Little is known about Cecily (or Cecilia) Chaumpaigne, including whether or not Chaucer’s literary depiction of virgin martyr St. Cecilia derived from his real-life acquaintance. Instead, much of the speculation revolves around her family. Her father William Chaumpaigne (or Champneys) was likely a baker whose 1360 will mentioned a wife Agnes and daughter Cecily. Cecily’s mother, as listed in her quitclaims, was William’s wife Agnes Chaumpaigne. One hypothesis has Alice Perrers, a courtesan and former mistress of the king, as Cecily’s stepmother (for the hypothesis and discussion, see Braddy 1977 and Harley 1993).
