Canterbury Tales And The Constitution — Most know of, or should, Geoffrey Chaucer who wrote The Canterbury Tales, which is usually considered the start of literature in the English language.
He was born in 1340 which would have been near the end of the High Middle Ages, and lived until 1400 in the Late Middle Ages.
He was a boy when the Black Plague killed half the world’s population and served in the 100 Year War being taken prisoner by the French.
Chaucer and his wife, Philippa Roet, had four sons including Thomas who became speaker of the House of Commons. He married Matilda Burghersh.
Their only child was Alice.
Alice’s first two husbands died in the 100 Year War — it was a 100 year war, after all, so for granddad and grandsons-in-law could all participate– and she ended up marrying William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
De la Pole’s court intrigues and adventures would make him a major character in William Shakespeare’s Henry VI plays.
The de la Pole line would play a big role on the Yorkist side in the War of the Roses which started in 1455.
When that ended, the family found itself at odds with the House of Tudor compromise. They were generally beheaded, killed in battle or imprisoned for life.
Except for Richard, Geoffrey’s great-great grandson, who managed to flee to France.
While he never married he had a daughter, Marguerite, via his mistress Marie.
Marguerite descendants would include Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu. He is known as the political philosopher Montesquieu.
Montesquieu said there were three primary forms of governments each supported by a social principle. Monarchies are free governments headed by a hereditary figure, and which rely on the principle of honor. Republics are free governments headed by popularly elected leaders and rely on the principle of virtue. Despotisms are the third. They are unfree and headed by despots who rely on fear.
Montesquieu wrote The Spirit of Law in 1748. He said that a government should be created so that no man need be afraid of another. He advocated a separation of powers between the executive, judicial and legislative to stop despots.
From that comes the separation of powers in the United States Constitution.
Political scientist Donald Lutz notes that Montesquieu was cited more than any other source but for the Bible by the American founders in pre-revolutionary British America
And that is Canterbury Tales and the Constitution.
