appeal, the fact remains that even he could not have escaped “the spirit of the age”, in which he lived and moved and had his being. Emphasizing this point, W. H. Hudson says, “every man belongs to his race and age; no matter how marked his personality, the spirit of his race and age finds expression through him.”
Chaucer is the greatest English comic poet, and also a great serious poet. His life was one of extraordinary richness and variety, centered in the most brilliant court of the Europe of his day. His activities as courtier, soldier, scholar, civil servant and writer reveal the remarkable diversity of culture attainable in the late Middle Ages. Robert Dudley French observes, “it was an age of restlessness, amid the ferment of new life, that Chaucer lived and wrote. Old things and new things appear side by side upon his pages. And in his poetry, we can study the essential spirit, both of the age that was passing and of the age that was to come.”
Chaucer’s age was an age of transition and unrest. Transition implies a shift from medieval to modern time, from religion to secularism, the emergence of the English nation from Dark Ages to the Age of enlightenment. Broadly speaking, the process of transition dates back to the second half of the 14th century. For the first time, man became dissatisfied with medieval ideas and practices. In fact, the Age of Chaucer was not stagnant; it was inching its way steadily and surely to the dawn of Renaissance and the Reformation, which were yet a couple of centuries ahead.
The Age of Chaucer was a Singularly Modern Time
We cannot disagree with Kitteridge who calls the Age of Chaucer “a singularly modern time” because:
- In the religious world, there came an outburst of unorthodoxy. The Papal influence was minimized in the country.
- The working class was struggling and they had begun to show a new spirit of independence. A revolt started against the economic discontent which made the downfall of the manorial system. There were constructive as well as destructive forces at work.
- Political and military event were contributing to the new growth of national consciousness, and so it elevated the pride of English people.
- Furthermore, the schoolmasters in during the age of Chaucer wasted their time in debating topics like “How many angels can stand on the point of a needle?”
However, with William Ockham (see Occam’s razor), the long succession of famous schoolmen came to an end.
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