Thomas Spencer, Southwark Scrivener (d. 1428):

Abstract

Abstract Thomas Spencer, a member of the London scriveners’ company, lived in Southwark from the 1390s until at least 1420, where he had contact with John Brynchele, known to modern scholars for his bequests of books that included the Canterbury Tales. Sued for debt in 1405, Spencer testified that he had paid the debt in 1394 by handing over “a certain book called Troylous, worth twenty shillings,” and 6s. 8d. in cash. If true, this testimony represents the only evidence to date of the circulation of a copy of one of Chaucer's works during the poet's lifetime.