Chaucer's Works, Volume 2 — Boethius and Troilus — Chaucer, Geoffrey

Transcriber's note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).

[=a] signifies "a with macron"; [)a] "a with breve"; and so forth. [gh]
represents yogh, [*e] the schwa. A carat character is used to denote
superscription: a single character following the carat is superscripted
(example: 4^o).

Project Gutenberg has Volume VI of Skeat's edition, which contains a
Glossary covering the two texts in this volume. See:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43097

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[Illustration: MS. CORP. CHR. COLL., CAMBRIDGE. Troil. iv. 575-588

_Frontispiece**_]




THE COMPLETE WORKS

OF

GEOFFREY CHAUCER

_EDITED, FROM NUMEROUS MANUSCRIPTS_

BY THE

REV. WALTER W. SKEAT, M.A.

LITT.D., LL.D., D.C.L., PH.D.

ELRINGTON AND BOSWORTH PROFESSOR OF ANGLO-SAXON
AND FELLOW OF CHRIST'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

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BOETHIUS AND TROILUS

 'Adam scriveyn, if ever it thee befalle
  Boece or Troilus to wryten newe,
  Under thy lokkes thou most have the scalle,
  But after my making thou wryte trewe.'
                    _Chaucers Wordes unto Adam._

SECOND EDITION

Oxford

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

M DCCCC

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Oxford

PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
BY HORACE HART, M.A.
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

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CONTENTS.


                                                                       PAGE

  INTRODUCTION TO BOETHIUS.--§ 1. Date of the Work. § 2. Boethius.
  § 3. The Consolation of Philosophy; and fate of its author. § 4.
  Jean de Meun. § 5. References by Boethius to current events.
  § 6. Cassiodorus. § 7. Form of the Treatise. § 8. Brief sketch
  of its general contents. § 9. Early translations. § 10. Translation
  by Ælfred. § 11. MS. copy, with A.S. glosses. § 12. Chaucer's
  translation mentioned. § 13. Walton's verse translation. § 14.
  Specimen of the same. § 15. His translation of Book ii. met. 5.
  § 16. M. E. prose translation; and others. § 17. Chaucer's
  translation and le Roman de la Rose. § 18. Chaucer's scholarship.
  § 19. Chaucer's prose. § 20. Some of his mistakes. § 21. Other
  variations considered. § 22. Imitations of Boethius in Chaucer's
  works. § 23. Comparison with 'Boece' of other works by
  Chaucer. § 24. Chronology of Chaucer's works, as illustrated by
 'Boece.' § 25. The Manuscripts. § 26. The Printed Editions.
  § 27. The Present Edition                                             vii

  INTRODUCTION TO TROILUS.--§ 1. Date of the Work. § 2. Sources of
  the Work; Boccaccio's Filostrato. §§ 3, 4. Other sources.
  § 5. Chaucer's share in it. § 6. Vagueness of reference to sources.
  § 7. Medieval note-books. § 8. Lollius. § 9. Guido delle
  Colonne. § 10. 'Trophee.' §§ 11, 12. The same continued.
  §§ 13-17. Passages from Guido. §§ 18, 19. Dares, Dictys, and
  Benôit de Ste-More. § 20. The names; Troilus, &c. § 21.
  Roman de la Rose. § 22. Gest Historiale. § 23. Lydgate's
  Siege of Troye. § 24. Henrysoun's Testament of Criseyde. § 25.
  The MSS. § 26. The Editions. § 27. The Present Edition.
  § 28. Deficient lines. § 29. Proverbs. § 30. Kinaston's Latin
  translation. § 31. Sidnam's translation                              xlix

  BOETHIUS DE CONSOLATIONE PHILOSOPHIE                                    1
      BOOK I.                                                             1
      BOOK II.                                                           23
      BOOK III.                                                          51
      BOOK IV.                                                           92
      BOOK V.                                                           126

  TROILUS AND CRISEYDE                                                  153
      BOOK I.                                                           153
      BOOK II.                                                          189
      BOOK III.                                                         244
      BOOK IV.                                                          302
      BOOK V.                                                           357

  NOTES TO BOETHIUS                                                     419

  NOTES TO TROILUS                                                      461




INTRODUCTION TO BOETHIUS.

§ 1. DATE OF THE WORK.

In my introductory remarks to the Legend of Good Women, I refer to the
close connection that is easily seen to subsist between Chaucer's
translation of Boethius and his Troilus and Criseyde. All critics seem now
to agree in placing these two works in close conjunction, and in making the
prose work somewhat the earlier of the two; though it is not at all
unlikely that, for a short time, both works were in hand together. It is
also clear that they were completed before the author commenced the House
of Fame, the date of which is, almost certainly, about 1383-4.