Friendship in Chaucer's 'Troilus'

Description: Argues that friendship in TC "is an idea that matters very much," both as a "value" and an "element in the plot." Throughout the poem, Chaucer depicts various friendship relations (support, protection, counsel), strengthening those found in Boccaccio's "Filostrato" with materials found in the "Roman de la Rose," rooted in Cicero, Boethius, and Christian tradition. Although noble and gentle, courtly friendship in TC--like courtly love--is shown to be limited by its worldly goals and limitations, superficial at times and always insufficient.

Chaucer Subjects: Troilus and Criseyde; Sources, Analogues, and Literary Relations