SELIM08.doc


Jesus L. Serrano Selim  8 (1998): 193—203 

 
 

THE CHAUCERS IN SPAIN: 
FROM THE WEDDING TO THE FUNERAL 

 
 

Chaucer Life -Records1 was the culmination of the extraordinary labours 
to attempt to cover Chaucer's biography. This handsome volume will be for 
many years the point of departure of any work on the poet's life. Since this ex-
cellent work was published in 1966, some books and articles have been pub-
lished on this subject. Although there are significant and important contribut-
ions among them, such as Chaucer and his world (1978) by Derek Brewer, 
Chaucer: his Life, his Works, his World (1981) by Howard2, and The Life of 
Geoffrey Chaucer (1993) by Derek Pearsall3 some questions naturally still re -
main: the exact day of the poet's birth, his activity from 1360 to 1366 and near-
ly everything about his domestic life. "The problems of writ ing a life of Chau-
cer" 4 cannot lead us to the frustration of a natural wish to know everything 
about his life. We know that, as Derek Pearsall (1993: 2) says in answer to the 
question as whether it is worth writing a new biography of the poet: 

                                                                 
1 I am chiefly grateful to Professor Martin M. Crow whose opinion on the most im-

portant results of this paper, after reading some of my works on Chaucer and Spain, 
has encouraged me. All quotations are from Crow Martin M. & Calir C. Olson C., 
Chaucer Life-Records (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966). All quotations are from this 
edition and the references to this volume will be incorporated into the text, under 
the abbreviation Life-Records.  

2 D. R. Howard, Chaucer: his Life, his Works, his World. New York: E.P. Dutton, 
1981. I am very grateful to Martha S. Waller, retired Professor of Butler University, 
for sending me Howard's references to Philippa Chaucer from this book, and for her 
advice and corrections on this article.  

3 I do not know how to express my gratitude to both these great scholars for their 
correspondece connected with some of my research on this subject. I have been 
greatly inspired by D. Pearsall’s The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer (Oxford: Blackwell, 
1993), and D. Brewer’s Chaucer and his world (Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer, 1978). 

4 This is the title of Derek Pearsall's paper in the VII SELIM. (Spanish Society for 
Mediaeval English Language and Literature), Conference held in Cáceres, 1994.  



Jesús L . Serrano  
 

190 

there are many who would think not, arguing one or more of the 
following: that it cannot be done, that it is not worth doing and 
that it has been done. 

Many aspects of Chaucer's biography can give controversy such as the 
identify of the real father of Thomas Chaucer1, the existence of two 
Philippas 2 or, even, the existence of two Chaucers 3, although, so far as I 
know, his identity has never seriously been questioned. 

It is not the intention in this paper to invent a part of a biography, unsup-
ported by real evidence, in order to fill some gaps in the poet's biography. 
This paper is concerned with Chaucer's marriage and the connection between 
the Chaucers and Spain. I will try to show how there were two important 
years for Chaucer's marriage: in 1366 the poet was in Spain and this was also 
the year of the wedding; in 1387 Philippa Chaucer was in Spain and it was 
1387, the year she died. I am going to support my work on historical data from 
two sources: Chaucer Life -Records and Ayala's Chronicles4. The results of 
this verification will not provide the unanswerable documentary evidence 
but, I hope, they can be a contribution to a new starting point which can lead 
us to a better knowledge of Chaucer's life. 

I.- 1366: CHAUCER WAS IN SPAIN AND MARRIED PHILIPPA 

The publication of a short article by Suzanne Honoré -Duvergé5 revealing 
that Chaucer visited Spain with a safe -conduct, granted by the king of 
Navarre, cast some light on the obscurity of the period from October 1360 to 

                                                                 
1 For a biography and discussion see K. B. McFarlane, "Henry V, Bishop Beaufort 

and the Red Hat, 1417-1421", EHR 60 (1945), pp. 316-348, 332-337; J. A. F. 
Thomson, "John de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk," Speculum, 54 (1979), pp. 528-42; E. 
A. Greening Lamborn, "The Arms on the Chaucer Tomb at Ewelme", Oxoniensia, 5 
(1940), pp. 78-93. 

2 For this possibility, see D. Pearsall, op. ct., p. 35. 
3 For this possibility, see, A. C. Baugh, "Chaucer the Man", Companion to Chaucer 

Studies, edited by Beryl Rowland. London: O.U.P, 1968, p. 1. 
4 J. L. Martín, ed., Pero López de Ayala. Crónicas ( Barcelona: Planeta, 1991). All 

quotations are from this edition. The references to this book will be incorporated in 
the text under the abbreviation Crónicas.  

5 S. Honoré-Duvergé, "Chaucer en Espagne? (1366)", Recueil de Travaux offert & M. 
Clovis Brunel , II (Paris: 1955), pp. 9-13. 



The Chaucers in Spain 
 

191 

June 1366. But, we cannot deduce (from this document) any clear reason for 
his journey. 

Several possible explanations have been suggested. Suzanne Honoré -
Duvergé believes "that Chaucer may have joined the forces of Trastamara 
and taken part in the military campaign"1 There is a mistake in this opinion, 
as was pointed out by Thomas Garbaty in his important article "Chaucer in 
Spain, 1366: Soldier of Fortune or Agent of the Crown".2 

If it can be accepted that one can accept that Chaucer came to Spain to 
take part in that campaign, he did so, of course, on the side of Peter, the 
Cruel, who was allied with Edward III whose military forces were led by his 
son the Black Prince. 

Another possibility was offered by Crow and Olson suggesting that 
Chaucer was an ordinary pilgrim to the shrine of St. James. Baugh how-
ever,(1968: 56) rejects both possibilities and when, referring to the second 
one, he states that "English pilgrims to Compostela habitually went to La 
Coruña, in Galicia, by sea." 3 

This argument is not strong enough to reject Crow and Olson's opinion: 
pilgrims also went to Galicia by the "French route"4. 

Chaucer may have been sent on a diplomatic mission: to negotiate with 
the king of Navarre, Charles II, the passage of the English military forces 
through his territory, but this was quite unlikely. The safe-conduct was valid 
from February 22 to May 24 of 1366, and the agreement with the king of 
Navarre was in 1367.5 

                                                                 
1 Albert C. BAUGH, op. ct., p. 56 
2 I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude to Professor Thomas J. Garbaty, who 

sent me his article published in MLN, 5, (1967) and encouraged me to work on this 
subject.  

3 Albert C. Baugh, Chaucer the Man", Companion to Chaucer Studies, ed. Beryl 
Rowland (London: OUP, 1968). 

4 See Vázquez de Parga, J. M. Lacarra, & Uria, Peregrinaciones a Santiago, (Madrid: 
1948). 

5 "…el rey de Navarra fuese para Pamplona, e estovo allí, e fizo otros tratos con el 
rey Don Pedro e con el príncipe de Gales en esta manera: que el rey de Navarra les 
diese el paso por el puerto de Roncesvalles," (Crónicas, p. 331) "The king of 
Navarre went to Pamplona and stayed there and made other treaties with king Peter 
and with the Prince of Wales as follows: that the king of Navarre would allow them 
free entry to enter through the mountain pass of Rouncesval." 



Jesús L . Serrano  
 

192 

 

None of the above possibilities is supported by historical documents. 
However, this is my hypothesis: Chaucer went to Spain to persuade the 
English knights to abandon Henry of Trastamara so that the English military 
forces would fight on the side of king Peter. Baugh (1968: 69) and Pearsall 
(1993: 53) suggest the same idea but with no document to support it. And 
Baugh even casts doubt on Chaucer's success in his mission: 

his misssion was a last minute attempt to make contact with the 
Gascon knights and seek to detach them from the enterprise. 
Whether he ever caught up with them is doubtful. 

If we follow the steps of Hugh of Calveley, the most important English 
knight in the Companies on the side of Henry of Trastamara, in Ayala's 
Chronicles, we can find the answer. 

Calveley had been a decisive help for the English victory in the struggle 
for Brittany and had begun to invade Castile on March 13661. 

Ayala (1991: 331-333) tells how Henry of Trastamara, who had invaded 
Castile and was proclaimed king of Castile, was aware of the Black Prince's 
proposals: "… que avía ya nuevas del príncipe de Gales como venía a 
ayudar al rey don Pedro… e esto fue en el mes de febrero deste año." 2 

Peter, the Cruel, had fled from Seville to Galicia and finally to Bayonne 
asking for the Black Prince's help. It is significant that the period which cover-
ed Chaucer's safe -conduct was from February 22 to May 24, and in February 
Henry of Trastamara had news about the Black Prince's departure to Cas tile. 
Calveley had been successful in his attack on Calahorra in "early March". 
Was Chaucer’s mission successful? Ayala (1991: 341) answers the question: 

… Mosen Hugo de Caureley, que era un caballero inglés con qua-
trocientos de caballo de su compaña, que tenía consigo de 

                                                                 
1 "Early in March Calveley opened the attack by turning north and following the 

course of the Ebro, passed through the southern tip of Navarre, and reached Alfaro 
in Castilian territory. When the town refused to surrender he pushed on to 
Calahorra." Baugh, "Chaucer the Man" , p. 65. 

2 " They had heard about how the Prince of Wales was coming to help king Peter.… 
and this happened in February of that year." 



The Chaucers in Spain 
 

193 

Inglaterra, partió del rey don Enrique, e fuese para Navarra, por 
quanto su señor el Príncipe de Gales venía de la otra parte, e non 
podía ser contra el. E el rey don Enrique, como quier que sopo que 
el dicho mosén Hugo partía del, e le pudiera facer algun enojo, non 
lo quiso facer, teniendo que el dicho caballero facía su debdo en se 
ir a servir a su señor el príncipe, que era fijo de su señor el rey de 
Inglaterra.1 

Chaucer's arguments convinced not only Sir Calveley but Henry of 
Trastamara himself. And Ayala's Chronicles reafirm this success: Sir Calveley 
not only abandoned Henry of Trastamara but also he took part in the battle of 
Nájera against him2, and some days after the victory of Nájera he, as a reliable 
person at the Black Prince's service, was sent as a messanger to the king of 
Aragon3. Chaucer's success is beyond all doubt. 

Was Philippa one of Chaucer's three companions, "not separately identi-
fied" who went with him to Spain in 1366? There is no record to prove it, we 
only can deduce a positive answer from other historical data. We know that 
Philippa is named as Chaucer's wife in a transaction on the Receipt Roll under 
21 December 1381 (Life-Records, p. 77). Crow and Olson (1966: 68) say that:" 

                                                                 
1 (Crónicas, p. 341) " The knight Hugo of Carvely, who was an English knight with 

four hundred cavalrymen from England, abandoned king Henry, and went to 
Navarre because his lord, the Prince of Wales was coming from the other direction 
and he could not fight against him. And when king Henry knew that this Hugo had 
left him, and he could have done him some harm, nevertheless he did not wish to do 
so, considering that this knight was doing his duty by his lord the Prince, who was 
the son of the king of England." 

2 "De la parte del rey don Pedro fue ordenada la batalla en esta guisa. Todos vinieron 
a pie, e en la avanguardia venía el duque de Alencastre, hermano del príncipe, que 
decían don Juan, e mosén Juan Chandós, que era condestable de Guiana por el 
príncip e, e mosén Raúl Camois, e mosén Hugo de Caureley, e Mosén Oliver, señor 
de Clison, e otros muchos caballeros e escuderos de Inglaterra e de Bretaña." 
(Crónicas, 344). "On the side of king Peter the battle was planned as follows: ev-
eryone was on foot, and the Duke of Lancaster, who was called John, the Prince's 
brother, was in the vanguard with the knight John of Chandos, who had been ap -
pointed by the prince the military chief of Guiana, and Raul Camois, and Hugo of 
Calveley, and Oliver, lord of Clison, and many other knights and squires from 
England and Brittany." 

3 "Otrosí el príncipe de Gales envió luego al rey de Aragón por mensajero a mosén 
Hugo de Caureley, un caballero de Inglaterra a tratar con él sus amistades," 
(Crónicas, 360). "And afterwards the Prince of Wales sent Hugo of Calveley, a 
knight from England, as a messanger to the king of Aragon to draw up a treaty of 
friendship with him." 



Jesús L . Serrano  
 

194 

The recipient of these annuity payments of 1381 had borne the name 
Philippa Chaucer when the annuity was granted on 12 September 1366." 

We know that one " Philippa Chaucer una domicellarum camere 
Philippe regine Anglie" (Life-Records, p. 67) received an annuity of ten 
marks on 12 September 1366. So, as Pearsall (1993: 50): says " she was given 
her husband's surname ". And once again Crow and Olson (1966: 68) provide 
a valuable clue to support my hypothesis: 

The maiden name of the wife occurs so frequentley in grants and 
payments made soon after marriage as to suggest that Philippa 
Chaucer had been married long enough by 12 Sep. 1366 to be al-
ready identified in the court as Geoffrey Chaucer's wife. 

If "Chaucer had been married long enough by 12 Sep. 1366", was he 
married in the period of his safe -conduct (February 22 to May 24)? There are 
only three months from June to September. Was this period of time "long 
enough as to be identified in the court as Geoffrey Chaucer's wife? If we 
think that a positive answer to these two questions is a reasonable argument, 
the possibility that Philippa Chaucer's was in Spain in 1366 becomes more 
plausible. In any case, I belive, as Crow and Olson (1966: 68) that "Chaucer 
must have married her on or before 12 September 1366 unless her maiden 
name was Chaucer". This 1366 was the year of Chaucer's stay in Spain and 
the year of his wedding: an important year in his life. 

II.- 1386-87: PHILIPPA CHAUCER WAS IN SPAIN AND DIED OF 
PESTILENCE 

This conflict was to be the origin of John of Gaunt's claim to the Crown of 
Castile and Leon because, as it is well known, he married Constance of 
Castile, Pedro's daughter in 1371, and this was his most important link to 
Spain. His efforts to realise succeed in this clain would last sixteen years. The 
history of this period of time is included in Ayala's Chronicles. The last 
attempt was in 1386 when the Duke arrived at Galicia on 25 July, with his 
family: 

Dende a pocos días llegáronle nuevas al maestre Davis cómo el 
duque de Alencastre era aportado con pieza de navíos e de gentes 
en la villa de la Coruña, que es en Galicia, día de Santiago, e cómo 



The Chaucers in Spain 
 

195 

tomara y algunas galeas que falló del rey de Castilla, e que la gente 
que el dicho duque traía eran mil e quinientas lanzas, e otros tantos 
archeros, e todo de muy buena gente. E traía consigo su mu jer 
doña Constanza, que era fija del rey don Pedro, e una fija que avía 
della, que decían doña Catalina. E traía otras dos fijas que el duque 
oviera primero de otra mujer con quien fuera casado antes, fija de 
otro duque de Alencastre e conde de Dervi que fuera antes que 
dél, e a la mayor decían doña Phelipa, la cual casó entonce con el 
maestre Davis que se llamaba rey de Portugal, segund adelante 
diremos, e a la otra decían doña Isabel, la cual casó entonce con un 
caballero que venía con el duque, que decían mosén Juan de 
Holanda, que fuera hijo de la princesa e de mosén Thomas de 
Holanda, e era entonce mosén Juan de Holanda en esa cabalgada, 
e el duque de Alencastre fízole su condestable.1 

If Philippa was in Constance's service, she ought to have been at her ser-
vice in Galicia in 1386. Her husband's daughters were to marry important men 
and her own daughter Catherine would marry Henry III of Castile. 
Constance's need of household chores might be important enough to get rid 
of Philippa, who was not only granted but highly esteemed by her as Crow 
and Olson (1966: 86) clarify when they explain that the term "` nostre bien 
ame damoysele' is applied elsewhere in the register of John of Gaunt to 
ladies in immediate attendance upon the Duchess Constance. 2 

Furthermore, her son Thomas Chaucer was probably of the party. 

                                                                 
1 (Crónicas, p. 614) "the Grand Master Davis had news a few days previously of 

how the Duke of Lancaster had arrived with ships and militarymen in the town of 
La Coruña, which is in Galicia, the day on St. James, and how he took some ships 
of the king of Castile, and among the soldiers there were 1500 lancers and a like 
number of archers and all of them were good. And he brought with him his wife 
Constance, who was the daughter of king Peter and a daughter who had been born of 
her, who was called Catherine, and he brought two other daughters the Duke had of 
another woman whom he had previously married, who was the daugther of the 
former Duke of Lancaster and Earl of Derby; the elder daugther was called Philippa, 
who married the Grand Master Davis, who was called king of Portugal, as we shall 
tell later on, and the other daughter was called Elisabeth, who then married a knight 
who came with the Duke, who was called John of Holland, who was son of the 
princess and Thomas of Holland, because the Duke of Lancaster had made him his 
military chief." 

2 For further clarification, see the reference to the annuity of ten pounds granted to 
Philippa Chaucer on 30 August 1372 in Chaucer Life-Records, pp. 85-86. 



Jesús L . Serrano  
 

196 

There is no record to prove that the Duke of Lancaster was Chaucer's pa-
tron1 but there some records to demonstrate a close connection between the 
Chaucers and John of Gaunt: 

* Philippa Chaucer received an annuity on 30 August 1372 for atten-
dance upon the Duchess Constance and some gifts from 1373 to 
1382. 

* Geoffrey Chaucer and his wife received an annuity from Gaunt on 13 
June 1374. 

I agree with Derek Pearsall (1993: 83) when he comments on the Chaucers' 
annuity from Gaunt, in 1374, and says that "the annuity most probably 
continued to be paid until Gaunt's death in 1399". Although it is true, as he 
says, that "there is no documentary evidence of any futher personal 
connection between the poet and the prince", I think that, if there is 
anything, we would find it connected with the Duke of Lancaster's interven-
tion in Spain. We know that there are no records of Ga unt's grants to Philippa 
after the gift on 6 May 1382 because, indeed, there are no records of any kind 
of Gaunt's household expenses since the Register broke off in 1383. 

I think it is important to focus attention on the last and most important 
record concerning Philippa Chaucer's connection with The Lancaster House: 
her admission to the fraternity of Lincoln Cathedral. This admission does not 
only imply her relationship with her nephews (John Beaufort and Thomas 
Swynford), as it seems natural, but the imp ortance of a " bien ame damoy-
sele"  (Life-Records, p. 86) in Gaunt's household. This important ceremony 
was held on 19 February 1386. 

Regarding Gaunt's campaign in Spain in 1386 Derek Pearsall (1993: 142) 
thinks that "Philippa was not of the party. In 1386 she was probably residing 
more permanently with her sister in Lincolshire."  

 

                                                                 
1 John of Gaunt styled himself "roy de Castille et de Leon duc de Lancastre" in all 

documents from 1372 to 1388 and as I will try to show in a forthcoming article in 
the Chaucer Review, Chaucer supports this claim in The Book of the Duchess when 
he defines him as "this kyng" (1314). 



The Chaucers in Spain 
 

197 

Where was Philippa Chaucer? I consider that the strong negative "was 
not of the party", in Pearsall's opinion, is weakened by the uncertainty of 
"probably residing…" We know that her sister Katherine Swynford some -
times dwelt at her manor in Kettlethorpe and that some of her payments were 
received in Lincolshire by a sheriff (Life-Records, p.77) in 1379. I believe that 
her relationship with Gaunt's mistress does not imply a relief of her duties in 
connexion with her "immediate attendance upon the Duchess Constance" 
just when Gaunt was very much interested in using his wife as a coin of 
exchange. It is well known, however, that John of Gaunt lost interest in 
Constance of Castile after returning from Spain in 1389. Pearsall (1993: 142), 
himself, says that, 

During the early 1380s, Philippa probably shared her life between 
the household of her husband and that of the Duchess Constance, 
who spent more time with her husband now that his hopes of a 
throne in Spain were his main political ambition. 

Can 1386 be included in these "early 1380s"  taking into account that 
Gaunt's "hopes of a throne in Spain" were supported now by the king and by 
a subsidy of Parliament? 

On the other hand, "in June 1386, Geoffrey and Philippa received an as-
signment upon William Barwell, who had been sheriff of Worcestershire in 
1383,"  (Life-Records, p. 335) but this does not imply that Philippa Chaucer 
was there. It is not significant that, the fact that: 

After June 1386 Chaucer's payments were always in cash drawn at 
the exchequer by his own hands until, after the surrender of his 
annuity to John Scalby, he received a pro rata payment in 
February 1389 by the hands of Scalby. (Life-Records, p. 335) 

Gaunt and the king of Portugal decided that they would stay in Galicia 
from 25 July 1386 until the following summer. But instead of increasing their 
power by making preparations for the attack they were defeated, before 
fighting, by the worst enemy: "pestilence". Therefore they did not wait until 
the summer, and in March 1387 they invaded Castile. Ayala narrates the sit -
uation 



Jesús L . Serrano  
 

198 

Después que entró en Castilla, siempre ovo grand mortandad en 
sus compañas, en guisa que perdió muchas gentes de las suyas; e 
segund se sopo por cie rto, morieron trescientos caballeros e 
escuderos, e muchos archeros e otras gentes.1 

Philippa Chaucer might have been among these " otras gentes", and prob-
ably died in Spain or Portugal of " pestilence". We do not have any record of 
her death but if, as Pearsall (1993: 25) says as regrads those who died of 
plague, " there were not enough living to bury the dead, and there were cer-
tainly not enough priests to give all the dying the last sacraments" it would 
be very difficult to find any record, mainly knowing how elusive Chaucer was 
about autobiographical references in his poetry. 

Martin M. Crow and Clair C. Olson (1966: 84) conclude that: 

Because for several terms Philippa Chaucer had drawn her annuity 
through her husband and because Geoffrey Chaucer drew only his 
own Michaelmas instalments on 7 November 1387, it would appear 
that her death ocurred sometime between 18 June 1387, when she 
drew her last payment, and 7 November of that year. 

I hope that the new information drawn from our conclusion would help 
from now on in future research concerning this subject.2

 

 

Jesús Luis Serrano Reyes  

University of Córdoba 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 
Baugh, A. C. 1968: Chaucer the Man. Companion to Chaucer Studies, ed. 

Beryl Rowland. London: OUP. 
                                                                 

1 (Crónicas, p. 627) " After entering Castile, there was a large number of victims 
among his entourage, so that he lost many of his people, and as it was well known, 
three hundred knights and squires and many archers and other people died." 

2 I am preparing a new article with the valuable help of Professor William Askins, 
who has provide new and important data to complete this research. The most strik-
ing and convincing data may be the finding of a record to support the hypothesis of 
Philippa's death in Spain. 



The Chaucers in Spain 
 

199 

Brewer, D. 1978: Chaucer and his World. Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer. 
Crow, M. M. & Clair Olson, eds. 1966: Chaucer Life -Records. Oxford: 

Clarendon Press. 
Garbaty, T. J. 1967: Chaucer in Spain, 1366: Soldier of Fortune or Agent of the 

Crown? Modern Language Notes 5: 81-87. 
Honoré -Duvergé, S. 1955: Chaucer en Espagne? (1366). Recueil de travaux 

offert a M. Clovis Brunel 2: 9-13. 
Howard, D. R. 1981: Chaucer: his Life, his Works, his World. New York: E. P. 

Dutton. 
Martín, J. L. ed. 1991: Pero López de Ayala. Crónicas. Barcelona: Planeta. 
Pearsall, D. 1993: The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer. Oxford: Blackwell. 

 
* † *