Philippa, dau. of Sir Payne Roet, one of the ladies of the Duchess of Lancaster, whose sister Katharine, widow of Sir Hugh Swynford, became the third wife of John of Gaunt.  Previous to this he had apparently been deeply in love with another lady, whose rank probably placed her beyond his reach; his disappointment finding expression in his Compleynt to Pite.  In 1367 he was one of the valets of the King’s Chamber, a post always held by gentlemen, and received a pension of 20 marks, and he was soon afterwards one of the King’s esquires.  In 1369 Blanche, the wife of John of Gaunt, died, which gave occasion for a poem by C. in honour of her memory, The Dethe of Blaunche the Duchesse.  In the same year he again bore arms in France, and during the next ten years he was 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)