Chaucer's Boccaccio: Sources of Troilus and The Knight's and Franklin's Tales

by Giovanni Boccaccio

Chaucer made extensive use of Boccaccio's romances as a basis forhis major works, and any analysis of his handling of his sources mustdepend on a knowledge of the Italian poet's work.`His Filostrato has far more energy and subtletythan theR.K. Gordon version; it reminds us just how good Boccaccio is.'THE TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT`The notes are a model of economy. The introduction is quite superb.' THE TIMES HIGHEREDUCATION SUPPLEMENT

225 pages, Hardcover

First published June 30, 1980

About the author

Giovanni Boccaccio (1313 - 1375) was an Italian author and poet, a friend and correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist in his own right and author of a number of notable works including the Decameron, On Famous Women, and his poetry in the Italian vernacular. Boccaccio is particularly notable for his dialogue, of which it has been said that it surpasses in verisimilitude that of just about all of his contemporaries, since they were medieval writers and often followed formulaic models for character and plot.