As an unrepentant English major, I was much enchanted by Geoffrey Chaucer, who was the second greatest poet in English history and that covers a lot of ground. Far ahead of his time, his writing was witty and urbane, full of life, rhythm, metaphors and conversations shaded with various “voices” and dialects ranging from highly religious to absolutely lewd and uproarious. Many critics believe that his major work, “Canterbury Tales,” written about 1390 or later, was the first great poem in the just emerging English of London after French had been banned at court. So, it is fair to say that he invented English literature as we know it.

I so liked the Tales that I memorized the prologue. It begins:

Whan that aprill with his shoures soote

The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

The problem with memorizing Middle English poetry — even Chaucer — is there isn’t a lot of call for it.  It is hard to work into a conversation. I mean, if you want to clear out a room quickly, you could yell,” Fire!” — but that is against the law. Reciting a long poem in Middle English can do the trick almost as well.

About now you may be asking, “What the devil is Chaucer doing in a wine column?”

I will tell you forsooth and forthwith. Chaucer’s parents, John and Agnes Chaucer, both were famous and successful wine merchants, providing fine wines to the court. They and other wine merchants lived in a part of London called Vintnery. Chaucer’s grandparents also were wine merchants.

And it was Chaucer’s style to have a nice glass of wine by his side as he wrote poetry. It is not a stretch to say that wine inspired Chaucer.

 Because of his family’s connection to fine wine and the court, he was able to travel to France, Spain and Italy on business and he saw a lot of the world. In Italy, he was inspired by the great Italian poets and writers of the time and may have met authors such as Boccaccio.

That Chaucer’s career as a writer was appreciated came when Edward III granted Chaucer “a gallon of wine daily for the rest of his life” for some unspecified task. This was an unusual grant, but given on a day of celebration, St. George’s Day, when artistic endeavors were traditionally rewarded.  

Chaucer’s gift notwithstanding, wine was the drink of choice for the wealthy. Wine lovers praised its warming qualities, and recommended it over beer and ale, which were, however, ranked as preferable to water. The wine consumed in England was imported from France, initially from the Rhone area. But as tensions grew with the onset of the Hundred Years War, trade shifted to favor the Bordeaux area, which was owned then by England.

Wine was frequently served watered, mulled or spiced. In comparison to their modern counterparts, medieval wines fare badly; their quality was far inferior, largely due to poor preservation methods. However, their alcohol content — only 5 percent, approximately on par with today’s beer — was sufficient to ensure that wine was among the safer, though not necessarily tastier, drinks.   

Still, the wine Chaucer drank was good enough to enrich, educate and inspire him, and the great results speak for themselves. So, writers, if you need to boost your muse, a little wine will help.