The Legendary History of Thebes in Boccaccio's 'Teseida' and Chaucer's 'Knight's Tale'

Description: The complex and suggestive analogies between the "Teseida" and Statius' "Thebaid" force a re-evaluation of the question "What did Chaucer do the the 'Teseida'?" in light of what Boccaccio had already done to the "Thebaid." The "Teseida" is modeled on the epic form as it was understood by his age: an historical account which introduces fabulous elements in order to underscore the lessons of that history.; The 'romance' in the "Teseida" reinterprets the theme and main action of the "Thebaid" according to how the lessons of Theban history were interpreted in the Middle Ages. The fate of the analogies between Boccaccio's and Statius' work in the hands of Chaucer further shows that late medieval authors used Theban history to reflect the basic tenets of medieval historical thought.

Chaucer Subjects: Knight and His Tale.; Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations.