upon which we may judge the real significance of Chaucer's grants and
his missions and from which we may determine as far as possible his
relations with John of Gaunt. In the following pages then, I shall
attempt first to discover the relative importance of Chaucer's place in
the court, and the significance of his varied employments, and secondly
to find out the certain connections between Chaucer and John of Gaunt.
The means which I shall employ is that of a study of the lives of
Chaucer's associates--his fellow esquires, and justices of the peace,
and his friends--and a comparison of their careers with that of Chaucer
to determine whether or not the grants he received indicate special
favor or patronage, and whether it is necessary to assume the patronage
of John of Gaunt in particular to explain any step in his career.




THE ESQUIRES OF THE KING'S HOUSEHOLD


THEIR FAMILIES


We have the names of the esquires of the king's household in two lists
of 1368 and 1369, printed in the Chaucer Life Records [Footnote: See
page 13 ff.]. In the study of the careers of these esquires the most
difficult problem is to determine the families from which they were
derived. Had they come from great families, of course, it would not have
been hard to trace their pedigrees. But a long search through county
histories and books of genealogy, has revealed the families of only a
few, and those few in every case come from an unimportant line. It is