John Gower.—­Gower, a very learned poet, was born about 1325 and died in 1408.  As he was not sure that English would become the language of his cultivated countrymen, he tried each of the three languages used in England.  His first important work, the Speculum Meditantis, was written in French; his second, the Vox Clamantis, in Latin; his third, the Confessio Amantis, in English.

[Illustration:  EARLY PORTRAIT OF GOWER HEARING THE CONFESSION OF A LOVER (CONFESSIO AMANTIS). From the Egerton MS., British Museum.]

The Confessio Amantis (Confession of a Lover) is principally a collection of one hundred and twelve short tales.  An attempt to unify them is seen in the design to have the confessor relate, at the lover’s request, those stories which reveal the causes tending to hinder or to further love.  Gower had ability in story-telling, as is shown by the tales about Medea and the knight Florent; but he lacked Chaucer’s dramatic skill and humor.  Gower’s influence has waned because, although he stood at the threshold of the Renaissance, his gaze was chiefly turned backward toward medievalism.  His contemporary, Chaucer, as we see, was affected by the new spirit.

GEOFFREY CHAUCER, 1340?-1400.

[Illustration:  GEOFFREY CHAUCER. From an old drawing in Occleve’s Poems, British Museum.]

Life.—­Chaucer was born in London about 1340.  His father and grandfather were vintners, who belonged to the upper class of merchants.  Our first knowledge of Geoffrey Chaucer is obtained from the household accounts of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter-in-law of Edward III., in whose family Chaucer was a page.  An entry shows that she bought him a fine suit of clothes, including a pair of red and black breeches.  Such evidence points to the fact that he was early accustomed to associating with the nobility, and enables us to understand why he and the author of Piers Plowman regard life from different points of view.

In 1359 Chaucer accompanied the English army to France and was taken prisoner.  Edward III. thought enough of the youth to pay for his ransom a sum equivalent to-day to about $1200.  After his return he was made valet of the king’s chamber.  The duties of that office “consisted in making the royal bed, holding torches, and carrying messages.”  Later, Chaucer became a squire.

In 1370 he was sent to the continent on a diplomatic mission.  He seems to have succeeded so well that during the next ten years he was repeatedly sent abroad in the royal service.  He visited Italy twice and may thus have met the Italian poet Petrarch.  These journeys inspired Chaucer with a desire to study Italian literature,—­a literature that had just been enriched by the pens of Dante and Boccaccio.