Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde

B A Windeatt (University of Cambridge)

Ed. by Corinne Saunders, University of Durham
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1385

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

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Troilus and Criseyde

, Chaucer’s greatest single achievement, is one of the finest narrative poems in the English language. Set during the siege of Troy, it tells how Troilus, son of King Priam, falls in love for the first time with a beautiful widow, Criseyde. Aided by her uncle, Pandarus, Troilus becomes Criseyde’s lover, only to lose her to the Greek leader Diomede. For its first readers

Troilus and Criseyde

was at once old and new, for although the tale of Criseyde’s infidelity had first been told centuries before in continental sources and was well known in England, this is the focus of only the later part of Chaucer’s narrative, where the familiar story of the love-affair’s end is prefaced with a longer account of how love began and came to fulfilment. Chaucer’s insight…

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3681 words

Citation: Windeatt, B A. "Troilus and Criseyde". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 November 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8472, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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