Lewis Chaucer (1380 - aft. 1403)

Ancestors

Biography

Lewis ("litell Lowys my sone") Chaucer is known primarily as the young son, ten years of age, to whom his father the poet Geoffrey Chaucer dedicated "The Astrolabe", a work of instruction in the use of the astronomical instrument. In translation: ^[1]

Little Lewis, my son, I see some evidence that you have the ability to learn science, number and proportions, and I recognize your special desire to learn about the astrolabe. So, as the philosopher said, “he serves his friend who grants his friend’s wishes”, I propose to teach you some facts about the instrument with this treatise. There are several reasons for this treatise. First, no one in this region has complete knowledge of the noble astrolabe. Another reason is that there are errors in the astrolabe treatises that I have seen and some of them present material too difficult for a ten year old to understand.

As the astrolabe used by Chaucer was set for the year 1391, Lewis's birth can be dated to about 1380.

Little else is known of this youngest son of the poet. There is no evidence that he was enrolled at Oxford University. A 1403 pay-list records "Thomas Chaucer", the elder son, along with "Ludowicus Chaucer" as men-at-arms serving in Wales, which suggests that Lewis did not, at least, die in childhood. ^{[2] [3]}

Sources

1. ↑ "Chaucer's Astrolabe Treatise", James E Morrison, ed. [1]
2. ↑ Crow, Martin Michael. Chaucer Life-Records, pp. 544-545. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966. Life-Records
3. ↑ Pearsall, Derek. The Life of Geoffrey Chaucer, pp. 216-7. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1992.