frequently employed on diplomatic missions. In 1370 he was sent to Genoa
to arrange a commercial treaty, on which occasion he may have met
Petrarch, and was rewarded by a grant in 1374 of a pitcher of wine daily.
In the same year he got from the corporation of London a lease for life
of a house at Aldgate, on condition of keeping it in repair; and soon
after he was appointed Comptroller of the Customs and Subsidy of Wool,
Skins, and Leather in the port of London; he also received from the Duke
of Lancaster a pension of L10. In 1375 he obtained the guardianship of a
rich ward, which he held for three years, and the next year he was
employed on a secret service. In 1377 he was sent on a mission to
Flanders to treat of peace with the French King. After the accession of
Richard II. in that year, he was sent to France to treat for the marriage
of the King with the French Princess Mary, and thereafter to Lombardy, on
which occasion he appointed John Gower (_q.v._) to act for him in his
absence in any legal proceedings which might arise. In 1382 he became
Comptroller of the Petty Customs of the port of London, and in 1385 was
allowed to appoint a deputy, which, enabled him to devote more time to
writing. He had in 1373 begun his _Canterbury Tales_, on which he was
occupied at intervals for the rest of his life. In 1386 C. was elected
Knight of the Shire for Kent, a county with which he appears to have had
some connection, and where he may have had property. His fortunes now
suffered some eclipse. His patron, John of Gaunt, was abroad, and the
government was presided over by his brother Gloucester, who was at feud
with him. Owing probably to this cause, C. was in December, 1386,
dismissed from his employments, leaving him with no income beyond his
pensions, on which he was obliged to raise money. His wife also died at
the same time. In 1389, however, Richard took the government into his own
hands, and prosperity returned to C., whose friends were now in power,
and he was appointed Clerk of the King's works. This office, however, he
held for two years only, and again fell into poverty, from which he was
rescued in 1394 by a pension from the King of L20. On the accession of
Henry IV. (1399) an additional pension of 40 marks was given him. In the
same year he took a lease of a house at Westminster, where he probably
_d._, October 25, 1400. He is buried in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey,
where a monument to him was erected by Nichol