Chaucers Official Life | Page 4

as those I have given above
must make it clear that they attempt to interpret the facts which we
have about Chaucer, without taking into consideration their setting and
connections--conditions in the courts of Edward III and Richard II, and
the history of the period. [Footnote: Note for example the statement on
page 3 above that "the Duke of Gloucester was ill disposed towards his
brother John."] Surely it is time for an attempt to gain a basis of fact
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 clear then that they never were representatives of highly important
families. A statement of the antecedents of such esquires as I have been
able to trace, the names arranged in alphabetical order, follows.
John Beauchamp was almost certainly either that John Beauchamp of
Holt who was executed in 1386, or his son. In either case he was
descended from a younger branch of the Beauchamps of Warwick.
[Footnote: Issues, p. 232, mem. 26, Peerage of England, Scotland, etc.,
by G. E. C., vol. 1, p. 278.]
Patrick Byker, who was King's "artillier" in the tower of London,
[Footnote: 1362 Cal. C. R., p. 373.] was the son of John de Byker who
had held the same office before him. [Footnote: 35 Edw. III, p. 174 Cal.
Rot. Pat. in Turr. Lon.] William Byker, probably a relative, is
mentioned from about 1370 on as holding that office [Footnote:
Devon's Issues, 1370, p. 33, Issues, p. 303, mem. 14.]. I have been able
to learn nothing further about the family.
Nicholas Careu: in the records one finds reference to Nicholas Careu
the elder and Nicholas Careu the younger [Footnote: Ancient Deeds
10681.]. Since the elder was guardian of the privy seal from 1372 to

1377 [Footnote: Rymer, p. 951, 1069.] and in 1377 was one of the
executors of the will of Edward III, it seems likely that the esquire was
Nicholas Careu the younger. At any rate the younger was the son of the
older [Footnote: C. R. 229, mem. 33 dorso, 12 Rich. II.] and they were
certainly members of the family of Careu in Surrey [Footnote: 1378
Cal. Pat. Roll, p. 143, 1381-5 Cal. Pat. Roll, passim, Cal. Inq. P. M. III,
125.]. The pedigrees of this family do not show Nicholas the younger
(so far as I have found). But a Nicholas, Baron Carew, who may have
been the keeper of the privy seal, does occur [Footnote: Visitation of
Surrey Harleian Soc. p. 17.]. The name of his son, as given in the
pedigree, is not Nicholas; consequently Nicholas, the younger, was
probably not his eldest son. This last supposition is supported by
certain statements in Westcote's Devonshire [Footnote: p. 528. Of
course it is not certain that this Sir Nicholas was the Keeper of the
Privy Seal.] where we are told that "Sir Nicholas Carew, Baron, of
Carew Castle, Montgomery in Wales, married the daughter of Sir Hugh
Conway of Haccomb, and had issue Thomas, Nicholas, Hugh," etc.
Roger Clebury. In Westcote's Devonshire [Footnote: p. 555.] occurs an
account of a family named Cloberry, of Bradston. In the course of his
statement, which is devoid of dates or mention of lands other than
Bradston, Westcote refers to two Rogers.
Several men of the name of William de Clopton are mentioned in the
county histories. Unfortunately