9. Was Chaucer Murdered?
Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury, became a power behind the throne when Henry IV ascended the throne. Arundel used theology to go after symbols and supporters of the old regime, and to ensure total submission to the new one. Persecution of those who stepped out of line as heretics, such as the Lollards – proto-Protestants Arundel ordered burned at the stake – was used to terrify opponents or would-be opponents, and consolidate the new king’s power. Worse for Chaucer, a prominent figure in the prior regime, the archbishop had grown rich, powerful, and fat on church corruption. It is understandable that he was not a fan of the author of the Canterbury Tales, which made fun of rich and powerful clerics who had grown fat on church corruption.
Shortly after his benefactor Richard II was deposed, Chaucer, who seems to have seen the writing on the wall, moved to a house within the sanctuary of Westminster Abbey. It did not save him. Chaucer simply vanishes from the record in June, 1400, and presumably died a few months later. Some clues point to a violent end. There is a retraction inserted at the end of the Canterbury Tales. Was that an attempt to appease Arundel? Also, nobody recorded Chaucer’s death at the time – even though significantly more is known about the deaths of less prominent poets. There are also medieval references to the “tragedie” of Chaucer’s death, and that he was “slaughtered”. Put that all together, and it is probable that Chaucer’s demise had probably been a criminal act – a murder ordered by Arundel or King Henry IV.
