'Tu es pélérin en la sainte cité': Chaucer's Knight and Philippe de Mézières

Author / Editor
Vander Elst, Stefan.

Title
'Tu es pélérin en la sainte cité': Chaucer's Knight and Philippe de Mézières

Published
Studies in Philology 106 (2009): 379-401.

Description
Vander Elst argues that the "life and writings of the French soldier and statesman Philippe de Mézières" inspired "almost every line" of Chaucer's description of the Knight in GP. This inspiration evinces the circulation of Philippe's works in Chaucer's milieu, indicates that the GP description is both realistic and idealistic, and suggests that Chaucer supported Philippe's efforts to encourage reconciliation between England and France.

Chaucer Subjects
Knight and His Tale
Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations