M.S. Qui fuit Anglorum Vates ter maximus olim, Galfridus Chaucer conditur hoc tumulo: Annum si quaeras domini, si tempora vitae, Ecce notae subsunt, quae tibi cuncta notant. 25 Octobris 1400. Ærumnarum requies mors. N. Brigham hos fecit musarum nomine sumptus 1556.
On the ledge of the tomb the following verses were engraved:--
'Si rogites quis eram, forsan te fama docebit: Quod si fama negat, mundi quia gloria transit, Haec monumenta lege.'
We learn from an interesting note at the end of Caxton's edition of Boethius, that the good printer was not satisfied with printing some of Chaucer's works, but further endeavoured to perpetuate the poet's memory by raising a pillar near his tomb, to support a tablet containing an epitaph consisting of 34 Latin verses. This epitaph was composed by Stephanus Surigonus of Milan, licentiate in decrees, and is reprinted in Stowe's edition of Chaucer's Works (1561), at fol. 355, back. The last four lines refer to Caxton's pious care:--
'Post obitum Caxton voluit te viuere cura Willelmi, Chaucer, clare poeta, tui. Nam tua non solum compressit opuscula formis, Has quoque sed laudes iussit hic esse tuas.'
A description, by Dean Stanley, of the Chaucer window in Westminster Abbey, completed in 1868, is given in Furnivall's Temporary Preface (Ch. Soc.), p. 133. Some of the subjects in the window are taken from the poem entitled 'The Flower and the Leaf,' which he did not write.
It will be observed that Sir H. Nicolas speaks, just above, of 'the arms of Chaucer,' which he describes. But it should be remembered that this is, practically, an assumption, which at once launches us into an uncertain and debateable position. These arms certainly belonged to _Thomas_ Chaucer, for they occur on a seal of his of which a drawing is given in MS. Julius C 7, fol. 153; an accurate copy of which is given by Sir H. Nicolas. It is therefore quite possible that the same arms were assigned to the poet in 1556, only because it was then assumed that Thomas was Geoffrey's son; the fact being that the relationship of Thomas to Geoffrey is open to doubt, and the case requires to be stated with great care.
§ 41. THOMAS CHAUCER. Few things are more remarkable than the utter absence of unequivocal early evidence as to the above-mentioned point. That Geoffrey Chaucer was a famous man, even in his own day, cannot be doubted; and it is equally certain that Thomas Chaucer was a man of great wealth and of some consequence. Sir H. Nicolas has collected the principal facts relating to him, the most important being the following. On Oct. 26, 1399, Henry IV. granted him the offices of Constable of Wallingford Castle and Steward of the Honours of Wallingford and St. Valery and of the Chiltern Hundreds for life, receiving therefrom 40l. a year, with 10l. additional for his deputy[162]. On Nov. 5, 1402, he was appointed Chief Butler for life to King Henry IV.[163]; and there is a note that he had previously been Chief Butler to Richard II.[164], but the date of that appointment has not been ascertained. He was also Chief Butler to Henry V. until March, 1418, when he was superseded[165]; but was again appointed Chief Butler to Henry VI. after his accession. He represented Oxfordshire in Parliament in 1402, 1408, 1409, 1412, 1414, 1423, 1427, and 1429; and was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1414[166], and in other years. 'He was employed on many occasions of trust and importance during the reigns of Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI.;' to which Sir H. Nicolas adds, that he 'never attained a higher rank than that of esquire.'