Tales of Chaucer and his link to Leicester Castle Business School

English literature’s original bad boy Geoffrey Chaucer – whose bawdy stories of medieval life are as popular today as they were during his lifetime – has close associations with Leicester Castle.



Historians say the 14th-century poet, who was also a diplomat and MP, was a frequent visitor to the castle, one of several owned by his patron John of Gaunt, the powerful Earl of Lancaster and father of the houses of Lancaster, York and Tudor.

They would meet, drink and socialise in the Great Hall of Leicester Castle, now a Grade I-listed building and the headquarters of the Leicester Castle Business School due to open in 2017.

DMU will be celebrating the illustrious history of Leicester Castle as part of the £4.2million refurbishment of the Great Hall. This commitment means the building will be open to the public regularly and help give it a prominent place in the story of Leicester.

How powerful was the Earl in his day? Well, a calculation of the world’s richest-ever people by American historians in 2012 placed him at number 16, worth $110 billion and owner of more than 30 castles and estates.

Thanks to its associations with the Earl, Leicester was a regular stop for the Royal court, which in those days would travel around the country, staying weeks or months at a time in favourite towns. And as friend and confidant, not to mention a Royal favourite, Chaucer would often stay.

With its rich hunting grounds within easy reach, central location and bustling trades people - there were more food suppliers recorded than any other occupation in the town in the 1300s, according to records of the time – Leicester would have been more than capable of putting on a Royal welcome.

The proliferation of innkeepers and wine merchants ensured there would have been plenty of food and drink available for the Earl’s feasts. In one street alone, there were 13 butchers.



Chaucer is thought to have stayed on several occasions at Leicester, part of the Earl’s court. The literary legend may even have got inspiration for his Canterbury Tales from goings-on at the castle.

Chaucer married Philippa de Roet, a lady-in-waiting of Queen Philippa of Hainault, Edward III’s wife. The ceremony is said to have taken place in St Mary de Castro (the name means “of the castle”) church, just a few steps across the medieval cobbled street outside Leicester Castle – the same street where Leicester Castle Business School students will train to be leaders of the future.



And Chaucer’s sister-in-law was one Katherine Swynford, longtime lover and later wife of John Of Gaunt until his death at Leicester Castle in 1399.

Whether the marriages were celebrated at Leicester Castle is not known, but it’s nice to think that the storytellers in John of Gaunt’s halls may have sung about Chaucer as well as romance, fair damsels and brave knights.