Troilus and Criseyde

Geoffrey Chaucer

Aug 2004 · Penguin UK

About this ebook

Set against the epic backdrop of the battle of Troy, Troilus and Criseyde is an evocative story of love and loss. When Troilus, the son of Priam, falls in love with the beautiful Criseyde, he is able to win her heart with the help of his cunning uncle Pandarus, and the lovers experience a brief period of bliss together. But the pair are soon forced apart by the inexorable tide of war and - despite their oath to remain faithful - Troilus is ultimately betrayed. Regarded by many as the greatest love poem of the Middle Ages, Troilus and Criseyde skilfully combines elements of comedy and tragedy to form an exquisite meditation on the fragility of romantic love, and the fallibility of humanity.

About the author

Geoffrey Chaucer was born in London, the son of a vintner around 1342. He is known to have been a page to the Countess of Ulster in 1357 and Edward III valued him highly enough to pay a part of his ransom in 1360, after he had been captured fighting in France. It is probably in France that Chaucer became interested in poetry; he bagan to translate the Roman de la Rose and became interested in Boccaccio on trips to Italy. The order of his works is uncertain but they include The Book of the Duchess, The Canterbury Tales and The Parliament of Fowls. He died in 1400 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.


Nevill Coghill held many appointments at Oxford University, where he was Merton Professor of English Literature from 1957 to 1966. He wrote several books on English Literature and was particularly interested in Shakespearean drama. His translation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is also published by Penguin Classics and is an enduring bestseller. He died in November 1980.