Canterbury Tales: Wife of Bath Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London in 1340 (Fuller 12). Geoffrey Chaucer's fortunes were closely bound with these of John Of Gaunt, the son-in-law to the Earl of Derby (Fuller 12). Around the year 1380, Geoffrey Chaucer was charged with rape by a woman named Cecily Chaumpaigne (Williams 28). It is most likely that a distinguishable character, such as Chaucer would not have been guilty of this charge. However, the word "rape" probably referred to abducting rather than assaulting a woman as i ....