[00:00.00]So, the next really significant step in the development of the English language ¡ª 
[00:05.65]in the development of both our language and certainly our literature¡ª 
[00:10.01]is Geoffrey Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales. 
[00:13.61]And there is no way I can overstate Chaucer¡¯s important place in the history of our language. 
[00:19.17]It's easy to remember his time on the historical timeline of the English language¡ª
[00:24.18]he died in the year 1400£¬at the very beginning of the fifteenth century. 
[00:29.13]England had been under Norman-French rule for three hundred years by then¡ª¡ª
[00:33.35]ever since the Norman Conquest in 1066. 
[00:37.59]With William the Conqueror, Norman-French had become the language of power and commerce in England. 
[00:44.03]In fact, the court of Chaucer¡¯s king, King Richard the Second, 
[00:47.67]was probably the first English-speaking English court since the Conquest. 
[00:52.54]So, for the previous three hundred years, England had been more or less bilingual, practically speaking. 
[00:58.56]The Anglo-Saxon or Germanic English of the commori people, 
[01:02.31]and the Anglo-Norman-French of the court and the clergy and the schoolmen¡ª¡ª
[01:06.81]these had been influencing each other for a long, long time.
[01:10.98]Geoffrey Chaucer wasn¡¯t an aristocrat, but he came from a very well-to-do family, 
[01:16.76]and as a young man, he was sent into royal serviceat as first as a sort of butler. 
[01:22.84]This was a common practice in those days, a way to advance a family¡¯s fortunes. 
[01:27.95]In his long career, Chaucer held many jobs. 
[01:30.89]He was by turns a soldier, a courier, a diplomat and a public official. 
[01:37.59]Consequently, he travelled widely in England¡ªand to France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands¡ª
[01:44.98]Consequently, he travelled widely in England¡ªand to France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands¡ª
[01:52.12]and he spoke French, Italian and Latin. 
[01:55.41]So it should be no surprise that his greatest work, 
[01:58.55]The Canterbury Tales, strongly reflects the influence of the continental writers, both in style and in content.