It was then that the intimacy began between him and John of Gaunt, a youth of eighteen, then Earl of Richmond, fourth son of Edward III., afterwards known as the great Duke of Lancaster,—­the most powerful nobleman that ever lived in England, also the richest, possessing large estates in eighteen counties, as well as six earldoms.  This friendship between the poet and the first prince of the blood, after the Prince of Wales, seems to have arisen from the admiration of John of Gaunt for the genius and accomplishments of Chaucer, who was about ten years the elder.  It was not until the prince became the Duke of Lancaster that he was the friend and protector of Wyclif,—­and from different reasons, seeing that the Oxford scholar and theologian could be of use to him in his warfare against the clergy, who were hostile to his ambitious designs.  Chaucer he loved as a bright and witty companion; Wyclif he honored as the most learned churchman of the age.

The next authentic event in Chaucer’s life occurred in 1359, when he accompanied the king to France in that fruitless expedition which was soon followed by the peace of Bretigny.  In this unfortunate campaign Chaucer was taken prisoner, but was ransomed by his sovereign for L16,—­about equal to L300 in these times.  He had probably before this been installed at court as a gentleman of the bedchamber, on a stipend which would now be equal to L250 a year.  He seems to have been a favorite with the court, after he had written his first great poem.  It is singular that in a rude and ignorant age poets should have received much greater honor than in our enlightened times.  Gower was patronized by the Duke of Gloucester, as Chaucer was by the Duke of Lancaster, and Petrarch and Boccaccio were in Italy by princes and nobles.  Even learning was held in more reverence in the fourteenth century than it is in the nineteenth.  The scholastic doctor was one of the great dignitaries of the age, as well as of the schools, and ranked with bishops and abbots.  Wyclif at one time was the most influential man in the English Church, sitting in Parliament, and sent by the king on important diplomatic missions.  So Chaucer, with less claim, received valuable offices and land-grants, which made him a wealthy man; and he was also sent on important missions in the company of nobles.  He lived at the court.  His son Thomas married one of the richest heiresses in the kingdom, and became speaker of the House of Commons; while his daughter Alice married the Duke of Suffolk, whose grandson was declared by Richard III. to be his heir, and came near becoming King of England.  Chaucer’s wife’s sister married the Duke of Lancaster himself; so he was allied with the royal family, if not by blood, at least by ambitious marriage connections.