The Time Period and People of Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer is one of the greatest authors of his time. His distinctive use of characters in his literary works is one of a kind. Chaucer’s works were accomplished during the Middle Ages. During this time period the whole community revolved around the church, the village and the surrounding farmland. The Middle Ages were heroic, entertaining, romantic, harsh, uncertain, and often dangerous. Throughout these times, Chaucer writes about the people and focuses on the certain ideas of each one. Chaucer condemns, commends, or neutralizes each person he writes about. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer writes about numerous characters that