Geoffrey Chaucer
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Geoffrey Chaucer (A.D. 1343–1400) was the father of English literature and the author of the Canterbury Tales. He was the first first author to raise vernacular English to the artistic level of French or Latin.
His writings are in Middle English, which is so different from modern English that they are usually read in modern English translation. Here are some of his most famous quotations:
"He was a veray parfit gentil knight." Canterbury Tales. Prologue, Line 72.
"His studie was but litel on the Bible." Canterbury Tales. Prologue, Line 440.
"For gold in phisike is a cordial; Therefore he loved gold in special." Canterbury Tales. Prologue, Line 445.
"Nature, the vicar of the Almightie Lord." The Assembly of Fowles, Line 379.