The following resources will help you research background information on Chaucer 's life and work.

 Print Resources

Chaucer: The Life and Times of the First English Poet by Richard West (B CHA) Paints a fascinating picture of an age in his quest to reveal the nature of this extraordinary man, whose own character has always puzzled lovers of his comic masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales. As a child he survived the Black Death, later he fought in France during the Hundred Years War, served as a diplomat in Italy during the turmoil leading up to the papal schism, and became a Member of Parliament at the angry beginnings of the Protestant Reformation, the bloody Peasants' Revolt and the overthrow and murder of Richard II.

Daily Life in Chaucer's England by Jeffrey L. Singman (942.03) An indispensable resource on daily life in medieval England, enlivened with authentic recipes, clothing patterns, games, songs and dances, and over 125 illustrations.

	Chaucer: His Life, His Works, His World by Donald R. Howard (B CHA) Revered for centuries as the father of English poetry, Geoffrey Chaucer was also a central man of his age--a courtier, soldier, diplomat, public official, a man of action, and a man of the world. In this award-winning biography, Donald R. Howard recreates the public, private, and poetic life of this extraordinary man.

 Databases

	iCONN's Connecticut Digital Library Provides access to a wide variety of databases including AP Photo Archive, InfoTrack, Newspapers, eBooks and more. Note: When accessing from home, select a database, then enter the barcode number on the back of your public library card.
	LitFinder for Schools LitFinder for Schools includes full-text poetry, short stories, essays, plays, and speeches, including 126,500 poems, 5,000 short stories, 2,800 essays, 1,800 speeches, and 1,000 plays. Also includes biographies, work summaries, photographs, and a glossary.
	Student Resource Center Gold - Offers more than 1,100 full-text periodicals and newspapers, primary sources, creative works, and multimedia, including hours of video and audio clips and pod casts

 Websites

If you do not find what you're looking for in the above resources, try the search tips listed below.

  Internet Search Tips

1. Type the URL (web site address) of a search directory/engine in the address box: ex: www.yahoo.com, or www.google.com, etc.
    
2. (Be sure to type the address exactly the way you see it, including any uppercase letters and punctuation).
    
3. Type in keyword(s). (If your keyword has two parts such as: "Old English", be sure to put quotes around it so that the search engine only finds the Internet sites on old English as opposed to all of the sites containing the word Old plus all of the sites containing the word English.
    

4. If you would like to search for something specific about Old English, try a combined keyword search by adding a comma followed by a space and your other search term. For instance; if I wanted to find out about the origins of Old English,  I would enter the following:

   "Old English", origins,

   Hit Enter on your keyboard, or click on Search, then scan the description of the "hits" (entries) and click on the links that sound best.
    

5. Be sure to evaluate each Internet site for the following:
   • Authority: Can you tell if the author is credible (believable)?
   • Objectivity: Is the information objective (honest and free of bias)?
   • Currency: Is the information recent and up-to-date?
   • Design: Is the site designed in a clear and user friendly way?
   • Navigation: Is the site easy to navigate through, and are all links current and usable?

    

6. Remember: if you choose to use any information (text or graphics) found on an Internet source, 
   you must include it in your bibliography.

Remember:  YOU MUST CITE EVERY RESOURCE YOU USED to gather information on your 
Works Cited (Bibliography) page.  Use the Works Cited Guide to access MLA format.

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