PRRSKNTKIl BY 
 
i 
 
The Influence of Statius 
 upon Chaucer 
 
 BY 
 
 BOYD ASHBY WISE 
 
 ^ Di^siertation 
 
 SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OP UNIVERSITY STUDIES OP THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVBRSITT 
 
 IN CONPOBUITY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS POR THE DEGREE 
 
 OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 1905 
 
 BALTIMORE 
 
 J. H. FURST COMPANY 
 
 1911 
 
The Influence of Statius 
 upon Chaucer 
 
 BY 
 
 BOYD ASHBY WISE 
 
 Diggertation 
 
 SUBMITTED TO THE BOAKD OP UNIVEKSITY STUDIES OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY 
 
 IN CONFORMITY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGRBK 
 
 OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 1905 
 
 BALTIMORE 
 
 J. H. FURST COMPANY 
 1911 
 
TR)<t 
 
 .^^ W5 
 
 SEP 2* lit 
 
For out of olde feldes, as men seith 
 Cometh al this newe corn fro yeer to yere; 
 And out of olde bokes, in good feith, 
 Cometh al this newe science that men lere. 
 
 Pari. 22. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Intkoduction, ----- 
 
 I. Direct Influence op the Thebaid : 
 
 Troilus and Criseyde, - . - 
 
 House of Fame, - - - . 
 
 Legend of Good Women, - - - 
 
 Compleynt unto Pite, _ . . 
 
 Book of the Duchesse, . . - 
 
 Compleynt of Mars, - - 
 
 Anelida and Arcite, - - - - 
 
 Canterbury Tales, .... 
 
 II. Indirect Influence op the Thebaid : 
 
 A. Through Boccaccio, . - . 
 
 II Filostrato, - - - - 
 
 La Teseide, - - . - 
 
 Troilus and Criseyde, 
 
 Legend of Good Women, 
 
 Parlement of Foules, 
 
 Anelida and Arcite, 
 
 Canterbury Tales, 
 
 B. Through Le Roman de Thebes, 
 
 The Thebaid-Thebes Problem, 
 
 Did Chaucer know the Roman de Thebes ? 
 
 III. The Achilleis, - - - - 
 
 IV. The Silvae, - - - - - 
 Conclusion, - . . . . 
 
 BrBLIOGRAPHY, . . - . - 
 
 PAGE. 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 36 
 38 
 39 
 41 
 42 
 44 
 46 
 
 60 
 
 60 
 
 62 
 
 62 
 
 64 
 
 64 
 
 66 
 
 78 
 
 116 
 
 116 
 
 127 
 
 137 
 
 139 
 
 141 
 
 143 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF STATIUS UPON CHAUCER. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Since the time of Tyrwhitt, it has been well known that 
 Chaucer was acquainted with the Thehald at first hand; and 
 since then various scholars have pointed out many passages in 
 Chaucer that are due to Statins. But these borrowings were 
 in most cases indicated by Chaucer's references to Stace or to 
 some character who is prominent in the Theban story. This 
 investigation was begun with a view to determining whether 
 there were not still other borrowings to which Chaucer had 
 given no clue. It seemed best, for the sake of completeness, 
 to extend the study to the Achilleis and Silvae. It is true the 
 textual tradition of the latter, as known to us, precludes the 
 possibility of Chaucer's having seen it. However, had a close 
 parallel between Chaucer and the Silvae been detected, it 
 would have been evidence that this work was known in the 
 14th century. 
 
 Two well known forms of the Theban legend in the Middle 
 Ages have also been considered, viz. Boccaccio's Teseide and 
 the Old French anonymous Roman de Thebes. It will thus 
 be seen that my object was to determine the full extent of the 
 influence of Statius upon Chaucer, by indicating not only what 
 is due directly to the Thehaid, but also what comes from it 
 indirectly through these two romantic intermediary forms of 
 the legend. 
 
 I do not doubt that some resemblances in thought and phrase 
 have eluded my search, for influence is a subtle thing when the 
 author influenced is a great, original genius, able to improve 
 upon models and sources, or at any rate able to give all material 
 the stamp of his own mint. On the other hand, deeming it 
 
2 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 well to err rather on the side of fullness of treatment, I have 
 pointed out some interesting parallels, the relation of which 
 as borrowing and source I should not care to defend. Chaucer's 
 indebtedness to Statius is especially difficult to trace ; for mytho- 
 logical allusions, of which Chaucer is so fond, can not in many 
 cases be said to be due to Statius rather than to some other Latin 
 poet whom he knew just as familiarly. For instance, not a 
 few of Chaucer's allusions which lack the telling phrase that 
 points to the original, might have been taken equally well from 
 Statius, Ovid, or Virgil. In these cases, I have thought it 
 worth while to quote parallels from other Latin authors than 
 Statius, though such quotation has for the most part been con- 
 fined to authors that Chaucer is known to have used. In fact, 
 this latent indebtedness is difficult to trace because it results 
 from Chaucer's wide reading and thorough assimilation of 
 what he read; consequently his mind was so well stored with 
 classic lore that methods of treating a theme, or apt illustrations 
 of it, readily suggested themselves even when he had no text 
 before him. 
 
 In treating Statius' indirect influence through the medium 
 of Boccaccio, I have of course scrupulously excluded Chaucer's 
 borrowings from those portions of the Teseide which can not 
 be definitely paralleled by quotations from the Thehaid. Simi- 
 larly, those portions of the Troilus which have their source 
 in the Filostrato have been passed over in the search for Statian 
 parallels. 
 
 Constans ^ and Hamilton - have established a probability that 
 Chaucer knew some form of the Roman de Thebes, which thus 
 becomes a channel of Statius' influence. This probability has 
 been strengthened by my study, though not to such an extent 
 as to amount to certainty. The relation of the Roman to 
 iStatius has been a mooted question, opinion inclining to the view 
 ihat the enormous amount of invention based on the Thehaid 
 
 ^ Roman de Thebes (ii, p. clix). 
 
 ^Chaucer's Indebtedness to Gttido (p. 92, n. 2). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 3 
 
 was not original with the anonymous old French author. 
 Though I should not insist that the author of the Thebes made 
 direct use of the Thehaid, still I have been able to point out 
 a few parallels significant of a closer relation than has hereto- 
 fore been supposed to exist. Completeness in this particular 
 was not intended, and is not claimed. I may devote a later 
 study to this subject. 
 
 In presenting the results of my study I have tried to draw 
 the line between direct and indirect influence ; and have taken 
 up Chaucer's works under these two headings in the following 
 order: Troilus and Criseyde, House of Fam^, Legend of Good 
 ^Vomen, Minor Poems, Canterbury Tales.^ 
 
 My obligations are many. I owe most to Professor Kirby 
 Flower Smith, the director of my course of study; for he 
 not only suggested the subject of my dissertation, but 
 guided me and encouraged me in my work. Professor James 
 W, Bright, who taught me to appreciate Chaucer, has also 
 offered many fruitful suggestions. I am heavily indebted to 
 Professor W. W. Skeat, whose peerless edition of Chaucer made 
 it possible for me to undertake my task. I quote his text, and 
 have received valuable suggestions from his notes and intro- 
 ductions. Other aids that have proved invaluable are: Henry 
 Ward's marginal notes to the Six-Text Print of the Canterbury 
 Tales, and W. M. Rossetti's comparison of the Troilus with 
 the Filostrato. 
 
 ^ This convenient order has been set up by Skeat ( ii, p. xxviii ) in ex- 
 hibiting the results of Stewart's comparison of Boethius with Chaucer. 
 
4 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 I. DIKECT INFLUENCE OF THE THEBAID. 
 
 Ti'oihis and Criseyde: Book I. 
 
 Tyrwhitt ^ was the first to point ont that Chaucer borrowed 
 his Troilus from the Filostrato of Boccaccio ; but it remained 
 for W. M. Rossetti to determine the precise extent of Chaucer's 
 obligation. His line-for-line comparison of the two poems - 
 shows that somewhat less than one-third of the Troilus is due 
 to Boccaccio."^ With the exception of V. 932-37, all of Chau- 
 cer's patent references to the Theban story are in those portions 
 of the Troilus that are not taken from the Filostrato. Con- 
 sequently the extensive influence of Statius upon the Troilus is, 
 in the main, direct. 
 
 Chaucer's invocation of Tisiphone instead of one of the 
 Muses is peculiar, and may have been suggested by the The- 
 haid I. 58 fF. where (Edipus calls upon the queen of the furies 
 to hear and answer his prayer entreating punishment of his 
 insolent sons. 
 
 " Thesiphone, tliou help me for tendyte 
 Thise woful vers, that wepen as I wryte ! 
 
 To thee clepe I thou goddesse of torment, 
 
 Thou cruel Furie, sorwing ever in peyne; 
 
 Help me, that am the sorwful instrument 
 
 That helpeth lovers, as I can to pleyne! 
 
 For wel sit it, the sothe for to seyne, 
 
 A woful wight to han a drery fere, 
 
 And, to a sorwful tale, a scry chere (l. 6-l4). 
 
 Cf. Theb. I. 58 ^' multumque mihi consueta vocari Adnue, 
 Tisiphone, perversaque vota secunda." CEdipus says he can 
 
 ^Canterbury Tales, i, pp. xli, 71, and v, p. 340. 
 
 ^Chaue. Soc, 1875, 1883. 
 
 ^ See his Prefatory Remarks, p. iii. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 5 
 
 lay some claim to Tisiphone's aid ; for she has been his com- 
 panion and guide in his course of crime (Tu saltem debita 
 vindex, 1. 80). Tisiphone in answer to the prayer manages 
 the course of Fate against the Theban kingdom. With '' cruel 
 Furie/' cf. " crudelis diva," i. 88 ; " crudelis Erinys " said of 
 Tisiphone viii, 680; cf. also viii, 65-71. With '' goddesse of 
 tormente/' cf. i. 85 " tartarei regina barathri " ; i. 93 " discedit 
 inane vulgus et occiirsns dominae pavet.'^ 
 
 Close in thought to i. 211: "O blinde world, O blinde en- 
 tencioun!" is llieh. v. 718 '"pro fors et caeca futuri mens 
 hominum ! " 
 
 ]^ext to be considered is i. 393 if., lines that are very im- 
 portant because they have to do with Chaucer's relation to his 
 source. They have nevertheless always been misunderstood. 
 
 " And of his song nought only the sentence, 
 As writ myn autour called Lollius 
 But pleynly, save our tonges difference, 
 I dar wel sayn, in al that Troilus 
 Seyde in liis song; lo! every Avord right thus 
 As I shal seyn; and who-so list it here, 
 Lo! next this vers, he may it finden here." 
 
 Much depends upon the correct interpretation of this stanza 
 which introduces the Cantus Troili, a translation of Petrarch's 
 88th sonnet. The stanza may be paraphrased as follows : " I 
 give not merely the theme of Troilus' song (as my author 
 Lollius did) ; but I give the song verbatim. The only differ- 
 ence is that Troilus spoke one language, and I speak another." 
 That this is the correct meaning is seen by referring the word 
 " our " (1. 395) to the proj)er persons, viz. to the words Troilus 
 and I. Thus interpreted the stanza supports the statement: 
 " My author Lollius wrote only the theme of Troilus' song, not 
 the words which I give next this verse " (i.e. next after 1. 
 398). This statement is quite consistent with the mere men- 
 tion of the song in the Filostrato (i. 37) : 
 
 " E quindi lieto si diede a cantare." 
 
6 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 If I have correctly interpreted the strophe, then there is 
 no occasion for the following remark by Rossetti : " Some sus- 
 picion may arise that Chaucer supposed the Filostrato to be 
 the work, not of Boccaccio, but of Petrarch." ^ 
 
 On the contrary, we are assured that Chaucer knew his 
 author LoUius (Boccaccio) was not the author (Petrarch) of 
 the Cantus Troili. Skeat, too, wrongly thinks Chaucer refers 
 the song of Troilus to Lollius ; see Vol. ii, p. liii, where he says 
 that Lollius in this passage " really means Petrarch." This 
 mistaken idea, which results from wrongly referring our (1. 
 395) to LoUius and I has ranged through editions and mono- 
 gi-aphs ^ from Tyrwhitt ^ to Hamilton.^ 
 
 Professor Bright has accepted this interpretation which shows 
 Chaucer to be consistent in his use of the name Lollius and 
 has published ^ the correct explanation of the way in which 
 Lollius synonymizes Boccaccio. 
 
 Boccaccio with its pejorative suffix means " ugly mouth ; " 
 and to one seeking to use a synonym would suggest that its 
 possessor was a thick-tongued babbler careless about his articu- 
 lation. The English words for characterizing such a person 
 were loll, lollard, toiler. By the addition of the classical 
 suffix -ius to the radical syllable loll, Boccaccio would be rendered 
 by an euphonious equivalent having the semblance of an author's 
 name. 
 
 " I graunte wel that thou endurest wo 
 As sharp as doth he Ticius in helle, 
 Whos stomak foules teyren ever-mo 
 That highte volturis, as bokes telle" (I. 785-88). 
 
 With these words of Pandarus to Troilus, cf. Theh. vi. 728 ff. 
 
 ^ Op. cit., p. viii. 
 
 = If the note of the Globe Edition (1898), p. 443, "Lollius, i. e. 
 Boccaccio (see v. 1653). Why Chaucer always refers to Boccaccio as 
 Lollius, is still a mystery," is an exception it is inconsistent with the 
 note of the same edition (p. 576) where the view of Dr. Latham is 
 recorded. 
 
 ' Canterbury Tales, TV. 340. 
 
 * Chaucer's Indebtedness to Guido, pp. 3 and 145 f. 
 
 • Mod. Lang. Assoc. Publicat., Dec. 1904, p. xxii. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 7 
 
 descriptive of Capanens when about to begin a boxing contest. 
 " ilic quantum Tityos Stygiis consurgat ah arvis Si torvae 
 patiuntur aves, tanta undique pandit Membrorum spatia et 
 tantis ferns ossibus extat." Similarly, Capaneus when struck 
 by Jove's thunderbolt, covers as much ground as Tityos (xii. 
 12): 
 
 " Quantus Apollineae temerator matris Averno 
 Tenditur: ipsae horrent, se quando pectore ab alto 
 Emergunt, volucres immensaque membra iacentis 
 Spectant, dum miserae crescunt in pabula fibrae." 
 
 But the original of Chaucer's lines is Boeth. De Cons. Philos. 
 Book iii.^ Met. 12 : " Vultur, dum satur est modis non traxit 
 Tityi iecur " rendered thus in Chaucer's translation : " The 
 jowl that highte voltor, that eteth the stomaJc or the giser of 
 Tityus, is so fulfild of his song that it nil eten ne tyren no 
 more." ^ 
 
 Troilus. Book II. 
 
 Line 1 if. Chaucer (following Dante, Purg., i. 1) speaks 
 of the progress of his work under the metaphor of a voyage. 
 He has been sailing through the tempestuous matter of his 
 book, ISTow " the wedder ginneth clere," and Tisiphone is 
 no longer a suitable companion (cf. i. 13) ; so he invokes 
 Clio to help him from this time forth (ii. 8). He needs to 
 employ no other art than that of history; for he is adapting a 
 Latin (i. e. Latino volgare) record. 
 
 " lady myn, that called are Cleo, 
 Thou be my speed fro this forth, and my muse, 
 To ryme wel this book, till I have do; 
 Me needeth here noon other art to use" (n. 8-11). 
 
 Similarly Statins invokes Clio as his muse (i. 41) : '* Quem 
 prius heroum, Clio, dabis ? " Cf. x. 630 : ''' Memor incipe 
 
 ' See Appendix B in Hugh Fraser Stewart's Boethins : an Essay. Edinb. 
 and London. 1891. 
 
8 The Influence of Statins upon Chancer. 
 
 Clio Saecnla te quoniam penes et digesta vetustas." It seems 
 not improbable that Chaucer's choice of both Tisiphone and 
 Clio was determined by the Thehaid. 
 
 The metaphor of the voyage appears well elaborated in the 
 FUostrato (ix. 3) : 
 
 " Noi siam venuti al porto, il qual cercando 
 Ora fra scogli ed or per mare aperto 
 Con zefiro e eon turbo navigando 
 Andati siam, seguendo per 1' incerto 
 Pelago V alta luce e 1' venerando 
 Segno di quella stella, che esperto 
 Fa ogni mio pensiero al fin dovuto, 
 E fe' poi clie da me fu conoseiuto." 
 
 Cf. the note to Anelida, 1. 20, p. 74. 
 
 A very important passage now to be considered is ii. 83-108. 
 Early one May morning Pandarus went to Criseyde's palace 
 to tell her that Troilus was in love with her, and to do all he 
 could to advance his friend in his suit. Upon his arrival at 
 his niece's palace, Pandarus found her with two other ladies 
 in a paved parlour ; " and they three 
 
 Herden a mayden reden hem the geste 
 Of the Sege of Thebes, whyl hem leste. 
 
 Quod Pandarus, ' ma dame, god yow see 
 With al your book and al the companye! ' 
 ' Ey, uncle myn, welcome y-wis,' quod she 
 And up she roos, and by the bond in bye 
 She took him faste, and seyde, ' this night thrye, 
 To goode mote it turne, of yow I mette! ' 
 And with that word she down on bench him sette. 
 
 ' Ye nece, ye slial fare wel the bet, 
 
 If god wole al this yeer,' quod Pandarus; 
 ' But I am sory that I have yow let 
 
 To herknen of yoiir book j'e preysen thus; 
 
 For goddes love, what seith it? tel it us. 
 
 Is it of love? O, som good ye me lere! ' 
 'Uncle,' quod she, 'your maistresse is not here!' 
 
 ^Yith that they gonnen laughe, and tho she seyde, 
 ' This roinaimee is of Thebes, that we rede ; 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 9 
 
 And we han herd how that king Laius deyde 
 Thurgh Edippiis his sone, and al that dede; 
 And here we stenten at these lettres rede, 
 How the bisshop, as the book can telle, 
 Aniphiorax, fil thurgh the ground to helle.' 
 
 Quod Pandarus, ' al this knowe I my-selve, 
 And al the assege of Thebes and the care; 
 For her-of been ther maked bokes twelve.' " 
 
 The '' geste of the Sege of Thebes " which was being read to 
 Crisevde is so specifically described that if this were Chaucer's 
 only reference to the Theban legend, there could be no doubt 
 that he had seen a ms. of Statins' Thehaid. The story was 
 written in twelve books; and the closing lines of one of the 
 books told how " Amphiorax '" fell through the ground ; for 
 the red letters just after the description were the colophon of 
 a book. Now the end of the seventh book of the Thehaid (11. 
 794-823) describes the earthquake which cleft the ground and 
 let Amphiaraus in his war-chariot fall into the infernal regions. 
 The death of the seer is again referred to TroiJ. v. 1500 ; cf. 
 also Anelida 57, C. T., D. 740. 
 
 In the passage quoted above, there are two slight indications 
 that Chaucer had already seen the Roman de Thehes. " This 
 romaunce is of Thebes " (1. 100) may be the title of the O. F. 
 poem applied to the Latin epic. Cf. Thehes, explicit ms. P., 
 " Li romans de Thebes," and incipit ms. B, '' li roumans de 
 Thebes.^ Again, Amphiorax is called " bisshop " which may 
 have been suggested by " evesque " {Thehes, 5053) ; cf. '"' arce- 
 vesques " (4791). In fact Amphiarax is an O. F. spelling 
 of Amphiaraus and may be received as evidence that Chaucer 
 had read the Theban story in that language. 
 
 It may be remarked in passing that Troilus, like the valiant 
 Tydeus, chose Pallas as his special deity ; cf. ii. 425 and Theh. 
 I. 704 ff. 
 
 , "To deethe mote I smiten be with thonder " (ii. 1145). 
 ' Constans ii, pp. x, xvii. 
 
10 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Pauclarus here invites the fate of Capaneus ; cf. v. 1504 f. 
 
 " And also how Cappaneus the proude 
 With thonder-dint was slayn, that crydc loude." 
 
 Capaneus challenged Jove to battle in such insolent terms that 
 the auctor fulminis deemed him worthy of a bolt, Theh. x. 
 902 ff. 
 
 Troilus. Book III. 
 
 The first 38 lines of this proem (iii. 1 ff.) are a close adapta- 
 tion of Boccaccio's Filostrato (iii. 74-79). In Boccaccio, the 
 words are a speech of Troilus ; Chaucer addresses them to 
 Venus on his own account because he wishes to invoke her aid 
 in describing Troilus' amorous bliss (1. 39 if). To Venus 
 alone was it given to brave the wrath of Mars (1. 22) ; cf. 
 Theh. III. 295-99. 
 
 " Caliope, thy vois be now presente, 
 For now is nede; sestow not my destresse, 
 How I mot telle anon-right the gladnesse 
 Of Troilus, to Venus heryinge?" (iii. 45-48). 
 
 Statins, too, invokes Calliope, Theh. 4, 34: — 
 
 " tuque, nemoris regina sonori, 
 Calliope, quas ille manus, quae moverit arma 
 Gradivus, quantas populis solaverit urbes, 
 Sublata molire lyra." Cf. 8, 373 f. 
 
 The custom of the classical poets, which Chaucer has adopted 
 in his Troilus, was to invoke the muses not only at the begin- 
 ning of a work, but also in the body of it when they 
 were confronted by a task of unusual difficulty (Quintil. iv. 
 Prooem. 4). 
 
 Natal loves (iii. 150). Skeat remarks: "The reason for 
 the use of natal is not obvious." He cites Hor. Epist. ii. 2, 
 187. Jove is called natal because he is the source of gods, 
 
The Influence of iitatius upon Chaucer. H 
 
 men, and things. Cf. C. T., A. 3035 1; Theh. iii. 48S, 
 " Summe sator terraeque divumque," i. 178, iii. 219, 239, v. 
 22, VII. 155, 734, IX. 511, 835, xi. 218; Yerg. Aen. i. 251; 
 Liican X. 266 ; particularly Valerius Soranus, quoted by Augusti- 
 nus, De Civ. Dei, 7, 9 : — 
 
 " lupiter omnipotens, rerum, regumque, deumque 
 Progenitor, genetrixque deuvi, deus unus et omnis." 
 
 Cf. also Troil. iii. 1016: "But O, thou love, O auctor of 
 nature" ; and Ovid M. iv. 640 "auctor generis (luppiter)." 
 
 " O love eek, for the love of faire Europe, 
 The which in form of bole away thou fette " (ill. 722 f.). 
 
 Similarly Bacchus when pleading for his native city, makes 
 Jove's love for Europa the basis of appeal, Theh. vii. 191: — 
 
 " Hie Tyriura genus et nostro felicior igne 
 Taurus: Agenoreos saltern tutare nepotes." 
 
 Cf. XI. 210-14; and see the note to L. of G. W. 113, B. (p. 64). 
 " O Mars, thou with thy bloody cope " (in. 724) ; cf. Theh. 
 III. 229 " tota perfusum pectora belli tempestate " ; vii. 264, 
 " Mavorte cruento " ; viii. 231. Yerg. (Aen. 12, 332) and 
 Ovid (R. A. 153) call the god sanguineus. Cf. " Mars the 
 rede ''' C. T., A. 1747, and Anelida i. " Marte rubicondo " 
 (Tes. I. 3). 
 
 " O night, alias ! why niltow over us hove, 
 As longe as whanne Almena lay by love ?" (ill. 1428). 
 
 Cf. Theh. VI. 266: " Parvoque Alcmena superbit Hercule, tejye- 
 niina crinem circumdata luna " ; ix. 424 "' vetitam currus deiun- 
 gere Phoben; xii. 300 " Certe Jovis improba (Cpithia) iussu 
 Ter 7ioctem Herculeajn." Lactantius on xii. 301. "lupiter cum 
 Alcmenam Amphitryonis amasset uxorem et ad eam corrum- 
 pendam demutatus in Amphitryonis venisset specie, ne adventu 
 diei concubitus minueretur voluptas, iussit luppiter illam noc- 
 
12 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 tern triplicem fieri, cma triplices cursus Luna peregit. Ex quo 
 compressu Alcmenae Hercules dicitur natus. Merito ergo noc- 
 tem Herculeam dixit, in qua couceptus est Hercules." Boccac- 
 cio (Tes. IV. 14) : 
 
 " E quelle dove son d'Alcmena 
 Che doppia notte voile a farsi plena?" 
 
 has probably misunderstood Stat. Theh. x. 76 '' N^on saevius 
 arsii (luno) Herculeae cum matris onus geminosque Tonantis 
 secubitus vacuis indignaretur in astris." 
 
 In bis Tagelied, Troilus says : " O cruel day . . . envious 
 day, what list thee so to spyen ? " (iii. 1450 ff.). Statins, 
 describing the unsuccessful attempt of the armor-bearers of 
 Tydeus and Parthenopaeus to recover the bodies of their kings, 
 says they dared not to speak or weep ; for " prope saera dies 
 indexcjue rn'matur Ortus" (Theh. x. 381). 
 
 " Thou hast in hevene y-brought my soule at reste 
 Fro Flegiton, the fiery flood of liclle" (in. 1599 f.). 
 
 Cf. Theh. IV. 523 " Fumidus atra vadis Phlegethon incendia 
 volvit " ; VIII. 29 " Adsistunt lacrimis atque igne tumentes 
 Cocytus Phlegethonque." Of course Chaucer's reference to the 
 Phlegethon might have been taken from any one of a number 
 of sources. Skeat quotes Verg. Aen. vi. 550 " Quae rapidus 
 -fianiniis ambit torrentibus amnis Tartareus Phlegethon." 
 
 Troilus. liook lY. 
 
 " O ye Herines, Nightes doughtren three, 
 That endelees compleynen ever in pyne, 
 Megara, Alete, and eek Thesiphone " (iv. 22-24). 
 
 "Now that Troilus suffers double sorrow from the loss of Cri- 
 seyde, Chaucer invokes the aid of all the furies whereas he 
 deemed Tisiphone sufficient in the first book. So Statins re- 
 gards Tisiphone as inadequate to complete the work of fate 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 13 
 
 affaiiist the two 'brothers; and Mesjaera is summoned to 
 help incite them to single combat. Theh. xi. 57 ft". 
 Jocasta alludes to OEdipus' invocation of the furies thus : '' Xon 
 ego te contra Stygiis feralia sanxi vota dels, caeco nee Erinyas 
 ore rogavi." Theb. xi. 344 f. Cf. v. 66 " Tartareas . . . 
 sorores '' ; iv. 53 " Stygias . . . Eumenidas," Ovid IL xi. 103 ; 
 " Erinyes atrae " ; M. viii. 481 " ' Poenarumque deae triplices, 
 furialibus ' inquit ' Eumenides, sacris vultus advertite vestros.' " 
 
 " Thou cruel ilars eek, fader to Quiryne " ( iv. 25 ) . 
 
 According to Carter (Epitheta), Mars is nowhere called crudeUs 
 hj the Latin poets ; Statins, however, terms him saevus, Theh. 
 VII. 703. Cf. Ovid M. xv. 862 "^ genitorque Quirine urbis, 
 et invicti Gradive Quirini.'^ Chaucer uses the Latin vocative 
 for his form of the name Quirinus, which he probably took 
 from Ovid. 
 
 " Right as the toilde bole biginneth springe 
 Now here, now there, y-darted to the herte, 
 And of his deeth roreth in eompleyninge ..." (iv. 239-41). 
 
 When Eteocles was sacrificing to Jove " ferus ante ictum spumis 
 delubra cruentat Taurus et obstantum mediis e coetibus exit 
 Turbidus insanoque ferens altaria cornu " (Theh. xi. 228-30). 
 Chaucer's figure is taken from the Filostrato v. 23, where the 
 bull is not sacrificial, but one running wild in the forest. Cf. 
 Dante Inf. xir. 22 and Vergil Aen. ii. 223: Qualis mugitus 
 fugit cum saucius aram Taurus et incertam excussit cervice 
 securim. 
 
 " I, coinhre-icorld, that may of no-thing serve, 
 But ever dye, and never fully sterve" (iv. 279 f.). 
 
 These lines may be reminiscent of the living death of CEdipus 
 several times referred to by Statins (Theh. i. 48) : '' CEdipodes 
 longaque animam suh morte tenehat.''^ Cf. iv. 614 " lacet illc 
 in funere longo, 
 
 Queui freniis, et ianctae sentit confinia mortis, 
 Obsitus exhaustos paedore et sangTiine vultus 
 
14 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Eiectusque die: sors leto durior 07nni." 
 XI. 580 " At genitor sceleris comperto fine profundis 
 Erupit tenebris, saevoque in limine profert 
 Mortem imperfectam." 
 
 XI. 696 " An refert, quo funera longa measque 
 
 Transportem tenebras? ne non gens cuncta precanti 
 Concedat, patriae quantum miser incubo terrae? " 
 
 A little later in his complaint Troilus again thinks of himself 
 as a second ffidipus (iv. 299) : — 
 
 " Ne never wil I seen it shyne or reyne ; 
 But ende I wil, as Edippe in derlcnesse 
 My sorwful lyf, and dyen in distresse." 
 
 See the passages quoted above in which CEdipus' self-inflicted 
 blindness is termed tenehrae; cf. i. 46 : 
 
 " Impia iam merita scrutatus limina dextra 
 Merserat aeterna damnatum node pudorem 
 (Edipodes longaque animam sub morte tenebat 
 Ilium indulgentem tenebris imaequc recessu 
 Sedis inauspectos caelo radiisque penatis 
 Servantem tamen adsiduis circumvolat alis 
 Saeva dies animi." 
 
 Cf. further i. 71, 236-41; vii. 469; xi. 105, 333, 345, 504, 
 585, 614, 620 f., 668, 674, 692 f. 
 
 Yet in the feld of pitee out of peyne, 
 
 That hight Elysos, shul we been y-fere (iv. 789 f.). 
 
 The phrase " out of peyne " might have been suggested by 
 securi Elysii (Theh. viii. 14) ; and pios (iv. 481) may explain 
 " field of pitee " : " tu separe coetu Elysios, Persei pios virgaque 
 potenti nubilus Areas agat, " the words of Tiresias imploring- 
 Hecate to conduct the Manes to the upper world. Statins in 
 his apostrophe to Amphiaraus says (viii. 193) : 
 
 " An tibi felices liicos miseratus Averni 
 Rector et Elysias dedit inservare volucrea ? " 
 
The Influence of Statiiis upon Chaucer. 15 
 
 Cf . further Theb. in. 247, iv. 520, viii. 775, xi. 64 ; Val. Flac. 
 I. 649. However, in view of the foUowang reference to Or- 
 pheus, Chaucer's form Elysos is best considered as due to 
 Vergil G. I. 38, Elysios campos, as Skeat suggests. Cf. Corp. 
 Gloss. V. 289, 14; Augustine, De Civ. Dei, x. 30; xxi. 27, 
 25 ; Cassiod. Variae ii. 40, 7 ; Tibullus i. 3, 58 ; Claudian, 
 De Cons. Stil. ii. 378; Dante, Par. xv. 25-7. 
 
 " So that his sowle her sowle folwen might, 
 Ther-as the doom of Mynos wolde it dighte " (iv. 1187 f. ).' 
 
 When Pluto was contemplating a terrible punishment for 
 Amphiaraus because he did not enter his realm in the pre- 
 scribed fashion, the seer said no blame attached to him and 
 appealed to Minos who can discern the truth by means of his 
 urn, and so determine the just estate of departed spirits (Theh. 
 VIII. 102) '' Scit iudicis urna Dictaei verumque potest defendere 
 Minos." Cf. XI. 571 " Si modo Agenorei stat Gnosia iudicis 
 urna Qua reges punire datur " ; iv. 530 " Arbiter hos dura 
 versat Cortynius urna Vera minis poscens adigitque expromere 
 vitas Usque retro et tandem poenarum lucra fateri." Lewis 
 refers to Verg. Aen. vi. 432 f., cf. L. of G. W. 1886 where 
 the '' iuge infernal " is confused with Minos II., father of 
 Ariadne. 
 
 Criseyde's blasphemous utterances regarding Apollo and the 
 Delphic oracle are similar to those of Capaneus, saperum con- 
 temptor (ix. 550), who in turn, finds a prototype in Virgil's 
 Mezentius {Aen. vii. 648 and viii. 7). Criseyde is telling 
 Troilus of her various schemes for keeping her promise to re- 
 turn to him, and says she will appeal to her father's desyr 
 of gold by asking him to allow her to return to Troy and send 
 him her personal property. If he objects to her return to a 
 doomed citv, she will convince him that the oracle foretellinsr 
 the destruction of Troy was not worth three hawes and that 
 gods are only an invention of man's fear. 
 
 rv. 1397 " For al Apollo, or his clerkish laives 
 
 Or calculing avayleth nought three hawes. . . . 
 1401 And if he wold ought by his sort it preve 
 
16 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 If that I lye, in certayn I shal fonde 
 Distorben him, and plukke him by the sleeve, 
 Making his sort, and beren him on honde. 
 He hath not wel the goddes understonde. 
 For goddes speken in amphibology es, 
 And, for a sooth, they tellen twenty lyes. 
 Eeh drede fond first goddes, I suppose, 
 Thus shal I seyn, and that his coward herte 
 Made him amis the goddes texte to glose. 
 Whan he for ferde out of his Delphos sterte." 
 
 As the Filostrato has no corresponding lines, this trait of Cre- 
 seyde's character may have been suggested by Statins' portrayal 
 of Capaneus. Cf. Theb. iii. Oil " J^on si ipse cavo sub 
 vertice Cirrhae (quisquis is est, timidis famaeque ita visus) 
 Apollo Mugiat insano penitus seclusus in antro, Expectare 
 qucam, dum pallida virgo tremendas Nuntiet ambages. Virtus 
 mihi numen et ensis Quern teneo ! lainque hie timida cam 
 fraude sacerdos Exeat, aut hodie, volucrum cjuae tanta potestas, 
 Experiar." iii. 648 " Tuus O furor auguret uni Ista tibi, ut 
 servus vacnos ingiorius annos Et tua non umquam Tyrrhenus 
 tenipora circum Clangor eat." iii. 657 "'Tua prosus inani Verba 
 polo causas abstrusaque nomina reruni Eliciunt? Miseret su- 
 peruni, si carmina curae Huraanaeque preces! Quid inertia 
 pectora terres? Primus in orbe deos fecit timorl " iii. QQ6 
 " Procul haec tibi mollis infula terrificique aberit dementia 
 Phoebi." 
 
 Skeat says lines 1401-14 are due to a passage in Guido ; and 
 in his Introd. (ii. p. Ivii), he quotes the passage from Book 
 XIX : " Sane deceperunt te Apollinis frivola responsa, a quo 
 dicis te suscepisse mandatum ut tu paternas Lares desereres, et 
 tuos in tanta acerbitate Penates sic tuis specialiter hostibus 
 adhereres. Sane non fuit ille dens Apollo, set, puto, fuit 
 comitiva infernalium Furiarum a quibus responsa talia rece- 
 pisti." The only expression that could have suggested Cri- 
 seyde's irreverence is fiivola responsa. There is no suggestion 
 that the cowardice of Calchas caused him to misinterpret the 
 oracle. Capaneus, however, charges Amphiaraus with coward- 
 ice and dishonesty: '' lamqne hie timida cum fraude sacerdos 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 17 
 
 exeat." Moreover, " Eek drede fond first goddes " is a trans- 
 lation of " primus in orbe deus fecit timor." ^ Chaucer has 
 transferred to Calchas a weakness which in Statius is attributed 
 to another seer of Apollo, and has made Criseyde a contemptrix 
 divum after the model of Capaneus. In these lines, we have 
 a good illustration of Chaucer's method of recasting the char- 
 acters of his source by adding striking traits of similar characters 
 described by some other author. Cf. Theh. x. 485, 847; and 
 see Lounsbury {Studies in Chaucer ii. 501) and Macaulay's 
 note on Gower (C. A. i. 1980). 
 
 " Stix, the put of helle " (iv. 1540). The mediaeval and 
 particularly the Dantesque notion of hell has induced Chaucer 
 to modify the classical conception. That this is the case is 
 indicated by the gloss " Styx, puteus infernalis," which may 
 
 * " Primus in orbe deos fecit timor " is the poetic expression of what 
 was probably a famous sententia of the rhetorical schools. In fact Pe- 
 tronius had previously written a poetical suasoria of 13 hexameters for 
 which these words are the text. (Fragm. xxvii.) : 
 
 " primus in orbe deos fecit timor, ardua caelo 
 fulmina cum caderent discussaque moenia flammis 
 atque ictus flagraret Athos, mox Phoebus ad ortus 
 lustrata devectus humo lunaeque senectus 
 et reparatus honos, hinc signa effusa per orbem 
 et permutatus disiunctis mensibus annus, 
 profecit vitium iamque error iussit inanis 
 agricolas primos Cereri dare messis honores, 
 palmitibus plenis Bacchum vincire, Palemque 
 pastorum gaudere manu. Natat obrutus omnis 
 Neptunus demersus aqua, Pallasque tabernas 
 A'indicat. et voti reus et qui vendidit orbem, 
 iam sibi quisque deos avido certamine fingit." 
 
 Lucretius too preaches on this text; cf. i. 151-4; v. 1161-68, 1218-40. 
 Cf. further Fulgentius, Mythologicon i. 1. This rhetorical commonplace 
 must have been turned to account by still other authors. A variant 
 expression of the same opinion is Lucan's "quae finxere timent " (i. 486). 
 Cf. Verg. Aen. vii. 59 " Laurus erat tecti medio in penetralibus altis 
 Sacra comam, multosque metu servata per annos." Juvenal x. 365: 
 " nullum numen habes si sit prudentia, nos te, nos facimus, Fortuna, deam 
 caeloque locamus." See De la Ville de Mirmont in Le Musee Beige, 1904, 
 p. 402. 
 
 2 
 
18 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 have proceeded from Chaucer himself, in ms. Harl. 2392 
 (Skeat II. p. Ixii). Cf. also C. T., A. 1225 f. 
 
 " Now is me shape eternally to dvvelle 
 
 Noght in purgatorie, but in helle; " 
 '* The cave was also as derk 
 
 As helle pit over-al aboute " {B. D. 170); 
 " With Pluto king as depe been in helle 
 
 As Tantalus!" {Troil. ill. 592); " swalow of helle" 
 (L. of G. W. 1104). 
 
 Dante, whom Chaucer regarded as an authority on the lower 
 world {H. F. 450), represents the Styx as a marsh in the 
 Fifth Circle of Inferno. Canto vii. 106 ff. is translated thus 
 by Longfellow: 
 
 " A marsh it makes, which has the name of Styx, 
 This tristful brooklet, when it has descended 
 Down to the foot of the malign gray shores. 
 And I, who stood intent upon beholding, 
 Saw people mud-bespreynt in that lagoon." 
 
 Though Statius represents the Styx as a river (iv. 524), 
 " Styx discretis interflua manibus obstat," yet certain passages 
 seem to foreshadow the Dantesque notion. Mars promises 
 Venus that he will be partial to Harmonia's descendants in 
 conducting the war : " Rather than forget my relation to the 
 Thebans, prius in patrui deus infera mergar Stagna et pallentes 
 agar exarmatus ad umbras" (iii. 302). When the manes are 
 summoned by Tiresias, Cadmus rises from a lake (iv. 553) : 
 " Primus sanguineo submittit inertia Cadmus Ora lacu," Ca- 
 paneus cherished a distinguished shade on Stygian waters (xi. 
 70) : " Coetu Capaneus laudatur ab omni Ditis et insignem 
 Stygiis fovet amnibus umbram." Agave pursues Pentheus; 
 but " fugit ille per avia Lethes Et Stygios super usque lacus ubi 
 niitior ilium Flet pater et lacerum componit corpus Echion " 
 (iv. 567). Tisiphone is addressed as queen of the seething 
 whirlpool, " regina barathri " (i. 85). Cf. " putte of helle" 
 in Chaucer's version of Boethius (iii. Metre 12). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 19 
 
 " And this on every god celestial 
 I swere it yow, and eek on eche goddesse- 
 On every 'Nymph and deite infernal, 
 On Satiry and Fauny more and lesse 
 That halve goddes been of wildernessse " (TV. 1541-5). 
 
 Cf. Theb. IV. 683 " Undarum vocat ille deas mediusque silentum 
 Incipit : ' agrestes fluviorum numina Nymphae ' " ; vi. 88 
 " Nymphas etiam mutasse superstes Faunorum greges " ; vi. 
 105 " Semideumque pecus, migrantibus adgemit illis Silva, nee 
 amplexae dimittunt robora Nymphae "; i. 205 " turbe vagorum 
 semideum." 
 
 " And Attropos my tbreed of lyf to-breste " (iv. 1546) ; 
 Theh. VIII. 11 " Quin comminus ipsa Fatorum deprensa coins, 
 visoque paventes Augure tunc demum rumpehant stamina Par- 
 cae." Atropos usually cuts the thread of life {Theb. v. 74). 
 Chaucer sometimes intentionally perverts mythology to give a 
 humorous touch. Cf. Troil. iv. 1207 " And Attropos, make 
 redy thou my bere ! " 
 
 " And thou, Simoys, that as an arwe clere, 
 Thorugh Troye rennest ay downward to the see, 
 Ber witnesse of this work that seyd is here, 
 That thilke day that ich untrewe be 
 To Troilus, myn owene herte free, 
 That thou retorne hakwarde to thy icelle, 
 And I with body and soule sinke in helle! " (iv. 1548-54). 
 
 As the Filostrato has nothing corresponding to this stanza, Cri- 
 seyde's implication that the Simois would sooner flow backward 
 than she would prove false may have been suggested by Statins 
 Theb. VIII. 553 where Tydeus says that the Inachus and Ache- 
 lous will sooner flow backwards than Eteocles will allow his 
 brother to escape when once in his power within the walls of 
 Thebes. ISTote further that Criseyde here invites the fate of 
 Amphiaraus if she should prove untrue; cf. Troil. ii. 105. 
 
20 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Troilus. Book V. 
 
 Approchen gan the fatal destinee 
 That loves hath in disposicioun, 
 And to you, angry Parcas, sustren three 
 Committeth, to don execucioun (v. 1). 
 
 Jove's utterances become Fate ; " grave et inmutabile Sanctis 
 Pondus adest verbis, et vocem Fata sequimtur " (Theh. i. 212). 
 Jove, upon charging Mars with the conduct of the Theban v^ar, 
 tells the gods that any remonstrance on their part will be use- 
 less {Theh. III. 241)," sic Fata mihi nigraeque Sororum lura- 
 vere coins : manet haec ab origine mundi Fixa dies hello." Jove 
 and the Fates operate together {Theh. vi. 354) : " Sic lovis 
 imperia et nigrae voluere Sorores. Cf. v. 736-40. 
 
 The Parcae are often called Sorores by Statius ; cf . Theh. i. 
 632, VIII. 59, IX. 323; also Troil. in. 733 "fatal sustren." 
 Among the epithets of the Parcae used by the Latin poets, 
 immites, Theh. vii. 774, is perhaps nearest to Chaucer's epithet 
 angry. See Carter, Epitheta. 
 
 " The golden-tressed Phebus heighe on-lofte 
 Thryes hadde alle with his hemes shene 
 The snowes molte " (v. 8-10). 
 
 Skeat notes that ms. Harl. 3943 has Auricomus tressed. 
 This tautologous reading is sufRcient proof that golden-tressed 
 is Chaucer's translation of auricomus. The epithet is probably 
 taken from Mart. Cap. i. 12 : " quod . . . hie {Sol) vocitetur 
 auricomus. Nam Solis augustum caput radiis perfusum . . . 
 velut auratam caesariem rutule verticis imitatur." Chaucer 
 knew Martianus Capella at first hand and refers to him as one 
 who described " hevenes region " {H. F. 985 if.). He is again 
 referred to C. T., E. 1732. The only other pasages in which 
 Latin authors use auricomus to mean golden-tressed are Val. Fl. 
 IV. 92 " auricomis . . . Horis," and Sil. Ital. in. 608 " auri- 
 como Batavo." ^ Variant expressions of Chaucer's metaphor 
 
 * See Miinscher s. v. in Thesaurus Linguae Latinae. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 21 
 
 are " riitilam comam " (Theh. in. 408) and " fuderat in terras 
 roseum iubar igniconius sol " (luvencus, EvangeUa in. 1). 
 
 " To bedde he goth, and weyleth there and torneth 
 In furie, as dooth he, Ixion, in helle " (v. 211 f.). 
 Theb. \ni. 50 "Cur autem avidis Ixiona frango Verticibus?" 
 
 " On hevene yet the sterres loere sene. 
 Altliough fill pale y-ioaxen loas the mone; 
 And whyten gan the orisonte shene 
 Al estward, as it woned is to done. 
 And Phebus with his rosy carte sone 
 Gan after that to dresse him up to fare" (v. 274-279). 
 
 As there are no parallel lines in the Filostrato, Statins maj be 
 the source, Theh. xii. 1 : " Noiidum cuncta polo vigil inclina- 
 verat astra Ortus et instantem cornu tenuiore videhat Luna diem, 
 trepidas ubi iam Tithonia nubes Discntit ac reduci magnum 
 parat aethera Phoeho.^' Cf. also "roseum Titana " (i. 717). 
 In as much as the Filostrato contains no corresponding lines, 
 one may suspect that Troilus' mind reverted sadly to the famous 
 pyre and funeral games of Archemorus when he said to Pan- 
 darus (v. 302) : 
 
 " But of the fyr and flaumbe funeral 
 In whiche my body brenne shal to glede, 
 And of the feste and pleyes palestral 
 At my vigile, I pray thee take good hede 
 That al be wel." 
 
 Chaucer elsewhere (v. 1499) divides the 6th book of the 
 Thebaid into two parts : " Archimoris buryinge," i. e. " fyr and 
 flaumbe funeral" (Theh. vi. 1-226), and "the pleyes" (Theh. 
 VI. 227 ff.). See Skeat's note to v. 304. 
 
 " The poudre in which myn hert« y-brend shal torne, 
 That preye I thee thou take and it conserve 
 In a vessel, that men clepeth an urne " ( v. 309 ) . 
 
 This last request which Troilus makes of his friend is similar 
 to that which Polynices makes of his father-in-law before going 
 
22 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 to fight the duel with his brother {Theh. xi. 190) : " Sis lenis 
 cineri, meque haec post proelia rap turn Alitibus fratrique tegas 
 urnamque reportes." Cf. also vi. 117 f. and ix. 11. 
 
 " The owle eek which that hight Ascaphilo,* 
 Hath after me shright alle thise nightes two" (v. 318 f. ). 
 
 " And treweliche eek augurie of thise foules. . . . 
 As ravenes qualm, or shryking of thise oules " (v. 380). 
 
 " The owle al night aboute the balkes wond, 
 That prophet is of wo and of mischaunce " (Legend 2253 f. ) . 
 
 "The oule eek, that of dethe the bode bringeth " (Pcurl. 343). 
 
 When Amphiarus and Melampus were upon Mt. Apesas taking 
 omens prophetic of the outcome of the Theban war, the heavens 
 were filled with birds of ill omen (Theh. iii. 510) : " Monstra 
 volant, dirae stridunt in nube volucres iN'octurnaeque gemunt 
 striges et feralia bubo Damna canens." Lactantius comment- 
 ing on huho gives his version of the story, according to which 
 Proserpine's mother metamorphosed Ascalaphus : " Indignata 
 Ceres convertit Ascalaphum in bubonem." He adds further: 
 *' Quam sit f erale bubonis augTirium, testis est poeta Virgilius : 
 * solaque culminibus ferali carmine bubo.' " See Aen. iv. 462. 
 A close parallel to the lines quoted from the Legend of Good 
 Women is Ovid M. vi. 431 " tectoque prof anus Incubuit bubo 
 thalamique in culmine sedit." 
 
 During his ten days' anxiety while waiting for Criseyde's 
 promised return from the Greek camp, Troilus tried the virtue 
 of a prayer to Cupid. He prayed him to send her to Troy 
 again and not to be so cruel to the blood of Troy 
 
 " As Juno was un-to the blood Tkeiane 
 For which the folk of Thebes caughte hir bane" (v. 601-2). 
 
 In the Thehaid Juno is always inimical to Thebes as she is to 
 
 * Ascalaphus, son of Acheron and Orphne, was metamorphosed into an 
 ill boding owl [hubo) by Proserpine because he informed Pluto that she 
 had forfeited her right to return to the upper world by eating some- 
 thing while in his realms. The story is told by Ovid M. v. 533-550; cf. 
 especially 549 f. " Foeda fit volucris, venturi nuntia luctus Ignavus bubo, 
 dirum mortal ibus omen." 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 23 
 
 Troy in the Aeneid. Her anger was roused against Thebes be- 
 cause of Jove's relations with Semele and Alcmene. Cf. Theh. 
 I. 12 " Unde graves irae cognata in moenia Baccho, Quod saevae 
 lononis opus." '' Illam odimus urbem quam vultu confessus 
 adis, ubi conscia magni Signa tori tonitrus agis et mea fulmina 
 torques/' says Juno (i. 256). Her wrath was especially bane- 
 ful on several occasions. She sent Iris to command Somnus 
 to steep the Thebans in forgetfulness, and then incited Tiresias 
 to lead a host against them while in their stupor (Theh. x. 81, 
 126, 162, 282). She gave the wives of the dead chieftains 
 favor in the eyes of Theseus and the Athenians with the result 
 that he led his army against Thebes (xii. 291-464). 
 Chaucer seems to have followed Dante, Inf. xxx. 1 ; 
 
 " Nel tempo che Giunone era crucciata 
 Per Semelfe contra il sangue tebano 
 Come mostrO una ed altra fiata " . . . . 
 
 Juno's hatred of Thebes is often alluded to by Boccaccio; 
 cf. Tes. III. 1, IV. 14, 16, IT, v. 56, 58, ix. 44, x. 39, 94, 
 XII. 26. 
 
 " Y-wis, me dredeth ever-mo, 
 The sonnes sone, Pheton, be on-lyve, 
 And that his fadres cart amis he dryve " (v. 662-4). 
 
 Cf. the words of Jove (Theh. i. 219): " Atque adeo tuleram 
 falso rectore solutos 8olis equos caelumque rotis errantihus uH, 
 et Phaethontea mundum squalere favilla " ; vi. 298 : " Sic ignea 
 lora Cum daret et rapido Sol natum imponeret axi." H. F. 
 941-56 shows that Chaucer was familiar with the story as told 
 by Ovid M. ii. 32. 
 
 " Swich wreche on hem, for feeching of Eleyne, 
 Ther shal be take, er that we hennes wende 
 That Manes, which that goddes ben of peyne 
 Shal been agast that Grekes wol hem shende " (v. 890-93). 
 
 Skeat refers to Verg. Aen. vi. 743 and Stat. Theh. viii. 84 
 where Manes means supplicia; see Harpers' Lat. Did. But 
 
24 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 this is not the sense in which Chaucer uses the word. It here 
 means " departed spirits," as in the expression " Dis Manibus " 
 of sepulchral inscriptions. The dftparted spirits of the Trojans 
 whom the Greeks slav shall fear to take vengeance on their 
 slayers, so horrible will be the death inflicted. 
 
 The notion that the Manes torment those who have caused 
 violent death is several times expressed by Statius. Maeon, 
 priest of Apollo, and sole survivor of the fifty warriors sent 
 against Tydeus, in his denunciation of Eteocles says {Theh. 
 III. 75) : . . . " te diro horrore volantes Quinquaginta animae 
 circum noctesque diesque Adsilient ; neque enim ipse moror." 
 When Tiresias summoned the Manes from Avernus in order 
 that they might foretell the event of the Theban war, Laius 
 came breathing out hatred even against the son of his murderer 
 (iv. 606), " dirumque tuens obliqua nepotem . . . Immortale 
 odium spirans." Tiresias assures the angry shade that (Edipus 
 is suffering for his crimes (614) " lacet ille in funere longo 
 Quem fremis." When Polyxo slew her son, and the Lemnian 
 women pledged themselves to kill every male on the island, 
 the shade flitted around the mother while they performed the 
 horrible rite, " Matremque recens circumvolat umbra " (v. 163). 
 The Manes of the husbands of the Lemnian women hover about 
 the roofs of the desolate homes (v. 312) " Saevi spirant per 
 culmina manes." The shrilling ghosts of the slain follow the 
 car of Amphiaraus in its terrible course of slaughter while 
 Phoebus as charioteer aids his priest in making his last hours 
 glorious (vii. 770), "strident animae currumque sequuntur." 
 Cf. further: Theh. ix. 298, xi. 623, xii. 55, Verg. Aen. iv. 
 386, Lucan De Bel. Civ. ix. 17, Juv. xv. 105. 
 
 " And but-if Calkas lede us with ambages, 
 That is to seyne, with double wordes slye, 
 Swich as men clepe a word with two visages "... (v. 897-9). 
 
 Oracular responses were regularly ambages: ^ Theh. i. 495 
 
 ' Though the Delphic priests kept themselves well informed and weighed 
 probabilities to a nicety, they could not in many cases forecast events ; 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 25 
 
 "(Adrastus) sensit manifesto niimine ductos Adfore, qiios nexis 
 ambagibus augur Apollo Portendi generos, vultu fallente fera- 
 rum Ediderat " (cf. i. 396 f.) ; in. 614 '' diim pallida virgo tre- 
 mendas jSTimtiet ambages." So also in Laiiis when predicting the 
 event of the Theban war " flexa dubios ambage relinquit" (iv. 
 645). The riddle propounded by the Sphinx was made up of 
 such ambiguous words (i. 66 f.), " si Sphingos iniquae Callidus 
 ambages te praemonstrante resolvi." Chaucer uses the Latin 
 form at the suggestion of Boccaccio; cf. ambage, FiJostrato 
 VI. 17. Chaucer's sjTionym {Troil. iv. 1405) is amphihologyes. 
 
 "As help me Pallas with her heres clere" (v. 999). 
 
 Flavus is the Latin adjective descriptive of the color of Pallas' 
 hair, Theh. iii. 507 '' flavae . . . Minervae " ; cf. Ovid. A. 1, 1, 
 7-8 ; M. 2, 749 ; 8, 275 ; F. 6, 652 ; Tr. 1, 10, 1. 
 
 The laurer-crouned Phebus, with his hete, 
 Gan, in his course ay upward as he wente, 
 To warmen of the est see the wawes wete " (v. 1107-9). 
 
 Cf. Theh. VII. 470 " lam gelidam Phoeben et caligantia pri- 
 
 therefore they couched the sibyl's oracular utterances in hexameters that 
 were notably ambigious. Such oracular responses, intended to fit the 
 event in any case, were called ambages, less frequently amphibologiae or 
 amphihoUae. A stock example is that given by Isodorus, Orig. i. 33, 13: 
 " Amphibologia, ambigua dictio . . . ut illud responsum Apollinis ad 
 Pyrrhum : 
 
 ' Aio te, Aeacida, Romanos vincere posse.' 
 
 In quo non est certum, quem in ipso versu monstraverat esse victorem." 
 Char. Gramm. i. 271, 26: " Amphibolia est . . . sententia . . . dubiae 
 significationis . . . ut 
 
 ' Aio te, Aeacida, Romanos vincere posse.' 
 
 Ambigua enim sors fuit ante eventum utrum Pyrrhus a Romanis an 
 Romani a Pyrrho vinci possent." Mart. Capell. i. 9 : ..." in fanis quibus 
 vaticinia obliquis fundebantur ambagibus." Seneca, Oed. 214: "Ambage 
 flexa Delphico mos est deo arcana tegere." Cf. further: Verg. Aen. vi. 99; 
 Ovid, Fast. iv. 261; iv. 668; Tac. Ann. n. 54; Prud. Symm. ii. 893; Amm. 
 Marc. 23. 5; Cic. Div. ii. 116, 
 
26 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 mils Plauserat astra dies, cmn iam tumet igne futuro Oceanus 
 lateque novo Titane reclusum Aequor anhelantum radlis suhsidit 
 equorum.'^ 
 
 After Troilus' " swete fo " Criseyde had been given to the 
 Greeks in exchange for Antenor and had failed to return to 
 Troj within ten days as she had promised to do, Troilus had 
 a dream in which he saw Criseyde fondled by a boar, v. 1238 f. ; 
 
 " He mette he saugh a boar with tuskes grete 
 That sleep ayein the brighte sonnes hete." 
 
 The Calydonian boar whose spoils were worn by Tydeus, the 
 representative of the royal house of Calydon, is several times re- 
 ferred to in the Thehaid: — " terribiles . . . dente recurvo . . . 
 exuviae, Calydonis honos " (i. 488); " Oeneae vindex sic ille 
 Dianae erectus saetis et aduncae fulmine malae " (ii. 469 f.). 
 I^aturally, tusks are prominently mentioned in descriptions of 
 wild boars; cf. Theh. xi. 532 and Ovid M. viii. 288. 
 
 Cassandra, who interpreted the dream, said the boar be- 
 tokened Diomed ; and took the opportunity of giving an outline 
 of the Thehaid in which Tydeus, father of Diomed, plays so 
 prominent a part (v. 1485) : — 
 
 " She tolde eek how Tydeus, er she stents, 
 Unto the stronge citee of Thebes, 
 To cleyme kingdom of the citee, wente. 
 For his f el awe, daun Polymites 
 Of which the brother, daiin Ethyocles, 
 Ful wrongfully of Thebes held the strengthe; 
 This tolde she by proces, al by lengthe. 
 
 She tolde eek how Hemonides asterte, 
 Whan Tydeus slough fifty knightes stoute, 
 She tolde eek al the prophesyes by herte. 
 And how that sevene kinges with her route, 
 Bisegeden the citee al aboute; 
 And of the holy serpent and the welle, 
 And of the furies, al she gan him telle. 
 Of Archimoris buryinge and the pleyes. 
 And how Amphiorax fil through the grounde. 
 How Tydeus was slayn, lord of Argeye= 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 27 
 
 And how Ypomedoiin in litel stounde 
 
 Was dreynt, and deed Partlionope of wounde; 
 
 And also how Cappaneus the proude 
 
 With thonder-dint was slayn, that cryde loude. 
 
 She gan eek telle him how that either bi'other, 
 
 Ethyocles and Polmite also, 
 
 At a scarmyche, eche of hem slough other, 
 
 And of Argyves wepinge and her wo; 
 
 And how the town was brent she told eek tho. 
 
 And so descendeth doun from gestes olde 
 
 To Diomede, and thus she spak and tolde. 
 
 ' This ilke boor bitokneth Diomede, 
 Tydeus sone, that doun descended is 
 Fro Meleagre, that made the boor to blede. 
 And thy lady, wher-so she be, y-wis, 
 This Diomede hir herte hath, and she his. 
 Weep if thou wolt, or leef; for out of doute, 
 This Diomede is inne, and thou are oute.' " 
 
 Such a comprehensive outline as this could have been made only 
 by one who was familiar with the Thehaid. The Latin argu- 
 ment of twelve lines which is inserted in the mss, after line 
 1498 could have served as a guide; but is not a sufficient basis 
 for Chaucer's outline. 
 
 11. 1485-91 : When Eteocles and Polynices gained possession 
 of the Theban kingdom, they so shamefully insulted their blind 
 father (Theb. i. 239 Calcavere oculos) that he cursed them and 
 called upon Tisiphone to punish them by causing them to war 
 against each other (i. 55-86). In answer to his prayer, the 
 Fury inspired envy and hatred in the breasts of the brothers 
 (i. 123). Being unable to rule jointly, they agreed to rule and 
 suffer exile by turns for one year at a time (i. 137). The 
 first year of rule fell to Eteocles by lot; and Polynices accord- 
 ingly went into exile (i. 164 ff.). Jove, who also had been 
 invoked by (Edipus, took part in avenging the father by giving 
 Polynices Adrastus as his father-in-law (i. 235). Moreover, 
 Cyllenius was sent to conduct Laius to the upper world that he 
 might induce Eteocles to usurp the Theban throne (i. 293). 
 
 Tydeus and Polynices were fellows by virtue of a formal 
 
28 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 treaty of friendship (ii. 195). Besides they married the sisters 
 Deipyle and Argia, the daughters of king Adrastus. Elsewhere 
 a felawe is a sworn friend whose fidelity is equal to any sacri- 
 fice, and here also Chaucer no doubt intended the word to convey 
 this pregnant meaning and may have had in mind Stat. Theh. i. 
 468-77 where the friendship of Tydeus and Polynices is com- 
 pared to that of Theseus and Pirithous or of Orestes and 
 Pylades.^ 
 
 Polynices in his lament over the dead body of his friend, 
 speaks thus of Tydeus' great love for him {Theh. ix. 65) : 
 " Quin etiam Thehas me propter et impia fratris Tecta libens 
 unde haut alius remeasset, adisti, ceu tibimet sceptra et pro- 
 prios laturus honores. lam Telemona pium, iam Thesea fama 
 tacebat." 
 
 Tydeus' embassy to Thebes in behalf of Polynices is described 
 Theh. II. 370 ff. He arrived at the city, and gained audience 
 of Eteocles; but the insolent king replied that he would keep 
 the sceptre (ii. 428). Tydeus defied the usurper, promised 
 him war, and started on his return to Argos. 
 
 11. 1492-98 : Eteocles, seeking to be revenged upon the de- 
 fiant ambassador, dispatched fifty picked warriors to waylay 
 him {Theh. ii. 482). But when the attack was made, valiant 
 Tydeus took up a position of advantage on the cliff where the 
 Sphinx formerly dwelt ; and slew all of his assailants except 
 Haemonides (ii. 555-692). Him Tydeus sent to the Theban king 
 to report the slaughter of his knights. Thus Tydeus slew forty- 
 nine warriors; but Chaucer, after the manner of classical 
 
 ^ Lactantius in his note to the Theh. I. 476 speaks of friendship between 
 legendary heroes : " Thesea Pirithoo hanc talem fidem vult esse qualem 
 colebat antiquitas. Quattuor namqiie amicitiarum exempla fuisse certis- 
 simum est: Thesei et Pirithoi, Orestis et Pyladis, Achilles et Patrocli, 
 Tydei et Polynicis. Tydeus vero causa Polynicis pergit ad Thehas ibique 
 dimicans periit." Cf. Ovid Trist. i. 5, 19-24, i. 9, 27-34; Pont. ii. 3, 41-45. 
 Chaucer was much impressed with the friendship idea; and in fact portrays 
 another pair of felawes in Pandarus and Troilus; cf. particularly Troil. 
 I. 696. A third pair, who broke the pact, were Palemon and Arcite; cf. 
 C. T., A. 1129-51 and 1191-1200, and see Skeat's note to 1132. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 29 
 
 writers, gives the round number fifty. So Tydeus boasts that 
 he slew fifty single-handed (viii. 666). Cf. iii. 362 " ipse 
 ego fessus quinquaginta illis heroum immanibus umbris." ^ 
 
 The prophecies which Cassandra repeated may have been 
 those of Maeon, Amphiaraus, and Tiresias. Maeon who 
 is called vates says to Eteocles (iii. 71) : "Murderous man, in 
 your eagerness to banish laws and proudly reign though your 
 brother be an exile, you have begun an impious war, and have 
 prepared an army which omens forbade." 
 
 At Argos, the priest of Apollo, Amphiaraus, when taunted 
 by Capaneus, makes known the fatal issue of the war (iii. 640) : 
 " I saw portents of utter ruin, saw the fears of gods and men, 
 saw Megaera in fiendish glee and Lachesis making void the age 
 by twisting brittle life-threads. Put aside arms ! See, the 
 deity stands opposed to raving men! Behold the god! O 
 wretched men, why seems it beautiful to dye with blood Aonia 
 and the portentous Theban plain? But why do I strive to 
 avert what has been decreed by fate? We are doomed to 
 go-" 
 
 On the side of the Thebans the seer Tiresias consults the 
 shades and obtains from Laius this disclosure of events to come 
 (iv. 637) : " War, war shall come and an innumerable host 
 thronging on every side. Mars goads Lerna's fated sons to 
 battle. Earthquake and thunderbolt await some; for others 
 remain glorious death and delay of funeral fire by impious de- 
 cree. iSTever fear; Thebes shall have the victory. The cruel 
 brother shall not obtain the kingdom. But, Ah me! the heart- 
 less father shall have the answer to his prayer through Furies' 
 aid and crime of brothers and guilty swords." 
 
 The Seven against Thebes were Adrastus (iv. 38), Poly- 
 nices (iv. 74), Tydeus (iv. 93), Hippomedon (iv, 116 if.)', 
 
 ' Skeat (II. p. 501) in his outline of the Thehaid strangely remarks that 
 Tydeus escapes an ambush on his way (to Thebes), and returns to Argos 
 instead of proceeding to Thebes. His note, if not due to a misunder- 
 standing, is unfortunately worded. As stated above, Tydeus was assailed 
 by the fifty while on his return journey. 
 
30 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Capaneus (iv. 165), Amphiaraus (iv. 187), Parthenopaeus (iv. 
 246). Their assembling hosts are described, Theh. iv. 1-308. 
 
 During the march to Thebes, the Argive host suffered greatly 
 from thirst (iv. 723) because the water-nymphs had, at the 
 request of Bacchus, caused all streams except the Langia to go 
 dry (iv. 684). To this river, Hypsipyle, daughter of the 
 Lemnian king, guided the thirsty legions (iv. 715). While 
 performing this service, she left her charge,^ the babe Arche- 
 morus, lying on the turf (iv. 777). But during her absence 
 a serpent sacred to Jove stung the child to death (v. 511, 538). 
 
 Adrastus' gratitude aroused interest in the fair guide, and 
 he requested Hypsipyle to tell something of her history (v. 20). 
 Complying with his request, she told him that she was the 
 daughter of Thoas, sometime king of Lemnos. The story of 
 her life, like that of Aeneas' life, was closely connected with a 
 great event. She described the awful night in which the Lem- 
 nian women, incited by Venus and the Furies, set about aveng- 
 ing neglect by slaying the males in the island. Hypsipyle 
 piously concealed her father and helped him to escape. The 
 Lemnian women, believing she had slain her father, chose her 
 as their queen; but they later learned of the rescue and com- 
 pelled her to flee to save her life. She was captured by a band 
 of i^irates and sold as a slave to Lycurgus (v. 497). 
 
 ^ Skeat's note (Troil. v. 1499-1505) is erroneous in that he says Arche- 
 morus was the infant son of Hypsipyle. According to Statius, Hypsipyle 
 was only the child's nurse. His parents were Lycurgus and Eurydice. 
 Cf. Theh. IV. 741 " Hypsipylen, illi quamvis et ah nhere Opheltes Non suus, 
 Inachi proles infausta Lyciirgi, Dependet." Here is Hypsipyle's testimony: 
 IV. 770 " altricem mandati cernitis orbam Pignoris"; v. 6.32 " Ne tristes 
 dominos orhamque inimica revisam Eurydicen." Eurydice in her lament 
 says: vi. 131 "Non hoe Argoliduni coetu eircumdata matrum Speravi 
 te, nate, seqvi"; vi. 14C " dum deside cura Credo sinus fidos altricis et 
 uhera mando. Quidni ego? narrabat servatum fraude parentem Inson- 
 tesque manus." 
 
 In the Roman de TMhes also, Archemorus is the son of Lycurgus' 
 queen. Witness the words of Hypsipyle (I. 2495) : 
 
 " La reine par est tant fiere 
 Pu6s qu'el verra son fil en bi6re 
 Qu'ele amot plus que nule rien, 
 El m'ocirra, go sal jo bien " (cf. 2607 f.). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 31 
 
 furies (1. 1498) is a clear reference to Hypsipyle's story 
 of the infuriated women of Lemnos. The word may be 
 Chaucer's rendering of furiae, the insane fury of the women 
 which prompted their deed. Cf . v. 30 : — " Immania vulnera, 
 rector Integrare iubes, Furias et Lemnon et artis Arma inserta 
 toris debeltatosque pudendo Ense mares"; v. 298 " Patuere 
 furores Nocturni " ; v. 454 " Cineres furiasque meorum testor " ; 
 VI. 143 " En quam ferale putemus Abiurasse sacrum et Lemni 
 gentilibus unam Immunem furiis '" ; v. 350 " Heu ubi nunc 
 furiae ? " 
 
 The entire sixth book of the Thehaid is taken up with a 
 description of the burial rites of Archemorus and the funeral 
 games in his honor. This book is the ultimate source for the 
 burial rites of Arcite as described in the Knightes Tale. 
 
 Amphiaraus, priest of Apollo, aided by his patron god, was 
 inflicting terrible slaughter upon the Theban host, when sud- 
 denly the earth yawned, and he fell through the cleft into 
 Tartarus (vii. 794). His sudden arrival in his war-chariot 
 created great consternation in Plitto's realm (viii. Iff.). 
 
 Tydeus, who led the troops from Aetolia, his native land, 
 is portrayed by Statins as the most doughty warrior of the 
 Seven. He was slain by Melanippus and in turn slew his 
 enemy (viii. 716 ff.). While in the death agony, he demanded 
 that the head of Melanippus be brought ; and, at the instigation 
 of Tisiphone, died gnawing it (viii. 739, 760). In consequence 
 of this savagery, Pallas could not carry out her design to stellify 
 her favorite. 
 
 Hippomedon proved a terrible avenger of Tydeus, and drove 
 the Thebans into the river Ismenos where he slew a great number 
 of them (ix. 222). The river god, angered at the slaughter 
 of his grandson Crenaeus, rose in such a torrent that the hero 
 was overwhelmed in crossing and almost drowned (ix. 315, 
 455, 521). But Jove repressed the flood and Hippomedon 
 gained the bank. However, he was so weakened that he fell 
 an easy victim to the spears of the enemy (ix. 526). 
 
 Youthful Parthenopaeus, son of Atalanta, had joined the 
 
32 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Theban expedition against his mother's will (iv. 318). Diana, 
 in answer to the prayer of her apprehensive votary, went to 
 Thebes to do what she could to safeguard the lad. She filled 
 his quiver with deadly arrows with which he pierced the Thebans 
 with unerring aim (ix. 729). But Atalanta's presentiments 
 were true; for fate had decreed his death. He was wounded 
 by a spear hurled by Dryas ; and died while dictating a pathetic 
 message to his mother. 
 
 Capaneus, contemptor divum (iii. 602), was struck dead 
 with a thunderbolt, while scaling the walls of Thebes and chal- 
 lenging Jove to battle (x. 902, 927). 
 
 11. 1506-12. Tisiphone, w^ishing to end her Theban campaign 
 with a fitting climax, summoned her sister Megaera from Ere- 
 bus, and planned to incite Eteocles and Poljmices to single 
 combat (xi. 168, 245). Despite the entreaties of Jocasta, 
 Antigone, and Adrastus, the brothers met and fought on the 
 plain outside the city walls (xi. 389). Polynices wounded 
 Eteocles (xi. 540), who feigned to expire at once; but when 
 PoljTiices bent over him to despoil him of his armor, Eteocles 
 sheathed his sword in his brother's heart. Together they sought 
 the Stygian realm to hate each other still (xi. 570). 
 
 Chaucer no doubt refers to Argia's weeping and w^oe on the 
 occasion of her midnight search for her husband Polynices on 
 the battlefield at Thebes. When she found the body, " senses, 
 sight, and hearing fled; and stony grief repressed her tears." 
 Her wail is found xii. 322 ff. 
 
 Chaucer's statement that Thebes was burned may have been 
 taken from either the Teseide or the Roman de Thebes, but 
 finds little support in the Thehaid. It is true that Statins 
 mentions fire as a possibility, but he nowhere states that Thebes 
 was actually burned. Jove, angry at Mars' delay in bringing 
 the Argives and Thebans into conflict, sends Mercury to chide 
 him. He is reproached with being slow to obey the Thun- 
 derer's command to assail the walls of Thebes, though he is in 
 the habit of burning cities for self-gratification (vii. 22) : " At 
 si ipsi rabies ferrique insana voluptas Qua tumet, immeritas 
 cineri dabit impius urbe Ferrum igiiemque ferens." 
 
The Inftuence of Statius upon Chaucer. 33 
 
 When Jocasta went to the Argive camp to entreat Polynices 
 not to make war upon his native city, she invited him to visit 
 the dwellings which he purposed to burn (vii. 507) : " I mecum 
 patriosque deos arsuraque saltern tecta vide." 
 
 The Thebans raised such an angry shout at the slaughter 
 of their sacred tigers that one who heard it would have thought 
 the enemy had gained entrance to the city and applied the torch 
 to its dwellings (vii. 599): " Templa putes urbemque rapi 
 f acibusque nef andis / Sidonios ardere lares, sic clamor apertis / 
 exoritur muris." 
 
 Encouraged by the midnight slaughter of Thebans by Thio- 
 damas and his band, the Argives made a furious assault upon 
 the city (x. 528): ''Pars ad fastigia missas / exultant hae- 
 sisse faces, pars ima lacessunt / scrutanturque cavas caeca testu- 
 dine turres." Upon this occasion the besiegers had driven in 
 a scouting party of Thebans and nearly succeeded in following 
 them within the city gates, creating such consternation among 
 the inhabitants that they imagined they saw fire in every 
 quarter (x. 561): " Ferrum undique et ignes / mente vident." 
 
 Tiresias, the Theban seer, seems to have feared that Thebes 
 would be burned (x. 594) : ^' ' Te, tamen, infelix,' iuquit, ' per- 
 ituraque Thebe, / si taceam, nequeo miser exaudire cadentem / 
 Argolicumque oculis haurire vacentibus ignem.' " 
 
 When Capaneus was scaling the walls, bearing his oak-tree 
 torch (x, 843), the defenders were as much alarmed as if 
 Bellona had been approaching the city with bloody torch (x. 
 853) : " Turn vero attoniti fatorum in cardine summo, / ceu 
 suprema lues urbi facibusque cruentis aequatura solo turres 
 Bellona subiret." The burning of the city may have been 
 suggested to Chaucer by all of these references in Statius. It 
 is more likely, however, that his source was Boccaccio in whose 
 account the Argive women took advantage of Theseus' per- 
 mission to do as they pleased with the city (Tes. ii. 77), and 
 burned it by way of taking vengeance for Creon's cruelty 
 (Tes. II. 81) : 
 
 "Ma prima giro in Tebe; e uon potendo 
 
 Altra vendetta far, la giro CDrdendo." 
 
 i 
 
 3 
 
34 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Among the events affecting the life of Arcita, as portrayed 
 in the temple of Juno where his ashes reposed, was seen the 
 burning of Thebes by the Grecian women: 
 
 Tes. XI. 74: "E vediensi le donne achivi gire 
 Neir alte torri con diversi stuoli, 
 E arder ogni cosa, poscia ch'esse 
 Ebber le corpora in le fiamme messe. 
 XI. 75: E quella tutta nel fuoco avvampare." 
 
 Cf. Tes. II. 90 ; in. 1 ; iv. 12-16. 
 
 When the Knightes Tale A. 990 is compared with the Roman 
 de Thebes 10137 ff., it will appear that Chaucer could have 
 taken his statement that Thebes was burned from the Old 
 ^French as well as from the Italian. In the Roman, Theseus 
 is represented as winning the city by assault. When the Gre- 
 cian women threw do\vn the wall : 
 
 Sor la tor uns ar'oalestiers 
 
 S'en apergiit trestoz premiers, 
 
 Si comenga fort a huchier 
 
 Que mont sont pr6s de I'aprochier: 
 " Veez les murs escraventer 
 
 Et ceus defers dedens entrer " ! 
 
 Li gentiz dus, quant I'entendig, 
 
 Dreit al pertus a fort tendie; 
 " Le fou ! le fou ! " a crier piist, 
 
 En la cite par tot le mist: 
 
 Qui done veist les tors orever 
 
 Et les hauz murs escraventer, 
 
 Grant dolor en poiist aveir 
 
 Des granz tors que veist chaeir (10123-36). 
 
 With Thebes 10123-28, cf. Thebaid x. 489 lamque premunt 
 muros . . . miseramque intrabant protinus urbem / ni Mega- 
 reus specula citus exclamasset ab alta : / " Claude, vigil, subeunt 
 hostes, claude undique portas ! " 
 
 The Latin argument of the Thebaid found in the mss. of the 
 Troilus after 1. 1498 was copied from some ms. of the Thebaid. 
 Chaucer's spelling Argyve (1. 1509) for Argia is a strong indi- 
 cation that he himself placed the Latin argument in the centre 
 of his outline. The mss. spell the Latin name Argivam or 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 35 
 
 Argyvam; and Skeat records no variation in the English form. 
 Note also the similarity of the English Polymites, Hemonides, 
 Archimorus Ypomedoun, Parthonope to the Latin forms. 
 
 The Latin argument in the Troilus differs from that printed 
 in the Lemaire edition of Statins (ii. 2). The variants are 
 such that Chaucer's form of the argument could be used in 
 identifying the very ms. of Statins from which it was copied. 
 The Lemaire argument is transcribed below; and variants are 
 added from the Chaucerian form: 
 
 " Associat profugum Tydeo Primus Polynicem, 
 Tydea legatum docet, insidiasque, Secundus, 
 Tertius Hermonidem canit, et vates latitantes. 
 Quartus habet reges, ineuntes praelia, septem, , 
 
 Mox furiae seni Quinto narrantur, et anguis. 
 Archemori bustum, Sexto, ludique leguntur, 
 Dat Graios Thebis, et vatem Septimus umbris. 
 Octavo, cecidit Tydeus, spes fida Pelasgis. 
 Hippomedon ISlono queritur, cum Parthenopeo. 
 Fulmine percussus Decimo Capaneus superatur. 
 Undecimo sese periinunt per vulnera fratres. 
 Argiam llentem memorat Duodenus, et ignes." ^ 
 
 I. Tideo, Polimitem ; 2. Tidea ; 3. Tercius, Hemoniden ; 4. 
 prelia ; 5. furie, Lenne for seni, narratur ; 6. Archimori ; 7. 
 Thebes; 8. Tideus, vita for fida; 9. Ypomedon, moritur for 
 queritur, Parthonopeo; 12. Argivam, narrat for memorat, 
 ignem. 
 
 Chaucer gives a second outline of the Thehaid in the Anelida, 
 
 II. 50-70 and 24-42. There, however, Boccaccio's Teseide is an 
 intermediary. 
 
 In the first stanza of his envoy, Chaucer names the great 
 poets whose fame he can not hope to equal ; and includes among 
 them Stace, whose envoy he imitates in manner and phrase. 
 In the instructions given for their journey, both poems are told 
 to kiss the footsteps of illustrious works that have gone before. 
 
 ^ Ignes of 1. 12 refers to the burial pyres. It is not likely that Chaucer 
 misunderstood the word and referred it to burning of the city, in view 
 of his familiarity with the story itself. 
 
36 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Both envoys mention envy of poetry with the difference that 
 in Statins the envy proceeds from others. 
 
 " Go, litel book, go litel mjTi tragedie, 
 Ther god thy maker yet, er that he dye, 
 So sende might to make in some comedie! 
 But litel book, no making thou nenvye, 
 But subgit be to alle poesye; 
 And kiss the steppes, whereas thou seest pace 
 Virgile, Ovyde, Omer, Lucan, and Stace " (v. 1786-1792). 
 Durabisne procul dominoque legere superstes, 
 O mihi bissenos multum vigilata per annos 
 Thebai ? iam certe praesens tibi Fama benignum 
 Stravit iter coepitque novam monstrare futuris. 
 Iam te magnanimus dignatur noscere Caesar, 
 Itala iam studio discit memoratque iuventus. 
 Vive, precor; nee tu divinam Aeneida tempta, 
 8ed longe sequere et vestigia semper adora. 
 Mox, tibi si quis adhuc praetendit nubila livor, 
 Occidet, et meriti post me referentur honores " (xil. 810-19.) ^ 
 
 In the Troilus, the direct influence of Statins is extensive. 
 It is seen hoth in the form and in the content of the poem ; and 
 is second in importance only to that of Boccaccio. The invo- 
 cations probably, and certainly the envoy, are imitated from 
 Statins; and numerous close parallels show that Chaucer was 
 at this period very familiar with the Thehaid. The outline of 
 it (v. 1485-1509) is comprehensive and represents first-hand 
 knowledge. The manner in which Boccaccio's mere mention 
 of Diomed in boar's form is seized upon by Chaucer to intro- 
 duce more of the history of the illustrious line of Calydon, 
 nowhere more glorious than in the feats of Tydeus, hero of the 
 Thehaid, shows not only familiarity but great fondness. 
 
 The House of Fame. 
 
 In the House of Fame, to which Jove's eagle carried Chaucer, 
 he heard all the famous trumpeters (//, F. 1243) : 
 
 ^ For typical expressions of the Roman poets concerning their works, see 
 Riedner's excellent dissertation, pp. 66-76. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 37 
 
 " Ther herde I trumpen Messenus, 
 Of whom that speketh Virgilius, 
 Ther herde I loab trumpe also, 
 TTieodomas and other mo." 
 
 From the Merchant's Tale E. 1720 f., it appears that Thioda- 
 mas blew the trumpet at Thebes " whan the citee was in doute." 
 On the day after the seer had made his midnight attack upon 
 the Theban intrenchments, the Argive host assailed the city 
 with renewed fury. The blare of trumpets sounded the attack, 
 but Thiodamas is not mentioned in this connection (x. 553) : 
 " At tuha luctificis pulsat clangoribus urbem obsaeptasque fores 
 sonitu perfringit amaro." This is the only time when the city 
 was in doubt after Thiodamus became chief soothsayer to the 
 Greeks. Chaucer must have inferred that Thiodamus was the 
 trumpeter who sounded the charge for which his warlike ardor, 
 displayed so disastrously for the enemy the pijeceding night, 
 had prepared the way. The most likely leader would have 
 been the newly-elected priest flushed with a notable victory. 
 This must be the occasion to which Chaucer refers: it is the 
 most conspicuous instance of trumpeting in the Thehaid. 
 
 In the House of Fame, were two rows of pillars upon which 
 were set the statues of famous poets. 
 
 " These, of which I ginne rede, 
 Ther saugh I stonden, out of drede: 
 Upon an yren pilar strong, 
 That peynted was al endelong. 
 With tygres blode in every place. 
 The Tholosan that highte Stace, 
 That bar of Thebes up the fame 
 Upon his shuldres, and the name 
 Also of cruel Achilles" (H. F. 1455-63). 
 
 In order to characterize Statins by his magnum opus, the story 
 of the siege of Thebes, Chaucer represents him upon an iron 
 pillar painted with tiger's blood. Iron is Mars' metal (cf. H. 
 F. 1446 f. and C. T., A 1994) ; and the tiger's blood points 
 unmistakably to Thebes, where that animal was regarded as 
 sacred. 
 
38 The Influence of Slatius upon Chaucer. 
 
 Skeat thinks the pillar is described as painted with tiger's 
 blood solely because of an episode related in the Thehaid 
 (vii. 564 ff.): Before hostilities began, Jocasta and her 
 daughters, Antigone and Ismene, went to the Grecian camp to 
 entreat Polynices not to make war on his native city. The 
 sternness of the exile and of some of the leaders had been so 
 far overcome that a peaceful settlement might have been made 
 had not Tisiphone infuriated two tame tigers w^hich were sacred 
 to Bacchus. Impelled by her serpent lash, they bounded over 
 the plain and slew three men belonging to the besieging host. 
 Aconteus, who saw their attack, pursued the tigers, and slew 
 them near the city walls, whereupon the enraged Thebans joined 
 battle with the Argives. 
 
 This incident is very striking, and may have called Chaucer's 
 attention to the fact that the tiger stands for Thebes. Bacchus, 
 the city's patron god, favored that animal above all others by 
 yoking it to his chariot (cf. Theh. iv. 65Y ; vii. 5641). The 
 fact that the tiger was held sacred at Thebes, may have had 
 something to do with -the frequency with which that animal 
 is mentioned in the Thehaid. Cf. ii. 128, in. 658, 693, vi. 697, 
 763, IX. 686, X. 411, 820, xii. 170. As the tiger was deemed 
 sacred at Thebes, so was the lion at Tiryns; cf. Theh. iv. 154 
 and XI. 45. 
 
 On Achilles (1. 1463) and Tholosan (1. 1460) see pp. 270 
 and 274. 
 
 Legend of Good Women. 
 
 The Legend of Hypsipyle (1. 1368 ff.). In the Thehaid (v. 
 335-485), Hypsipyle herself tells the story of the arrival of the 
 Argonauts at Lemnos while she was queen of the island. She 
 entertained Jason; and in return for her kindness was betrayed 
 and deserted by him. If Chaucer consulted Statins (see Skeat 
 III, p. xxxix.), no definite traces of influence are discernible in 
 his own version of the story. Indeed, that part of the story 
 told in 11. 1469-1563 is essentially different from Statins' ac- 
 count and yet this is the only portion that can be compared 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 39 
 
 with the Thebaid. According to Statius, the Lemiiian women 
 opposed the landing of the xVrgonauts, supposing that they 
 were Thracian warriors. There is no mention of the small 
 boat (cogge) in which only Jason and Hercules came to land. 
 Besides, the weather was fair at the time of the landing (1. 1483) 
 whereas Statius describes a violent storm which raged during 
 the attack by the Lemnian women. Statius says nothing about 
 Hercules' part in the plot against the queen (v. 452). 
 
 LI. 1564 ff. are evidently based upon Ovid, Heroid. vi. ; cf. 
 particularly 11. 1568-75 and Heroid. vi. 122 f. and 155 f. LI. 
 1396-1461 are professedly taken from Guido delle Colonne. 
 The order and moments of the narrative of these lines are very 
 similar to that in the Laud Troy Booh (ed. by J. E. Wiilfing, 
 London, 1902, E. E. T. S. 121), 11. 101-378. Eor the list of 
 the Argonauts, Chaucer (1. 1457) refers us to the ArgonauUcon; 
 it is found in Val. Fl. i. 350-484. It would seem that Chaucer 
 could not have known this portion of Val. FL, for it was part 
 of Poggio's discovery in 1416. But this form of the title of 
 Valerius' epic must be due to a source other than that suggested 
 by Skeat. 
 
 COMPLEYNT UNTO PiTE. 
 
 In connection with this poem, I have to report Professor 
 Skeat's brilliant ^ explanation of Herenus (1. 72). 
 
 " Have mercy on me, thou Herenus qiiene." 
 
 This is the reading best attested by the mss. The scansion of 
 the line requires that the accent fall on the second syllable of 
 the word; hence Herenus can not be an error for hevenes (or 
 hevenus), though forms of heven are frequently found in the 
 cadence of Chaucer's verses (cf. C. T., G 1080, 87, 542, A. B. 
 
 ^ This explanation may be acutior quam verior, but must stand, unless 
 a French original of the poem be discovered. See the Oxford Chaucer, 
 vol. I. p. 62, and the notes to 11. 57, 64, 92 ; also his letter to The Academy, 
 Jan. 7, 1888, p. 9. 
 
40 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 C. 24, 149, C. T., E 2406, A 3464). In fact, Herenus is a 
 variant spelling of Herines which occurs in the Troilus (iv. 
 
 22) : - 
 
 " ye Herines, nightes doughtren three." 
 
 Although one would expect the queen of the Furies to be herself 
 a Fury (Tisiphone according to Stat. Theh. i. 85), yet Professor 
 Skeat explains how Pity, " humblest of herte, hyest of rever- 
 ence," is their queen (note to 1. 92) : " Pity may be said to 
 be the queen of the Furies, in the sense that pity (or mercy) 
 can alone control the vindictiveness of vengeance." 
 
 Professor Skeat discovered Chaucer's source for this char- 
 acterization of Pity as well as for the idea of personifying the 
 virtue in contrast to its contrary, Cruelty (i. p. 62) : " The 
 struggle between Pity and Cruelty in Chaucer's poem (cf. 11. 
 80, 89 f.) is parallel to the struggle between Pietas and the 
 fury Tisiphone as told in Statins." Cf. Theh. xi. 457-496; 
 also the words of Erinys (xi. 98) :" Licet alma Fides Pietasque 
 repugnent vincentur." 
 
 Tisiphone, sated with carnage, sought to put an end to the 
 war by driving Eteocles and Polynices into single combat. 
 Summoning her sister Megaera from Tartarus, she assigns to 
 her the task of inciting the exile to a duel while she herself 
 hastens to Thebes to infuriate Eteocles, and compel him to 
 accept his brother's challenge (xi. 57 ff.). Despite the en- 
 treaties of kindred and friends, Eteocles and Polynices meet 
 before the city walls, each thirsting for a brother's blood. Mars 
 and Bellona flee in horror; and the Theban Manes, by Pluto's 
 permission, come to be spectators of the combat. The goading 
 furies control the reins, and intertwine the horses' manes with 
 hissing serpents. 
 
 At this juncture, the goddess Pietas, created by Nature to 
 restrain the cruel propensities of men and even of the gods, 
 weeping at the fraternal strife and threatening to leave heaven 
 and take up her abode in Erebus, resolved to make a final 
 attempt to turn the combatants from their design (xi. 457 ff.). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 41 
 
 She glided down to the battlefield, assumed the form of a 
 warrior, and for the moment overcame the martial passion of 
 the spectators and revived in the breasts of the combatants that 
 love which brother should have for brother. The brothers would 
 have yielded to her chiding had not cruel Tisiphone, discovering 
 her disguise, rebuked her and attacked her with torch and 
 serpents whereupon the modest goddess veiled her face with 
 her cloak, and fled from the scene. 
 
 Skeat notes that Pietas and Pity have a quality in common ; 
 of. humblest of herte (1. 57) with Theh. xi. 493, where Pietas 
 is described as veiling her face (pudibunda ora) at the horrid 
 sight of the Fury. Reverence is due both; cf. hyest of rever- 
 ence (1. 57) with reverentia (xi. 467). 
 
 If Dr. Furnivall (Trial Forewords, p. 12) is right in regard- 
 ing this poem as Chaucer's earliest work that is not a translation, 
 then it represents his first borrowing from Statins. The con- 
 jectural date of composition assigned by Skeat is the year 1367 
 (voh I. p. 62). 
 
 Book of the Duciiesse. 
 
 Chaucer adapts Ovid in his description of the cave of Som- 
 nus (11. 153-193; cf. Met. xi. 592 ff.). But evidence is not 
 lacking that he added several features from Statins' description 
 of this cave (Theb. x. 84 ff.): 
 
 " This messager took leve and wente 
 Upon his wey, and never ne stente 
 Til he com to the derke valeye 
 That stant hytwene roches tweye . . . 
 Save ther were a fewe welles 
 Came renning fro the cliffes adoun, 
 That made a deedly sleping soun, 
 Arid ronnen doun riffJit by a cave 
 That was under a rokJce y-grave 
 Amid the valey, iconder depe" (153-65). 
 
 Cf. Theb. X. 86 Suhterque cavis grave rupibus antrum It vacu- 
 um in montem. x. 95 Lpse profundis Vallibus effugiens spe- 
 luncae proximus amnis Saxa inter scopulosque iacet. Grave 
 
42 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 may have suggested y-grave, although Chaucer would have 
 kno^vn perfectly well that this was not its meaning. 
 
 The corresponding lines in Ovid are (Met. xi. 592) : Est 
 prope Cimmerios Ion go spelunca recessu / mons cavus, ignavi do- 
 mus et penetralia Somni quo numquain radiis oriens mediusve 
 cadusve / Phoebus adire potest. IS^ebulae caligine mixtae / ex- 
 alantur humo. 602 Saxo tamen exit ah imo / rivus aquae 
 Lethes, per cjuem cum murmure lahens / invitat somnos crepi- 
 tantibus unda lapillis. 
 
 Observe that the underscored lines in Chaucer are much closer 
 to Statins than to Ovid: " cave that was under a rokke y-grave " 
 is precisely " subterque cavis grave rubibus antrum " ; " valey 
 wonder dej^e " is " profundis vallibus " ; " that stant bytwene 
 I'oches tweye " is " saxa inter scapulosque iacet." In Ovid the 
 stream issues from the cave ; in Statins it runs down right by a 
 cave (effugiens speluncae proximus amnis). Here as usual, 
 Chaucer has combined sources. Cf. H. F. lines 66-76 which 
 are borrowed from Ovid alone. See Skeat's notes (iii. 247). 
 
 COMPLEYNT OF MaRS. 
 
 In MS. Harl. 7333, Shirley entitles this poem, " The broche 
 of Thebes, as of the love of Mars and Venus" (Skeat i. 64). 
 He probably means that the monile Harmoniae was made in 
 consequence of the amour between Mars and Venus. At any 
 rate, its intimate association with this amour accounts for its 
 being described in the poem. Lydgate, in the prologue to his 
 " Fall of Princes," curiously refers to this poem as one concern- 
 ing " the broche which that Vulcanus at Thebes wrought " 
 (Tyrwhitt, Canterbury Tales i. p. xlvi). 
 
 The story of Mars and Venus as told by Ovid M. iv. 170- 
 189 is recast by Chaucer and made astrological. The same 
 story is referred to by Statins, Theh. iii. 269 ff. ; but as sketched 
 there does not furnish a sufficient basis for Chaucer's elaborated 
 version. Venus, in her attempt to dissuade Mars from con- 
 ducting the war against Thebes, says (iii. 271) : " 'Nee genus 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 43 
 
 Ilarmoniae nee te connuhia caelo / festa nee hae quiequam la- 
 crimae, fiiribunde, morantiir? / Criminis haec merces? Hoc 
 fama pudorque retictus, / hoc mihi Lemniacae de te Meruere 
 catenae f / Perge lihens; at non eadem Vuleania nobis / obse- 
 quia, et laesi servit tamen ira mariti ! " 
 
 Though Chaiieer was compelled to eliminate Vulcan's brazen 
 net (M. IV. 176) from his astrological account of the intrigue, 
 he did not lose the opportunity to describe Harmonia's necklace, 
 another product of the skill of the Lemnian artificer. The 
 anger of an injured husband summoned all his cunning to im- 
 part a dire force to the dotal ornament, which was to bring 
 punishment upon Harmonia's parents by bringing ill to her 
 and to all their line as successive generations should possess the 
 heirloom. Chaucer's source for his account of the monile Har- 
 moniae (11. 245-266) is Stat. Theh. ii. 265-305. Statins attri- 
 butes the omens of misfortune at the marriage of Polynices 
 and Tydeus to the daughters of Adrastus to the fact that Argia, 
 the bride of Polynices, wore the necklace, which had been given 
 her by the groom. 
 
 Chaucer, like Statins, dilates upon the saeva potentia of the 
 ornament, which arose from the materials used in its con- 
 struction. 
 
 " Tlie broche of Thebes was of suche a kinde, 
 So ful of rubies and of stones Inde, 
 That every wight, that sette on hit an ye, 
 He wende anon to worthe out of his minde; 
 So sore the beaute wolde his herte binde, 
 Til he hit hadde, him thoughte he moste dye" (245-50). 
 
 " Tradition hath it that Vulcan, long incensed at the intrigue 
 of Mars, after punishment proved no hindrance to headlong love 
 and the avenging net did not restrain, fashioned for Harmo- 
 nia a dotal ornament against her wedding day. The cyclops, 
 though skilled in forging mightier weapons, wrought upon it; 
 the Telchines, acquainted with the arts, eagerly gave aid with 
 friendly hand ; but Lemnius himself toiled most of all. There 
 he arranges in a circle emeralds green with hidden flame, ada- 
 mant inwrought with baleful shapes, ringlets from the Gorgon 
 
44 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucei'. 
 
 head, scales from thunderbolts left on Sicilian anvils, and 
 shining crests of green dragons ; here (he sets) a mournful twig 
 from the Hesperides and dire gold of the Phrixean fleece. Then 
 he interweaves various plagues, a serpent snatched from Tisi- 
 phone's dismal locks, and whatever force Venus' girdle proves 
 most baneful. He cunningly anoints the whole with lunar 
 foam, and steeps it in the poison of fair-seeming, l^ot Pasithea, 
 first of the charming sisters, not Beauty, nor the Idalian youth 
 touched it ; but Grief, Wrath, Resentment, and Discord pressed 
 it with cordial grasp" (Theb. ii. 269-88). 
 
 " But he that wroghte hit enfortuned hit so, 
 That every wight that had hit shuld have wo" (259 f.). 
 
 The women who came to grief because they wore the necklace ^ 
 were Harmonia, Semele, locasta, Argia, and Eriphyle (Theb. 
 II. 290 ff.). Its power to make those who saw it covet it is 
 brought out in connection with Eriphyle (ii. 299) : " Viderat 
 hoc coniunx perituri vatis et aras / ante omnes epulasque trucem 
 secreta coquebat / invidiam, saevis detur si quando potiri / 
 cultibus." 
 
 Anelida and Aecite. 
 
 With exception of the mention of Emelye in 1. 38 (taken 
 from the Teseide), lines 22-42 of this poem are based directly 
 upon the Thebaid. Chaucer gives a clue to his source by 
 quoting the beginning of Statins' description of the triumph of 
 Theseus after his victory over the Amazons (Theb. xii. 519). 
 The summary of the preceding portion of the Thebaid, given 
 in lines 50-70, is imitated from Boccaccio. Chaucer's original 
 outline of the Thebaid is found in the Troil. v. 1484 ff. 
 
 Here as in the K71. Ta., Chaucer indicates by a quotation 
 
 ' Skeat (note to 1. 245), following Lewis' translation, calls Harmonia's 
 monile a bracelet. The usage of the word in Latin does not justify this 
 translation. A monile was worn about the neck not on the arm. Cf. Theb. 
 II. 292 "Semele . . . dona nocentia collo induit"; Verg. Aen. i. 654 
 " colloque monile bacatum." 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 45 
 
 that portion of the Thehaid from which he borrows. These 
 three lines head the story in the uss., that is to say, they are 
 found just before 1. 22 of the poem: — 
 
 " lamque domos patrias Scythicae post aspera gentis 
 Praelia laurigero subeuntem Thesea curru, 
 Laetifici plausus missusque ad sidera vulgi " (12, 519-21). 
 
 " Whan Theseus, icith icerres longe and grete, 
 The aspre folk of Cithe had over-come, 
 With laurer crowned, in his char gold-bete. 
 Room to his contre-houses is y-come; — 
 For which the peple hlisful, al and somme, 
 So cryden, that unto the sterres hit \oente, 
 And him to honouren dide al hir entente"; — (22-28). 
 Cf. : lamque domus patrias Scythicae post aspera gentis 
 Proelia laurigero subeunton Thesea curru 
 Laetifici plausus missusque ad sidera vulgi Clamor (xii. 519-22). 
 
 " Beforn this duk, in signe of hy victorie. 
 The trompes come, and in his baner large 
 The image of Mars; and in token of glorie, 
 Men mighten seen of tresor many a charge, - 
 Many a bright helm, and many a spere and targe, 
 Many a fresh knight, and many a blisful route, 
 On hors, on fote, in al the felde aboute " (29-35). 
 Theh. XII. 522: 
 
 " et emeritis hilaris tuba nuntiat armis. 
 Ante ducem spolia et, duri Mavortis imago, 
 Virginei ciirrus cumulataque fcrcula cristis 
 Et tristes ducuntur equi truncaeque bipennes, 
 Quis nemora et solidam Maeotida caedere suetae, 
 Corytique leves portantur et ignea gemmis 
 Cingula et informes dominarvim sanguine peltae." 
 
 Here we observe how freely Chaucer rearranges the material 
 given by his original. He has joined parts of different sen- 
 tences ; '^ ante ducem " and '" emeritis hilaris tuba nuntiat 
 armis " which give him exactly '^ Befoni this duk, in signe of 
 hy victorie / the trompes come." He has transferred the adj. 
 aspera from proelia to genies, laurigero from curru to Thesea. 
 Particularly noteworthy is the close translation of word and 
 phrase: cf. aspre with aspera, lauer-crouned with laurigero. 
 
46 The Influence of Statius wpoyi Chaucer. 
 
 contre-houses with domos patrias, so cryden that unto the sterres 
 hit wente with clamor ad sidera missus, the image of Mars with 
 Mavortis imago. 
 
 " IpoUta his wyf, the hardy quene 
 Of Cithia, that he conquered hadde, 
 With Emelye, hir yonge suster shene, 
 Faire in a char of golde he with him ladde, 
 That al the ground aboute hir char she spradde 
 With brightnesse of the beautee in hir face, 
 Fulfild of largesse and of alle grace " ( 36-42 ) . 
 Cf . : " Primus amor niveis victorem cenere vectum 
 Quadriiugis ; nee non populos in semet agebat 
 Eippolyte, iam blanda genas patiensque mariti 
 Foederis. Hanc patriae ritus fregisse severos 
 Atthides oblique secum mirantur operto 
 Murmure, quod nitidi crines, quod pectora palla 
 Tota latent, magnis quod barbara semet Athenis 
 Misceat atque hosti veniat paritura marito " (xii. 532-39). 
 
 The mention of Hippolyte's sister (1. 38) is, of course, taken 
 from Boccaccio; cf. Tes. i. 128; ii. 9: "La bella Emilia, stella 
 mattutina." 
 
 Chaucer restates the situation in a transitional stanza before 
 he takes up his second author, Boccaccio: 
 
 " With his triumphe and laurer crouned thus, 
 In al the floure of fortunes yevinge, 
 Lete I this noble prince Theseus 
 Towards Athenes in his wey rydinge " . . . (43-46). 
 
 For discussion of the indirect influence of Statius upon the 
 Anelida, see pp. 66-78. 
 
 Canterbury Tales: Group A. 
 
 Enightes Tale. At the beginning of the K. T., the mss. 
 quote a line and a half from the Thehaid: 
 
 " lamque domos patrias, Scithice post aspera gentis 
 Prelia laurigero etc." (xii. 519 f.). 
 
 With these words, Statius begins his description of the trium- 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 47 
 
 phal entry of Theseus at Athens after his victory over Hippo- 
 lyte, queen of the Amazons; and as the Knight's Tale opens 
 with an account of this triumph, the appropriateness of the 
 quotation is apparent. The Thehaid then is one of the " olde 
 stories " to which Chaucer refers. He probably included two 
 mediaeval stories which he had used in describing Theseus' re- 
 turn to Athens, viz., Boccaccio's Teseide and the anonymous 
 Roman de Thebes. On the relation of the Knightes Tale to the 
 Teseide, see p. 78, to the Thebes, see p. 78. 
 
 In the Teseide ii. 13-80, Boccaccio follows Statius, Theb. 
 XII. 94-808, rather closely, all the essential elements of his 
 account being drawn from his original. Chaucer, while writing 
 the corresponding portion of the K. T. (A. 893-996), evidently 
 had Statius open before him; and has combined sources in his 
 usual felicitous manner. He combined the same sources in the 
 introduction to the Anelida where he follows Statius much more 
 closely than here in the K. T. Some features of Chaucer's 
 version which do not appear in the Teseide indicate that he 
 was alert to add any interesting detail neglected in his imme- 
 diate source: the statement that Theseus made a night march 
 towards Thebes (A. 970) ; the mention of the Minotaur (A. 
 980) ; and perhaps the mention of Fortune (A. 915). 
 
 Professor Skeat's explanation of Chaucer's puzzling reference 
 to a tempest at Theseus' hoom-cominge is unsatisfactory. 
 
 "And of the tempest at her hoom-cominge" (A. 884). 
 
 Skeat's note : " I think the solution is to be found by referring 
 to Statius. Chaucer seems to have remembered that a tempest 
 is there described (Theb. xii. 650-5), but to have forgotten 
 that is merely introduced by way of simile. In fact, when 
 Theseus determines to attack Creon (see 1. 960), the advance 
 of his host is likened by Statius to the effect of a tempest. The 
 lines are: — 
 
 ' Qualis Hyperboreos iibi nubilus institit axes 
 lupiter, et prima tremefecit sidera bruma, 
 Rumpit Aeolia, et longam indignata quietem 
 
48 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Tollit hiems animos, ventosque sibilat Arctos; 
 Tunc montes undaeqiie fremunt, turn proelia caesis 
 Nubibus, et tonitrus insanaque fulmina gaudent.' " 
 
 The Latin lines from the Thehaid, quoted at the head of the 
 Tale, and other borrowings between lines A. 859 and 996 show 
 that Chaucer was not writing from memory, but that he had 
 Statins before him. If so, then he could hardly have made the 
 mistake of supposing that Statius' simile (xii. 650) represented 
 a real storm which would probably have been described in a 
 passage antecedent to Theh. xii. 519. It was Chaucer's appre- 
 ciation of the situation in Statius that decided him to make 
 Theseus' triumph the starting point of the Knightes Tale (cf. 
 A. 872-74 and 893 if.) and to summarize the story of the 
 Teseide up to that point {i. e. to ii. 19). Accordingly he leaves 
 the duke riding to Athens (A. 874), and outlines the Teseide 
 up to the description of Theseus' triumph. Hence the tempest 
 must have taken place before or during the triumph, the account 
 of which Chaucer resumes at line 893, blending the Thehaid 
 (xii. 540 ff.) with the Teseide (ii. 25 if.). He must have 
 known that Statius makes no mention of Theseus' voyage and 
 that he describes only the triumphal entrance to Athens. 
 
 Boccaccio's only references to the weather during the home- 
 ward voyage are Teseide ii, strophes 9 and 18, where he clearly 
 states that the wind was favorable: — 
 
 " Quindi spirando tra Borea e Coro 
 
 Ottinio vento, da quella marina 
 
 Li tolse, lor portando in verso Atene 
 
 II piu del tempo eolle vele piene " ( ii. 9 ) . 
 " Teseo con vento fresco al sue viaggio 
 
 Contento ritornava in verso Atene" (ii. 18). 
 
 There is no classical source for the tempest of which Chaucer 
 speaks and his only known mediaeval source other than the 
 Teseide is the Roman de Thebes which says nothing about the 
 Amazonian conquest or the triumphal return of Theseus to 
 Athens. If Chaucer had for his account of the triumph no 
 other source than the Thehaid and the Tes/eide, then line 884 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 49 
 
 as we have it is not what he wrote or else tempest is not literally 
 used. If the reading were, 
 
 " And of the feste eek at hir hoom-cominge," 
 
 the line would be an excellent report of Tes. ii. 19-23 in which 
 Boccaccio describes Theseus' festal triumph and the public re- 
 joicing. In other words, A. 884 may be Chaucer's passing 
 reference to the gala procession which attended Theseus from 
 the harbor to the city, described at some length in the Teseide. 
 He would thus complete his digressive outline of the Teseide 
 with line 884. After some transitional lines he comes back 
 (1. 893) to his starting point. The key of the situation is that 
 Theseus has " come almost unto the toun " (cf. 872-74 with 
 893-95). This is the real beginning of the story, and was no 
 doubt determined by the passage in Statius quoted at the head 
 of the Tale. Is not A. 884 explained by Tes. ii. 19 : 
 
 " Gli Ateniensi, clie lui pure attendieno 
 Con gran disio, per la sua ritornata 
 Mirabil festa preparata avieno, 
 La qual fu incontanente cominciata, 
 Secondo il lor poter ( che assai potieno ) : 
 Fu la lor terra tutta quanta ornata 
 De drappi ad oro e d'altri paramenti 
 Con infinite canti ed istronienti " ? 
 
 If it is, then Chaucer may have written feste, not tempest. 
 
 If the emendation suggested be not allowed, then tempest is 
 best taken figuratively in the sense of festal occasion (cf. 1, 906, 
 also Thebes A. 414), and thus would still refer to Tes. ii. 19 ff., 
 for which there should be some equivalent in Chaucer's outline. 
 The word tempest seems to be used figuratively in the Thebes, 
 1. 8760, referring to the storm of applause which greeted Minos 
 and his host. 
 
 " Lord to whom fortune hath given 
 Victorie, and as a conquerour to liven" (A. 915 f.). 
 
 The mention of Fortune at the very beginning of Evadne's ap- 
 peal may have been suggested by the Thehaid xii. 547 where 
 4 
 
50 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Fortuna's favor toward Theseus is spoken of in the same con- 
 nection : 
 
 " Belliger Aegide, suiitae cui maxima laudis 
 Semina de nostris aperit Fortuna ruinis." 
 
 " The rede statue of Mars, with spere and targe, 
 So shyneth in his whyte baner large, 
 That alle the feeldes gliteren up and doun" (975-7). 
 
 These lines were doubtless suggested by Statins, Theh. xii. 658 ff. 
 " Nee pulvere crasso / armorum lux victa peril, sed in aethera 
 longum / frangitur, et mediis ardent in nubibus hastae." If 
 so, the feeldes are those through which Theseus' host is march- 
 ing, not, as Bell and Skeat think, '' the ground upon which the 
 various charges, as they are called, are emblazoned." The idea 
 is that the rays of light from the emblazoned banner penetrate 
 far into the darkness (cf. x\. 970). The author of the Roman 
 de Thebes may also have had this passage of Statins in mind 
 when describing Theseus' host (1. 9909) : — 
 
 " Mout luisent cil heaume environ 
 Et cil escu peint a leon; 
 Des espiez sont dreites les lances, 
 A toz a beles conoissances : 
 Trestote en reluist la contree, 
 D'icele gent issi armee; 
 Environ la terre fremist 
 Et U pais en resplendist." 
 
 However, it was a commonplace in describing the march of an 
 
 army to represent fields as being illuminated by the gleam of 
 
 armor; cf. Thebes 9525-30. 
 
 "«» 
 " And by his baner born is his penoun 
 Of gold ful riche, in which there was y-bete 
 The Minotaur, which that he slough in Crete" (978-80). 
 
 As the Minotaur is not mentioned in Boccaccio, the fact that 
 the monster appears on Theseus' penoun is sufficient proof that 
 Chaucer compared the accounts of Boccaccio and Statius. In 
 the Thehaid, the Minotaur is embossed on Theseus' shield where 
 the hero's victory is portrayed with such reality that the illusion 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 51 
 
 is complete when he rages in battle; for his terror-stricken 
 enemies see Theseus twice: 
 
 " At procul ingenti Neptunius agmina Theseus 
 Augustat clipeo, propriaeque exordia laudis 
 Centum urbes umbone gerit centenaque Cretae 
 Moenia, seque ipsiim monstrosi ambagibus antri 
 Hispida torquentem luctantis colla iuvenci 
 Alternasque rnanus circum et nodosa ligantem 
 Bracchia et abducto vitantem cornua vultu. 
 Terror habet populos, cum saeptus imagine torva 
 Ingreditur pugnas: bis Thesea bisque cruentas 
 Caede videre manus " (xii. 665-74). 
 
 Palemon upbraids the cruel gods because they have allowed 
 Arcite to go free while he is doomed to remain " in prison 
 thurgh Satume, 
 
 And eek tliurgli luno, lalous and eek wood, 
 
 That hath destroyed wel my al the blood 
 
 Of Thebes, ivith his loaste walles wyde" (A. 1328-31). 
 
 The condition of the walls of Thebes at the time of Theseus' 
 arrival wnth his host is described Theh. xii. 703 " Cessat fiducia 
 valli / murorum patet omne latus, munimina portae / expos- 
 cunt: prior hostis habet, fastigia desunt, / deiecit Capaneus." 
 Chaucer's expression " waste walles wyde " may have been 
 suggested by " murorum patet omne latus." Cf. A. 1880 
 " Thebes, with his olde walles wyde." 
 
 On the cause of Juno's jealousy see the note to Trail, v. GOl, 
 p. 46 f. 
 
 " He was war of Arcite and Palamon, 
 That foughten breme, as it were bores two; 
 The brighte swerdes wenten to and fro ..." (A. 1698-1700). 
 
 " As wilde bores gonne they to smyte, 
 That frothen whyte as foom for ire wood" (A. 1658 f.). 
 
 Similarly the duel between Eteocles and Polynices is likened 
 to a fight between two wild boars {Theh. xi. 524 ff.) : " Coeunt 
 sine more, sine arte, / tantum animos irasque atque ignescentia 
 cernunt / per galeas odia et vultus rimantur acerbo / lumine : 
 nil adeo mediae telluris, et enses / impliciti nexaeque manus 
 
52 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 alternaque saevi / miirmiira ceii litiios rapiunt aut sigTia tuba- 
 rum. / Fulmineos veluti praeceps cum comminus egit / ira sues 
 strictisque erexit tergora saetis / igne tremunt oculi, lunataque 
 dentibus uncis / ora sonant." As the Teseide affords no parallel 
 to Chaucer's lines, it is probable that he took the comparison 
 from Statins. 
 
 Since Boccaccio does not mention a hill or a mountain when 
 lie locates the temple of Mars, there is little doubt that Chaucer 
 is trying to bring out the force of " averso domus inmansueta 
 sub Haemo" (Theh. vii. 42) when he says (A. 1981 f.) : 
 
 " And doicnivard from an Mile, under a hente, 
 Ther stood the temple of Mars armipotente . . . 
 And ther-out cam a rage and such a vese 
 That it made al the gates for to rese." 
 
 These lines may have been suggested by Primis salit Impetus 
 amens / e forihus" {Theh. vii. 47), or by Tes. vii. 33: 
 
 " Li gl' Impeti dementi parve a lei 
 Veder, che ficr fuor della porta uscieno." 
 
 But since vese is glossed by impetus in the Ellesmere and 
 Hengwrt mss.^ Statins is the more likely source. The idea of 
 a blast of wind shaking the gates is different from the idea of 
 the leaping forth of Attack; but impetus also conveys the idea 
 of rapid motion, and was thus a sufficient suggestion to Chaucer. 
 See Skeat's note. 
 
 "The nortlwen light in at the dores shoon " (A. 1987). 
 
 The northren light is simply the sunlight in a northern clime 
 such as that of Thrace where the temple of Mars was situated 
 (A. 1972 f.). This line may have been suggested by Statins 
 or by Boccaccio. 
 
 " Laeditur adversum Phoebi iubar, ijisaque sedem 
 Lux timet, et durus contristat sidera fulgor (vii. 45f. ). 
 
 The baleful gleam from the temi^le meets the sunlight, and 
 overcomes its cheerful effect; and so the light from without 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 53 
 
 does not succeed in penetrating into the recesses of the temple. 
 ]N'or is the light of the moon and the stars more successful than 
 that of the sun. Here, as usual, Chaucer does not render but 
 adapts his source, allowing the light to shine into the temple. 
 Cf. Skeat's note. The corresponding lines in Boccaccio are 
 (Tes. VII. 32) :— 
 
 " In questa vide la ca' dello Iddio 
 Armipotente, e questa 6 edificata 
 Tutta d'acciaio splendido e pulio, 
 Dal quale era dal sol riverberata 
 La luce, che abborriva il luogo rio." 
 
 "The dores were alle of adamante eterne" (A. 1990). 
 
 Theh. VII. 68 " Clausaeque adamante perenni / dissiluere fores " 
 and Tes. vii. 32 " E le porte eran d'eterno diamante." Chaucer 
 takes the noun from Statins, the adjective from Boccaccio. 
 The Italian parallel to A. 1995 f., 
 
 " Ther saugh I first the derke imagining 
 Of felonye, and al the compassing," 
 
 is Tes. VII. 33 : 
 
 " Ed il cieco Peccare, ed ogni Omei 
 Similemente quivi si vedieno." 
 
 But the word first indicates that Statins is the source {Theh. 
 VII. 47) : — " Primis salit Impetus amens / e foribus caecumque 
 
 :N'efas." 
 
 " And al above, depeynted in a tour, 
 Saw I conquest sittinge in greet honour, 
 With the sharpe swerde over his heed 
 Hanging by a sotil twynes threed " (A. 2527-30). 
 
 These lines were evidently suggested by the Thehaid (vii. 55) : 
 " Fastigia templi / captae insignihant gentes, caelataque ferro 
 fragmina portarum." . . . Cf . Tes. vii. 36 : — 
 
 " Ed era il tempio tutto istoriato 
 Da sottil mano e di sopra e d'intorno: 
 E cio che pria vide disegnato 
 
54 The Influence of Statius upoji Chaucer. 
 
 Eran le prede di notte e di giorno 
 Tolte alle terre . . . 
 Vedevansi le genti incatenate." 
 
 Boccaccio's di sopra is too colorless to have suggested Chaucer's 
 in a tour while fastigia templi, the temple's dome or " vaulted 
 roof" (Lewis), with its embossed captae gentes, if painted on 
 the wall of Chaucer's temple, would be suitably described by 
 conquest, depeynted in a tour. Caelataque ferro, though it is 
 evidently not to be taken with captae gentes and though ferro 
 does not here mean sword, is probably the link of association 
 that accounts for the appearance of Damocles' sword in Chau- 
 cer's next line. Chaucer's ms. of Statius may have read caela- 
 toque ferro. 
 
 " Ne how the goddes ronnen up and doun, 
 Disherited of hir habitacioun, 
 In tvhich they woneden in rest and pees, 
 Nymphes, Faunes, and Amadrides " (A. 2925-28). 
 
 Theh. VI. 103 : " Linquunt flentes dilecta locorum 
 
 Otia eana Pales Silvanusque arbiter umbrae 
 Semideumque pecus, migrantibus adgemit illis 
 Silva, nee amplexae dimittunt robora Nymphae." 
 
 The idea that the habitation of the gods is one of rest and pees 
 is due to Statius, not to Boccaccio. 
 
 " Ne how the fyr was couched first with stree . . . 
 And than with cloth of gold and with perrye" (2933 f.). 
 
 Theh. VI. 61: " Summa crepant auro, Tyrioque attolitur ostro 
 / molle supercilium, teretes hoc undique gemmae / irradiant." 
 Perrye is Chaucer's translation of gemmae. There is no cor- 
 responding term in the Teseide (xi. 27-29) whence Chaucer 
 took the other features of his description of Arcita's pyre. 
 
 Group B. 
 Man of Lawe. Chaucer mentions the strife of Thebes as 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 55 
 
 one of the events that were written many years beforehand in 
 the stars : 
 
 " In sterres, many a winter ther-biforn 
 Was writen the deeth of Ector, Achilles, 
 Of Pompey, lulius, er they were born; 
 The stryf of Thebes" (B. 197-200). 
 
 Marginal quotations in the mss. show that this passage was 
 taken from the Megacosmos of Bernardus Silvestris.^ 
 
 When Constance, daughter of the Emperor of Rome, left 
 home to go to Syria and become the bride of the Sultan, there 
 was " tendre weping " such as was not heard at the burning 
 of Troy, nor at "Thebes the citee " (B. 289). There was 
 great sorrow at Thebes on several notable occasions. When the 
 relatives of the 49 warriors slain by Tydeus went out to bury 
 their dead (Theh. in. 120), 
 
 " Fervet iter gemitu et plangoribus arva reclamant. 
 Ut vero infames scopulos silvamque nefandam 
 Perventum, ceu nulla prius lamenta nee atri 
 Manassent imbres, sic ore miserrimus uno 
 Exoritur fragor, aspectuque accensa cruento 
 Turba furit: stat sanguineo discussus amictu 
 Luctus atrox caesoque invitat pectore matres." 
 
 The aged Aletes, who tried to comfort the mourners, said: 
 " Sed nee veteris cum regia Cadmi Fulmineum in cinerem 
 monitis lunonis iniquae Consedit, neque funerea cum laude 
 potitus Infelix Athamas trepido de monte veniret, Semianimem 
 heu laeto referens clamore Learchum, Hie gemitus Thehis . . . 
 Una dies similis fato specieque malorum Aequa fuit, qua magni- 
 loquos luit impia flatus Tantalis, innumeris cum circumfusa 
 ruinis Corpora tot raperet terra, tot quaereret ignes " (in. 
 183 ff.). 
 
 ^ See Skeat's note. The value of these marginal glosses has been shown 
 to be considerable. For this reason, the present explanation of Trophee 
 (B. 3307) as Guide (Hamilton, Chaucer's Indebtedness to Guido delle 
 Colonne, pp. 55, 150; Skeat, ii. p. Ivi) is not wholly satisfactory. This 
 crux should stand until someone explains how Trophee is ille vates 
 Chaldeorum as he is called in mss. Ellesmere, Hengwrt. 
 
56 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 When Eteocles and Polynices are about to begin their duel, 
 " Prominet excelsis vulgus niiserabile tectis, Cuncta niadent 
 lacrimis et ab omni plangitur arce " (xi. 416 f.). 
 
 When the Thebans mourned their slain after the siege was 
 raised, they wept all day and all night (xii. 44 ff.). 
 
 There was ' tendre weping ' when Argia and Antigone found 
 the body of Polynices (xii. 317, 385). 
 
 Group D. 
 
 Wyf of Bathe. The ' loly clerk lankin ' had a book which 
 was a comj)ilation of stories of ' wikked wy^^es,' and took great 
 delight . in reading from it for the edification of his spouse, 
 the Wife of Bath. One of these stories was that of Eriphyle's 
 betrayal of Amphiaraus (D. 740 ff.) : 
 
 " He tolde me eek for what occasioun 
 Amphiorax at Thebes loste his lyf; 
 Myn housbond hadde a legende of his wyf, 
 Eriphilem, that for an ouche of gold 
 Hath prively un-to the Grekes told 
 Wher that hir housbonde liidde him in place, 
 For which he hadde at Thebes sory grace." 
 
 On the margin of the EUesmere ms.^, there is a quotation from 
 Jerome, Contra lovin. i. 52, " Tertia (Eriphyle dicitur) pro- 
 disse Amphiar[a]um, et saluti viri monile aureum praetulisse." 
 If the marginal note was Chaucer's own, then he has supple- 
 mented this brief statement ; for from it he could not have 
 known that Eriphyle's betrayal of her husband consisted in 
 telling the Greeks his place of concealment, nor could he have 
 known that her betrayal resulted in the seer's death at Thebes. 
 
 By observing a battle between seven eagles and a flock of 
 swans, Amphiaraus divined the events of the war, and fore- 
 saw his o^vn death. Hence he was unwilling to reveal the 
 future to Adrastus, and concealed himself for twelve days 
 (Theh. III. 570, cf. 623). But Eriphyle coveted Harmonia's 
 necklace then in possession of Argia ; and betrayed her husband 
 that she might secure the direful gold. Thus he was compelled 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 57 
 
 to join the Theban expedition and meet his fate (iv. 190 ff.) : 
 '' nee coniiugis absunt / insidiae, vetitoque domus iam fulgurat 
 auvo. /Hoc aurum vati fata exitiale monebant / Argolico : scit 
 et ipsa nef as, sed perfida coniunx / dona viro mutare velit, 
 spoliisque excellere cultu." Cf. 209 ff. : ' Nunc induat ilia 
 (Eriphyle) / quae petit et bellante potest gaudere marito ' / 
 Sic Eriphylaeos aurum fatale penates / inrupit scelerumque in- 
 gentia semina movit, / et grave Tisiphone risit gavisa futuris." 
 Amphiaraus' last request of Apollo, made just before his 
 plunge into Tartarus, was that his treacherous wife might be 
 punished (Theh. vii. T85) : '' l!^unc voce suprema, / si qua re- 
 cessuro debetur gratia vati, / deceptum tibi, Phoebe, larem 
 poenasque nefandae / coniugis et pulchrum nati commendo f u- 
 rorem." Cf. the seer's words to Pluto (viii. 101) : " ISTec alma 
 / sic merui de luce rapi ; scit iudicis urna / Dictaei verumque 
 potest deprendere Minos. / Coniugis insidiis et iniquo venditus 
 auro / Argolicas acies . . . non ignarus ini " ; cf . 120 "Si 
 quando nef anda / hue aderit coniunx, illi f unesta reserva / 
 supplicia: ilia tua, rector bone, dignior ira." Cf. Theb. xii. 
 123 ; Ovid M, viii. 316. As a token of her acceptance of his 
 love, Emilia gave to Palemon " una cintura simiglianti / A 
 quella per la qual si seppe il loco Dove Anfiaro era latitante " 
 {Tes. IX. 71). 
 
 Group E. 
 
 Marchantes Tale. At the wedding of January and May the 
 music was such 
 
 " That Orpheus, ne of Thebes Amphioun, 
 Ne maden never swich a raelodye " (E. 17161.). 
 
 Statius frequently refers to the exquisite melody by which 
 Amphion constrained rocks from the surrounding mountains 
 to move into place and form the walls of Thebes. In his 
 invocation, he decides to pass over the beginnings of Theban 
 history, and not to tell " quo carmine muris / iusserit Amphion 
 Tyrios accedere montes " (i. 9). 
 
58 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 When the Thebans were rejoicing at the death of the Argive 
 seer, they boastfully sang of the deeds of their ancestors, of 
 Amphion who moved rocks and cliffs to the music of the Tyrian 
 lyre (viii. 232 f.). Cf. x. 873 G., and the note to A. 1545 ff. 
 See iJ. 116 below. 
 
 " At every cours than cam loud minstraleye, 
 That never trumped loab for to here, 
 Ne he, Theodomus, yet half so clere, 
 At Thebes, whan the eitee was in doute " (E. 1718-21). 
 
 Chaucer evidently had in mind some memorable occasion on 
 which Thiodamus blew his trumpet at Thebes. Thiodamus' 
 first action after his election as successor of Amphiaraus was 
 to offer sacrifice to Mother Earth (Theh. viii. 303 ff.). At the 
 end of his invocation (342), a great blare of trumpets was heard 
 from Thebes, and the Thebans rushed forth from the seven 
 gates of the city to renew the battle. Skeat (note to H. F. 
 1245) is wrong in thinlving that the trumpets were blown by 
 the besieging host; cf. contra (342). This then is not the 
 occasion to which Chaucer refers. See p. 37. 
 
 Group H. 
 Maunciples Tale. 
 
 " Whan Phebus dwelled here in this erthe adoun, 
 As olde bokes maken mencioun, 
 He was the moste lusty bachiler 
 In al this world, and eek the beste archer" (105-8). 
 
 Part of Apollo's life on earth was spent in the service of 
 Admetus {Theh. vi. 353) : " Peliacis hie cum famularer in 
 arvis / (sic lovis imperia et nigrae voluere Sorores), / tura 
 dabat famulo nee me sentire minorem / ausus." These are the 
 words of Apollo when deliberating whether to favor Admetus 
 or Amphiaraus in the chariot race at the funeral games of 
 Archemorus. 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 59 
 
 " Pleyen he coude on every minstralcye, 
 And singen, that it was a melodye, 
 To heren of his clere vois the soun. 
 Certes the king of Thebes, Amphioun, 
 That with his singing walled that citee, 
 Coude never singen half so wel as he" (113-18). 
 
 Cf. the note to E. 1716 above. 
 
 Amphion as Jcing of Thebes is probably due to a mediaeval 
 sources. Cf. Boccaccio, De Geneol. Deo?: v. 30 " De Amphi- 
 one rege Thebarum." 
 
60 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 II. INDIRECT IIsTFLUENCE OF THE THEBAID. 
 A. Through Boccaccio. 
 
 Both the Filostrato and the Teseide are media of Statius' 
 influence upon Chaucer. 
 
 1. II Filostrato. Only the Troilus, which is an adaptation 
 of the Filostrato, comes under consideration here. 
 
 " For if my fader Tydeus " he seyde, 
 " Y-lived hadde, I hadde been, er this, 
 
 Of Calidoune and Arge a king, Criseyde! 
 
 And so hope I that I shal yet, y-wis. 
 
 But he was slayn, alias! the more harm is, 
 
 Unhappily at Thebes al to rathe, 
 
 Polymites and many a man to scathe" (v. 932-38), 
 
 These words of sudden Diomed to Criseyde are borrowed 
 from the Filostr. vi. 24: 
 
 " Se '1 padre mio Tedeo fosse vissuto, 
 Com'el fu morto a Tebe combattendo, 
 Di Calidonia e d' Argo saria suto 
 Re, siccom' io ancora essere intendo." 
 
 Chaucer's method of combining sources is here illustrated. His 
 familiarity with Boccaccio's sources enabled him to add, 
 
 " Polymites and many a man to scathe." 
 
 The death of Tydeus was a heavy blow to the cause of Poly- 
 nices ; and deprived the allied hosts of their doughtiest chieftain. 
 When Tydeus was begging that the head of Melanippus be 
 brought, he addressed Capaneus thus (viii. 744) : " Argolicae 
 Capaneu iam maxime turmae." Polynices thus begins his la- 
 ment over the lifeless body of his friend (ix. 49) : " Hasne tibi, 
 armorum.spes suprema meorum, / Oenide, grates, haec prae- 
 mia digna rependi ? " 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Cliaucer. 61 
 
 "And of this lord (Meleagre) descended Tydeus 
 By ligne, or elles olde bokes lye" (v. 1480 f. )• 
 
 " This like boor bitokneth Diomede, 
 Tydeus sone, that doun descended is 
 Fro Meleagre, that made the boor to blede " (v. 1513-15). 
 
 In making Tydeus a lineal descendant of Meleager, Chaucer 
 has departed from both Statins and Ovid. Tydeus, threatening 
 Polynices at the court of Adrastus, says (i. 461) : " aut hodie 
 spoliis gavisus abibis,/ quisquis es, his, aut me si non effetus 
 oborto / sanguis hebet luctu, magni de stirpe creatum / Oeneos 
 et Marti non degenerare paterno / accipies." Cf. " Oenides " 
 (viii. 538) ; Ovid M. viii. 414, 486. According to classical 
 mythology, Tydeus was the half brother of Meleager. In 
 Homer's account of the Calydonian hunt (//. ix. 529-99), 
 Meleager is represented as the son of OEneus and Althaea. 
 After the tragic death of Meleager and his mother, (Eneus 
 married Periboea, who bore him Tydeus (Hyg. Fab. 69), 
 When Tydeus fled to Argos because of his crime {Tlieh. i. 402), 
 Adrastus welcomed him as one of his sons-in-law {Theh. i. 495, 
 II. 152) ; and gave him in marriage Deipyle by whom he became 
 the father of Diomedes.^ 
 
 The source of Chaucer's lines is Boccaccio (Filostr. vii. 27) : 
 
 " Questo cinghiar ch'io vidi e Diomede 
 Perocch^ Vavolo ttccise il cingliiaro 
 Di Calidonia, se si pud dar fede 
 A' nostri antichi, e sempre poi portarono 
 Per sopransegna siccome si vede 
 I discendenti il porco." 
 
 The boar's spoils were the insignia of the house of Calydon, 
 not worn by the descendants of Meleager, but by the representa- 
 tive of the royal family; cf. Theb. i. 488: " Terribiles contra / 
 saetis ac dente recurvo / Tydea per latos humeros ambire labor- 
 ant / exuviae, Calydonis honos." Cf. also Theb. vi. 810 f. and 
 viii. 705 f. In the oracle of xVpollo concerning the sons-in-law 
 of Adrastus, Tydeus was prefigured by a wild boar (Theb. i. 
 395):— 
 
 ^ See Roscher's Lcxikon under Oineus, Meleagros, Diomedcs. 
 
62 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 " Cui Phoebus generos (monstrum exitiabile dictu! 
 Mox adaperta fides) fato ducente canebat 
 Saetigerumque suem et fulvum adventare leonem." 
 
 Cf. Troil V. 1449. 
 
 Chaucer's words " or elles olde bokes lye " are his trans- 
 lation of " Se si puo dar fede / a' nostri antichi." He has 
 here followed Boccaccio somewhat blindly, taking avolo in the 
 sense of ancestor in direct succession, when either of his fami- 
 liar authors, Statins or Ovid, would have set him right. His 
 error is the more surprising since he probably consulted Met. 
 VIII. 260 if. for his story of the Calydonian chase. Skeat com- 
 pares Troll V. 1469 with Met. viii. 282; cf. further v. 1470 
 with Met. VIII. 290 f.^ 
 
 2. La Teseide. 
 
 Troilus and Criseyde. 
 
 "O cruel god, O dispitouse Marte!" (ii. 435). Cf. Tes. 
 I. 58: "O fiero Marte, O dispettoso Iddio ! " ; Theb. ix. 785 
 " ferus . . . Mavors " ; Ovid, Heroid. vii. 160. 
 
 " The golden-tressed Phebiis heighe on-lofte. 
 Thryes hadde alle with his hemes shene 
 The snowes molte, and Zephirus as ofte 
 Y-brought agein the tendre leves grene " (v. 8-11). 
 
 Chaucer's stately lines are apparently the result of combining 
 sources : — 
 
 "II sole avea due volte dissolule 
 Le nevi agli alti poggi, ed altrettante 
 Zefiro aveva le frondi rendute 
 Ed i be' fiore alle spogliate piante " . . . [Tes. ii. 1). 
 
 ' The Iioi}\an de Thebes states the relationship correctly: 
 
 " Li proz chevaliers Tydeiis 
 
 Qui esteit fiz Oeneiis " (G67f.); 
 " De Calidone eissi I'autr'ier : 
 
 Fiz su6 Oeneiis le rei " (836f.). 
 
 Cf. Ovid, Heroid, ix. 151-57 and Hyg. Fab. xtv. 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 63 
 
 Boccaccio no doubt imitated Statius Theh. iv. 1 : — " Tertius 
 horrentum Zephiris laxaverat annum Phoebus et angusto coge- 
 bat limite vernum Longius ire diem." Phebus and thryes may 
 be due to Statius. The fostering influence of Zephirus upon 
 foliage and flower is again referred to bj Statius, Theb. vii. 223 : 
 
 " Ut cum sole malo tristique rosaria pendent 
 Usta Noto, si claia dies Zephrique refecit 
 Aura polum, redit omnis honos, emissaque lucent 
 Germina et informes ornat sua gloria virgas." 
 
 Cf. C. T., A. 5 : 
 
 " Wlian Zephirus eek with his swete breeth 
 Inspired hath in every holt and heeth 
 The tendre eroppes " . . . . 
 
 and Boethius i. Metre v. : — " Thy might atempreth the vari- 
 aunts sesons of the yere ; so that Zephirus the deboneir wind 
 bringeth ayein in the first somer sesoun, the leves that the wind 
 that highte Boreas hath reft awey in autumpne " ; also L. of G. 
 W. 171 (B), B. D. 402 f. with Skeat's note. Cf. also Pe- 
 trarch, Sonnet xlii : 
 
 " Zefii-o torna, e '1 bel tempo rimena 
 E i fiori e Ferbe, sua dolce famiglia, 
 E garrir Progne, e pianger Filomena; 
 E priniavera Candida e vermigla," 
 
 and note that these lines are the source of Troil. ii. 50 f. 
 and 64 f. 
 
 The apotheosis of Troilus (v. 1807-27) is adapted from 
 Boccaccio's account of the apotheosis of Arcita {Tes. xi. 1-3), 
 as Ward points out.^ Bbccaccio doubtless took the suggestion 
 from Statius Tlieb. x. 780, where we are told that Menoeceus' 
 valor in sacrificing his life for the welfare of Thebes gained him 
 a place among the stars: — 
 
 " Ast ilium amplexae Pietas Virtusque ferebant 
 Leniter ad terras corpus; nam spiritus olim 
 Ante lovem et summis apiceni sibi poscit in astris." 
 
 ^Six-Text Print, C. T., Kn. Ta. 2809. 
 
o4 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 But Boccaccio, at this suggestion, turned to a more complete 
 description of an apotheosis, viz., that of Pompey as given by 
 Lucan (De Bel Civ. ix. 1-14). ^ 
 
 Legend of Good Women. 
 
 Chaucer's devotion to the daisy caused him to rise early on 
 the first of ]\Iay 
 
 " For to ben at the resureecioun 
 Of this flour, whan that it shuld unclose 
 Agayn the sonne, that roos as rede as rose, 
 That in the brest u-as of the heste that day, 
 That Agenores doghter ladde away" (110-14 B). 
 
 This striking idea with the phraseology that embodies it is due 
 to Boccaccio (Tes. iii. 5) : 
 
 " Febo salendo con li suoi cavalli 
 Del del teneva rumilc ai.imale 
 Che Europa porta senza intervalli 
 La dove il nome diniora avale." 
 
 Cf. Troll III. 722 : 
 
 " love eek, for the love of faire Europe 
 The which in forme of bole away thou fette"; 
 
 Theh. VIII. 229 : " Hi mare Sidonium manibusque attrita 
 Tonantis Cornua et ingenti sulcatum i^erea tauro." ix. 334: 
 " Sidonis hie blandi per Candida terga iuvenci / iam secura 
 maris, teneris iam cornua palmis / non tenet, extremis adludunt 
 aequora plantis." 
 
 Parlement of Foules. 
 
 Professor Lounsbury ^ showed that Chaucer's stanza on occu- 
 pations in dreams (11. 99-105) was borrowed from Claudian, 
 In Sextum Consulatum Ilonorii Augusti, Praef. 11. 3-10. 
 
 ^See Tyrwhitt (Canterbury Tales, i. p. 120) and Skeat (ill. p. 394). 
 'Studies in Chaucer li. 256. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 65 
 
 It may be of interest to note that Petronius wrote a poem on 
 the same subject (Fragm. xxx.). In it, the warrior, lawyer, 
 raiser, sailor, and lover are said to dream about what engages 
 their thought in their waking hours. See Skeat's note for 
 references to other treatments of this theme. 
 
 "The bilder oo!c and eek the hardy asshe; 
 The piler elm, the eofre unto careyne; 
 The boxtree piper; holm to whippes lasshe; 
 The sayling firr; the cipres, deth to pleyne; 
 The sheter ew the aspe for shaftes pleyne 
 Tlie olyve of pees, and eek the drunken vyne, ; 
 
 The victor palm, the laurer to de\yne " (176-82). 
 
 Such is Chaucer's catalogue of the trees that grew in tlie 
 ]iark into which Scipio Africanus conducted him. If this list 
 of trees, like that in the Knight's Tale (A. 2921), was suggested 
 by the Teseide (xi. 22-24), then indirect influence of Statins 
 may be claimed ; for Boccaccio's list was suggested by the 
 Statius (Theb. vi. 91-99), who names 12 of the 18 varieties 
 of trees mentioned by Boccaccio, and 7 of those which reappear 
 in Chaucer's list : ool', asshe, ehn, holm, firr, cipres, ew. See 
 the note to A. 2919. As Skeat observes, Chaucer extended 
 his list by referring to the Roman de la Rose 1338-68. How- 
 ever, only loviers, laurels, oliviers, olives, and trembles, aspens 
 were necessarily taken from that source. For references to 
 other tree-lists, see Skeat's note. 
 
 Chaucer gives ook the epithet bilder. Statius probably had 
 1!! mind the durable quality Avhich makes oak desirable for 
 building purposes, when he wrote (Theb. vi. 96) " Situ non 
 expugTiabile robur." 
 
 '' The elm is called piler, perhaps because it is planted as a 
 pillar of support to the vine," says Bell. Cf. Theb. vi. 99 " nee 
 inhospita vitibns ulmus." Tes. xt. 24 " V olmo chi di viti 
 s'innamora." Skeat compares Ovid M. x. 100 " amictae vitibus 
 ulrai." Claudian, De Rapt. Pros. ii. Ill " pampinus induit 
 ulmos." 
 
 The sayling firr is called audax abies by Statius (Theb. yi. 
 5 
 
!-)6 The Influence of Staiias upon Chaucer. 
 
 971) by transferrence of epithet in accordance v/ith the classic 
 comiuonplace that sailors are avaricious violators of nature's 
 law: llor. Od. i. 3, 21 if., Oviu J/, i. 94 '' nondum caesa suis, 
 peregTinum ut viseret orLeni, niontibus in liquidas pinus de- 
 scenderat undas." Cf. Chaucer's rendering of these lines in 
 The Former Age 1. 21 f. : — 
 
 " No ship yit karf tlie wawes grene and blewo. 
 No merchaunt j'it ne fotte outlandish ware." 
 
 In support of Chaucer's epithet, compare further Claudian De 
 Rapt. Pros. ii. 107 " apta fretis abies," Verg. Georg. ii. 68 
 '' nascitur et casus abies visura marines," Aen. v. G63 " pictas 
 abiete puppis." 
 
 The cipres dcth to pleyne ; Archemorus' bier was appropri- 
 ately made of cypress branches {Theb. vi. 54). '' Tristibus 
 interea ramis teneraque cupresso / damnatus flammae torus et 
 puerile feretrum / texitur." So Claudian, De Rapt. Pros. ii. 
 108 " tumulos tectura cupressus." 
 
 The olyve of pees; cf. Stat. Theh. ii. 389 " Ramus manifestat 
 olivae legatum " ; also ii. 478. 
 
 The victor palm; cf. Tes. xi. 24 '' d'og:ni vincitore / promio 
 la palma," taken, as Skeat correctly observes, from Ov, M. x. 
 102 " victoris praemia palmae." ^ Tydeus won the palm in 
 a wrestling-match at the funeral games of Archemorus {Theh. 
 VI. 880). 
 
 Anelida and Arcite. 
 
 This fragment, which seems to be the result of an unsuc- 
 cessful experiment was, as Skeat observes (i. p. 529), probably 
 written before the Knight's Tate. Theseus, who is here left 
 riding on and on without ever reaching Athens (cf. 1. 45), is 
 
 ' It will perhaps not be without interest to note in passing that 
 Boccaccio's source for representing Pleasure as the daughter of Cupid 
 {Tes. VII. 54) was Apuleius, who was one of hia favorite authors. Cf. Met. 
 vr. 24: "See rite Psyche convenit in manum cupidinis; et nascitur illis 
 raaturo partu filia quam Voluptatem nominaraus." See Skeat's note to 
 Pari. 214. 
 
The Infiiience of Statins upon Chaucer. 67 
 
 rescued in the K. T., and becomes the champion of the Grecian 
 women against the tyrant Creon. Chaucer follows Statins 
 much more closely here than in the K. T., and, as some phrases 
 found here are repeated there (cf. 1. 38 with A. 972), it is 
 highly probable that he there adapted the introductory lines 
 (22-70) of the Anetida, which describe the same situation. 
 In each case the same lines of Statins (Theh. xii. 511) if.) 
 head the story. 
 
 The story proper (1. 71 ff.) is so mediaeval and Chaucerian 
 in tone that one need hardly look for an original. That the 
 poem had a classical source is very improbable. At any rate 
 1. 21, 
 
 " First folow I Stace and after him Corinne," refers only 
 to the introductory part of the story (i. e., 11. 22-70). As the 
 trend of research has been towards showing that Chaucer gives 
 his references in good faith, we may accept his statement liter- 
 ally. J^s"ow, since he has not deceived us in regard to his first 
 author Stace, whom he follows in lines 22-46, why should we 
 not believe that after liim he follows Corinne? Lines 50-70 
 are copied from Boccaccio's outline of the Thebaid which 
 Chaucer found very convenient in leading up to the point of 
 departure for his story. I therefore suggest that Chaucer has 
 twice ^ sjmonymized Boccaccio, in this instance by Corinne 
 (cf. It. corina, wry fac«)."- 
 
 ' Ou the synonym Lollins, see p. 6. 
 
 - Another possibility, though it seems to me a very slight one, is that 
 after him means ' through him as authoritj^' In that case Corinne would 
 be a remote reference to Korina, the famous Greek poetess, contemporary 
 of Pindar. But it is very doubtful whether Chaucer, or any authority that 
 could have come into his hands, could have gained the knowledge implied 
 in order to make apt a reference to the Tanagran poetess, viz., that she 
 wrote on the Seven Against Thehes\ Our sole source of this knowledge 
 is Apollonios Dysoolos, who in his Ilept avTuvvfilas quotes from KdpLvpa iwr 
 itrl Gij/Saty (Bergk: Poetae Lyrici Graeci. Lipsiae, 1882, p. .544). 
 
 Though she was famous enough to be called 5?o Koplvm and inspired 
 Pindar (Vita Metrica ex Eustathii Vita Pind. Excerpta, 1. 9 f. W. Christ: 
 Pindari Carmina Prolegomenis ct Commentariis Instructa. Lipsiae, 1896, 
 p. cii.) and overcame him in song (Pausanias, ix. 22, 3) and was numbered 
 with the nine poetesses that constituted the human counterpart of the 
 
68 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Filippo Villani, a contemporary and for a number of years 
 a fellow-to^vnsman of Boccaccio, wrote in Latin the lives of tiic 
 famous men of Florence. He describes the poet thus: " Statii- 
 rae fuit poeta pinguisculae sed procerae, rotunda facie, naso 
 supra naves paululum deprcsso; lahiis turgentibus aliquantu- 
 luni, venuste tamen lineatis, centra in mento, duni rideret, 
 decore defosso, iocundus et hylaris aspectu, toto sermone facetus 
 et comus/ [et] qui contionibus delectaretur. Amicos multos 
 sua sibi diligentia comparavit, neminem tamen qui suae indi- 
 gentiae subveniret '• (Solerti, Storia Letteraria d' Italia, Milano 
 1904, p. 675). 
 
 Boccaccio in his Lahirynthus A maris describes himself, says 
 Papirio Masson (Solerti p. 733) : " primum ait se non esse 
 exigua Gor])oris statura, vultu pulchro et eleganti, membris 
 optime compositis, barba florida, oculis aspicienti gratissimis." 
 
 These descriptions of Boccaccio's personal appearance, so far 
 from alluding to the characteristic wry mouth that must have 
 fastened the nickname Boccaccio upon an ancestor of the poet, 
 indicate that he Avas rather a handsome man, and that his lips 
 had a pleasing curve. But although the characteristic feature 
 was not transmitted, it is probable that Chaucer understood th(^ 
 import of the name Boccaccio and that he has here used an 
 exact and euphonious synonym. - 
 
 nine muses (Antipater, Anthologia Palaiina, ix. 26). still the essential 
 bit of information that she wrote on the siege of Thebes was by no means 
 widely known. 
 
 See Herbert Weir Smyth: Greek Melic Poets, London, 1900, p. xx and 
 p. 337 f. W. Christ: Gesch. dcr Griechischen Lit.. 3te Auil., Miinchen, 
 1898, pp. 153, 170 (Miiller, Handiuch). Pauly, Real-Encycl. s. v. Corinna. 
 
 ^According to Guiseppe Betussi (1520-1573). Boccaccio's father had no 
 cognomen except that which he took from his native place, Certaldo, a 
 castle of Toscana, situated on a high hill near the river Elsa. Hence he 
 called himself Boccaccio da Certaldo. The poet, dropping the local da 
 Certaldo, took his father's first name as his own surname (Solerti, p. 703). 
 However, cf. Am. Vis. i, " Giovanni di Boccaccio da Certaldo." 
 
 For the attempted explanationss of Corinne, see Tyrwhitt's Glossary 
 s. V. Corinne (Canterbury Tales, vol. v.), Lounsbury (Studies in Chaucer, 
 II. p. 403 f.), Constans (Roman de Thebes ii. p. clvii, n. 2), Skeat's note 
 to 1. 21, Hamilton (p. 144). 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 69 
 
 " This olde storie, in Latin which I finde. 
 Of queue Anelida and false Areite " (lOf.). 
 
 These lines refer only to the introductory portion of the story 
 (11. 22-70), and more especially to that portion borrowed from 
 Statins (11. 22-46). However, lines 50-70 give the outline of 
 the old story (the Thehaid) up to the point mentioned 1. 22 ff. 
 
 Though Chaucer copies Boccaccio's words when he speaks of 
 an olde storie in Latin (una storia antica . . . latino autor), 
 he may be credited with knowing at first hand that Boccaccio's 
 outline is correct. Skeat does Chaucer injustice in his note 
 to lines 8-10; for Chaucer did find the story (11. 22-70) in 
 Latin. He only chose to mention it in Boccaccio's words. This 
 is the story which he summarizes immediately after his proem, 
 a^ ailing himself of Boccaccio's partial summary. 
 
 In his prefatory letter alia Fiametta Boccaccio speaks of the 
 story of the Teseide as antichissima : '■" Trovata una antichissima 
 storia, e al piii delle gente non manifesta, bella si per la 
 materia della quale parla, che e d'amore, e si per coloro 
 de' quali dice che nobili giovani furono e di real sangue discesi, 
 in latino volgare e in rima acciocche piu dilettasse, e massima- 
 mente a voi, che gia con summo titolo le mie rime esaltaste, 
 con quella sollecitudine che conceduta mi fu dell' altre piu 
 gravi, desiderando di piacervi, ho ridottay He implies {Tes. 
 I. 2) that this "very old" story which he renders into Italian 
 was originally in Latin: " una storia antica, / tanto negli anni 
 riposta e nascosa, / che latino autor non par ne dica, / per quel 
 ch'i' senta, in lihro alcuna cosa." Tyrwhitt {Introductory Dis- 
 course, p. 121 of Canterhury Tales, vol. ii.), commenting on 
 the statement of the preface quoted above, shrewdly observes 
 that " the Story of Palemone and Arcita, as related by Boccace, 
 could not be very ancient " ; but thinks it hardly credible that 
 the story was of the poet's o^vn invention. I believe that 
 Boccaccio is referring a love story of his own invention to the 
 ancient period of the Thehaid which furnished him with his 
 setting and which he kept before him from first to last while 
 composing. The musty Latin ms. which he compliments so 
 
70 The Influence of Siaiius upon Chaucer. 
 
 highly (che latino autor uon par ne dica) is probably the The- 
 haid itself. Anyone who compares the Thehaid and the Teseide 
 will be likely to hold the same view; for Boccaccio rimes the 
 Thehaid in many passages of the Teseide which were not used 
 by Chaucer and which therefore are not presented in this study. 
 In fact, Boccaccio in his mediasval continuation of the Thehaid 
 has found his plot in the one romantic episode not fully de- 
 veloped by Statins, viz., in the conquest of Hippolyte. He 
 discovers among the wounded at Thebes two knights of the 
 Cadmian line, and modeling them after Eteocles and Polynices 
 makes them fight for the kingdom of a lady's heart. As 
 Hippolyte belongs to Theseus, the invention of her Amazon 
 sister Emilia is an obvious step. 
 
 Both Chaucer and Boccaccio probably mean that this old story 
 is the foundation upon which they build. That newer part of 
 Chaucer's story (1. TlfF.) which is thus introduced in a slye 
 wey (1. 48) may possibly contain in disguise the history of 
 characters who lived in his own day.^ 
 
 " Thou ferse god of armes, Mars the rede. 
 That in the frosty country called Trace 
 Within thy grisly temple ful of drede 
 Honoured art as patroun of that place, 
 With thy Bellona, Pallas ful of grace, 
 Be present, and my song continue and gye! 
 At my beginning thus to thee I crye " ( 1-7 ) . 
 
 ^ Anelida, queen of Erniony, whose residence in Thebes would seem rather 
 strange if she were Queen of Armenia, may be the queen of Harmonia, 
 i. e., the queen into whose possession has come that baleful heirloom of 
 the Cadmian line, the brooch of Thebes. The possession of Harmonia's 
 necklace would motivate the queen's misfortune, cf. Compleynt of Mars 
 (1. 259 f.);— 
 
 " But be that wroughte hit enfortuned hit so, 
 That every wight that had hit shuld have wo." 
 
 Variant readings for Harmoniae at Theb. ii. 267, where the baneful neck- 
 lace is described are: Ermiones, found in the Gudianus 52, a MS. of the 
 14th century; and Armonid, Gudianus 54. See Kohlmann's critical appa- 
 ratus. Gower (C. A., v. 1397) calls the daughter of Mars and Venus 
 Armene. It is not impossible that Anelida is derived from anulata. 
 
The Infiuence of Statius upon Chaucer. 71 
 
 Cf. C. T., A. 1000-74 and 2373-76 and the parallels there 
 cited; pp. 193, 215; also: — 
 
 " Siatc presenii, O Muite rnbicondo, 
 Xclle tiie arvii vigido e fcvoce " (Tes. i. 3). 
 
 Ferox as an epithet of Mars does not appear in the Thchaid; 
 bnt cf. Marie feroci, Ovid M. 13, 11. Boccaccio invokes Mars, 
 Venns, Cupid, and the Muses, hut Chaucer confines his invo- 
 cation to deities of war. Statius mentions these three deities 
 together (Theh. xi. 413): " Restinxit Bellona faces, longeque 
 paventes / Mars rapuit currus, et Gorgone cruda virago /ab- 
 stitit." Bellona showed her flaming torch and hurled her spear 
 as a signal that the appointed time of war had come {Theh. iv. 
 5 if.). Jove considered Pallas capable of conducting the The- 
 ban vrar ; and, if Mars had refused to obey his commands, 
 would have entrusted it to her charge (Theh. vii. 33). She 
 was the patron deity of warlike Tydeus, who called her diva 
 ferox, hellipotens (Theh. ii. 715). 
 
 Skeat (note 1. 2) says Chaucer seems to confuse Pallas and 
 Bellona as Boccaccio does in his De Genealogia Deoruni. How- 
 ever, it may be said on Chaucer's behalf that the omission of 
 ajid between proper names that are not in apposition occurs 
 elsewhere in his works. ^ 
 
 Pallas, not Bellona, is ful of grace. Bellona is atra (Theh. 
 VII. 72) and sanguinea (Theh. ix. 297). Pallas is called decora 
 by Diacont. viii. 30; and Statius, when he wishes to convey 
 some idea of the great beauty of Argia and Deipyle, compares 
 them to Pallas and Diana, i. 535 f. ; ii. 236 ff. 
 
 ' Boccaccio tries to distingiiisli between several Minervas, one of whom 
 is Bellona (De Geneal. Deor. v. 48) : "Minerva, non ea cui cognomen Tri- 
 tonia fuit, lovis Secundi fnit filia, ut scribit Tullius de naturis deorujn. 
 Qnara idem Tnllius inventricem asserit fuisse bellorum atque principem, 
 et ob id a nonnnllis Bellona appellata est et soror Martis et auriga. ut 
 testari Statius videt dicens: Regit atra iugales Sanguinea Bellona mniiu 
 longaque fatigat Cuspide." Cf. Theb. vir. 72. 
 
 For an account of the Minerva (Tritonia) who sprang from the head of 
 Jove. cf. Gen. Deor. ii. 3. 
 
72 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 When Chancer wrote tliy Bellona, he may have had in mind 
 Statins' lines immediately following the description of the 
 temple,^ where Bellona is mentioned as Mars' charioteer (vii, 
 09): ''Mars himself glorious in llyrcanian blood, approaches 
 iu his chariot; and dyes the plain with dripping gore. Weep- 
 ing hosts bearing spoils follow in his train. The forests and 
 the deep snow make way. Malevolent Bellona guides the steeds 
 with bloody hand and goads them with her long spear." 
 
 •* For hit ful depe is sonken in my minde. 
 With pitous herte in English for tendyte 
 This olde storie, in Latiyi vvliich I finde, 
 Of quene Anelida and fals Areite, 
 That elde, which that al can frete and byte, 
 As hit hath freten mony a noble storie, 
 Hath nigh devoured out of our memorie" (8-14). 
 
 ' A translation of Statius' description of Mars' grisly temple is here 
 attempted. But those who would fully appreciate the liorrora of his 
 abode should turn to the original (Theb. vii. 34ff. ), which so well justifies 
 Chaucer's epithet. 
 
 Jove angered at the delay of hostilities caused by the funeral games of 
 Archemorus, sent Mercury to reprove Mars for neglect of duty. Bearing 
 the message, Cyllenius was approaching the country of the Thracians. 
 " Him, gliding over the regions of the north, the incessant tempest of 
 that zone, and hosts of clouds blown across the sky, and fierce blasts 
 of the north wind drive now this way, now that. Hailstones rattle on 
 his golden palla; his Arcadian hat affords him scant protection. Here 
 the temple of Mars (a horrible sight) appears in a forest bare of leaves 
 at the foot of towering Haemus. A thousand whirling gusts rage around 
 the wild abode. Its walls are built of iron; its threshold is fitted with 
 doors of polished iron; iron columns support the roof. The light of 
 Phoebus saddens into gloom before it settles there; even light from a sky 
 overcast fears the gloomy seat; its baleful gleam darkens the stars. 
 
 " The guards are worthy of the temple. From its doors leap forth furious 
 Attack, blind Crime, blood-flushed Wrath, and pallid Fear. Within lurks 
 Ambush with sword concealed. Discord there offers swords for two. The 
 court re-echoes with countless threats; in its midst stands Valor exceeding 
 sad. Gloating Rage and panoplied Death with blood-stained face are 
 seated there. Only blood shed in war is sacrificed at the altars where 
 burns fire snatched from burning cities. Round about upon the walls hang 
 spoils from many lands; and captured nations grace the temple's dome. 
 Embossed in iron are falling city gates. Here warships sail; there chariots 
 speed along crushing skulls beneath their wheels. One could almost hear 
 the groans. There, too, was seen portrayed every form of violence and 
 
Tlce Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 73 
 
 This stanza, which is based on the Teseide t. 2, can not be 
 paralleled from the TJiehaid; but should be quoted under the 
 heading of indirect influence ; for Chaucer would not have 
 adapted Boccaccio's statement had he not been familiar with 
 the old storv to which Boccaccio refers. Besides, as noted 
 above, Chaucer gives the reference new value by supplementing 
 Boccaccio's outline of the Thehaid. 
 
 " E' m' d venuta voglia con pietosa 
 Rima di scriv&r una storia antica, 
 Tanto negli anni riposta e nascosa 
 Che latino alitor non par ne dica, 
 Per quel ch' i' senta, in libro alcuna cosa " ( Tes. i. 2 ) . 
 
 Similarly in the Legend of Good ^Yomen (421), Chaucer 
 speaks of the story of Palamon and Arcite of Thebes as being 
 little knoA\T;i. There, too, he is referring not to his early trans- 
 lation of the Teseide, nor to the Teseide itself, but to the 
 story to which Boccaccio refers in Tes. i. 2. This story is 
 probably the Thehaid itself, the foundation upon which Boccac- 
 cio built, not a later story containing all the essentials of the 
 Teseide, as Skeat thinks. See his note I. c. 
 
 " Be favorable eek, thou Polymnia, 
 On Parnaso that, with thy sustres glade, 
 By Elicon, not fer from Cirrea, 
 Singest with vois memorial in the shade, 
 Under the laurer which that may not fade. 
 And do that I my ship to haven winne " (15-20). 
 
 " Sorelle Castalie, che nel monte 
 Elicona eontente dimorate 
 D'intorno al sacro gorgoneo fonte, 
 Sottesso Vombra delle frondi amate 
 Da Febo, delle quali ancor la fronte 
 Spero d'ornarmi sol che '1 concediate, 
 Le sante oreechie a' miei preghi porgete, 
 E quegli udiie come voi dovete " (Tes. I. 1). 
 
 every kind of wound. On all sides, the god himself is imaged, always 
 with fierce mein. such as Mulciber had portraj'ed him before the adulterer 
 had been revealed by Phoebus' rays and had expiated his shameful amour 
 when taken in the brazen net." 
 
74 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Chaucer seems to have transferred to Polyhymnia the province 
 of history which belongs peculiarly to Clio. The form Po- 
 lymnia (HoXv/xvlu) is found only in Anth. Led. 276, 7 and 
 Auson. Idyll, xx. 7. Latin poets elsewhere use the longer 
 form of the name. In the passages referred to Polymnia is the 
 patroness of pantomimes. See Todd's De Musis, p. 41. 
 
 The comparison between writing a poem and making a voyage 
 is one frequently drawn, cf. Troll, ii. 1. Winning the harbor 
 is a metaphor for successfully completing the poem. This com- 
 parison is found in the Thehaid (xii. 809) and also in the 
 last stanza of the Teseide. It is impossible to say from 
 which author Chaucer took it. The figure is more elaborate 
 in Boccaccio (Tcs. xii. 86) : — 
 
 '■' E perocche li porti disiati 
 In si lungo pileggio ne tegnamo, 
 Da varii venti in essi trasportati, 
 Le vaghe nostre vele qui caliamo, 
 E li ghiilande e i doni meritate 
 Con le ancore fermati qui aspettiamo, 
 Lodando I'Orsa, che colle sua luce 
 Qui n'ha eondotti, a noi essendo duce." 
 
 Statius, however, furnishes a closer parallel to Chaucer: " Et 
 mea iam lougo rncruit ratis aequore portmn'''' (xii. 809). 
 Other instances of this metaphor are abundant ; cf . Stat. 8ilv. 
 IV. 4, 88 : '' lara Sidonios emensa labores Thebais optato collegit 
 carbasa portu "; Ovid A. A. ii. 9: " Mediis tua pinus in undis 
 J^avigat, et longe quem peto, portus abest " ; also Fast. ii. 863 f., 
 III. 789 f., IV. 18 ; Roman de Trole 14869-74. See Riedner's 
 Diss. p. 57. 
 
 Skeat notes that Chaucer seems to have gotten the notion 
 that Helicon Avas a well ^ on Mt. Parnassus thus confusing it 
 with the Castalian spring. Cf. //. F. 520 if. : 
 
 ^ Burns, too, regards Helicon as a spring: 
 
 " 0, were I on Parnassus' Hill 
 Or had of Helicon my fill "... . 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 75 
 
 " And ye, me to endyte and rynie 
 Helpeth, that on Parnaso dwelle 
 By Elicon the clcre iceUe." 
 
 Cf. also Trail, in. 1809 : 
 
 " Ye sustren nyne eek, that by Elicone 
 In hil Parnaso listen for to abyde." 
 
 The source of Chaucer's error is probably Boccaccio, Tes. xi. 
 Go, where the achievements of Apollo are represented on a 
 shield received by Theseus as his prize in a wrestling match : 
 
 " E quindi soito Vonihre graz'iose 
 Sojjia Parnasso presso all' Elicone 
 Fonte seder con le nove amorose 
 Muse, e cantar maestrevol canzone." 
 
 Boccaccio evidently forgot that he had called Helicon a moun- 
 tain in the Teseide (i. 1) and in the GeneaJ. Deor. (De Mont.). 
 
 With laurer loliich tliat may not fade may be compared 
 Lucret. i. 118 f . : '' Ennius ut noster cecenit, qui primus amoeno 
 Detulit ex Helicone perenni fronde coronam." According to 
 Pliny H. N. xv. 30, 40, the best laurel grew on Parnassus ; 
 so Vergil G. 2, 18 says Parnasia laurus. 
 
 On Anel. 22-46, see p. 44. 
 
 " Mais, which that through his furious course of i/re, 
 The olde wrath of Iiino to fnlfille, 
 Hath set the peples hertes both on fyre 
 Of Thebes and Grece, everieh other to kille 
 With blody spcres, ne rested never stille, 
 But throng now her, nor ther, among hem bothe. 
 That everieh other slogh, so wer they wrothe " ( 50-56 ) . 
 
 " Ma Marte il quale i popoli lernei 
 Con fur'ioso corso avie comniossi 
 Sopra i Tebani, e niiseri trofei 
 Donati avea de' pvincipi percossi 
 Piu volte gia, e de' Greci plebei 
 Ritenuti tal volta, e tal riscossi 
 Con asta sangu.inosa fieramente, 
 Trista avea fatta Vuna e Valtra gente" (Tes. Ii. 10). 
 
76 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Statius' description of Mars' furious course of ire in inciting 
 the hosts to battle is found Theb. vii. 105-145 ; cf. especially 
 131-9 : " Ut vero amentibus ipse Incidit et sacrae circum fasti- 
 gia vallis Turbine praevectus rapido ter sustulit hastam, ter 
 concussit equos, clipeum ter pectore plausit: Anna, anna (in- 
 sani!) sua quisque ignotaque nullo More rapit, mutant galeas 
 alienaque cogimt Ad iuga cornipedes ; f erus omni in pectore 
 saevit Mortis amor caedisque, nihil flagrantibus obstat: Prae- 
 cipitant redimuntque moras." 
 
 The wrath of Juno was kindled against Thebes because it 
 was the place of Jove's amours with Europa, Alcmene, and 
 Semele. The river Ismenos reproaching Jupiter for allowing 
 the death of Crenaeus says {Theh. ix. 421): " Huncne mihi, 
 superum regulator honorem, Quod totiens hospesque tuis et con- 
 scius actis (i^ec memorare timor) falsa nunc improba f route 
 Cornua, nunc vetitam currus deiungere Phoeben, Dotalisque 
 rogos deceptaque f ulmina vidi Praecipuosque alui natorum ? " 
 Juno mentions other grievances of a similar nature (Theh. i. 
 250 ff.) ; but her hate was especially aroused by Jove's com- 
 pliance with Semele's request (i. 256) : " Illam odimus urbem, 
 Quam vultu confessus adis, ubi conscia magui Signa tori toni- 
 trus agis et mea fulmina torques." Cf. further C. T., A. 1329, 
 1544, 1559; Theh. i. 11, iv. 672; vii. 156, 195, 663; x. 900; 
 XI. 211; Tes. iii. 66; v. 56; ix. 44; iii. 1: 
 
 " Poichfe alquanto il furor di Giunone 
 Fu per Tebe distrutta temperato, 
 Marte nella sua fredda regione 
 Colle sue furie insieme s' 6 tornato." 
 
 " For whan Amphiorax and Tydeus, 
 Ipomedon, Parthonope also 
 
 Were dede, avd slayn [was'\ proud Campaneus, 
 And whan the wrecches Thebans, hretheren tivo, 
 Were slayn, and king Adrastus hoom a-go, 
 8o desolat stood Thebes and so bare, 
 That no vnght coude remedie of his care" (57-63). 
 
 " And whan the olde Creon gan espye 
 How that the blood roial was brought adoun, 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 77 
 
 He held the cite hi; his tiiamiyc, 
 
 And did the gentils of that regioun 
 
 To been his frendes, and d\YeIlen in the toun. 
 
 So what for love of him, and what for awe, 
 
 The noble folk were to the toune j^-drawe " ( 64-70 ) . 
 
 " Perchiocche dopo Anfiaro, Tideo 
 fitato era ucciso, e '1 buono Ippomedone, 
 E similmente il bel Partenopeo, 
 E piu Teban de' qua' non fo menzione, 
 Innanzi e dopo al ficro Capaneo, 
 E dietro a tiitti in doloroso agone, 
 Eteocle e Polinice ognun fedito 
 Morti, ed Adrasto ad Argo era fuggito" (Tes. li. 11). 
 
 " Onde il misero regno era rimaso 
 Voto di gente, e pien d' ogni dolore; 
 Ma in picciol' ora da Creonte invaso 
 Fit, che di quello si fe' re e signore 
 Con tristo augurio, e 'n doloroso case 
 Reed insieme il regno sno c Vonore, 
 Per fiera crudelta da lui iisata, 
 Mai da null' altro davanti pensata " [Tes. Ii. 12). 
 
 Boccaccio in this epitome follows the order of events in the 
 Thehaid. Amphiaraus was the first of the x\.rgive chieftains 
 to meet his death. The Thebaid vii. 794 fF. describes the earth- 
 quake which swallowed him up. Next Tydeus was slain by 
 Melanippus, and in turn slew his enemy (viii. 716 if.). Hippo- 
 medon was overcome by the angry torrent of the Ismenos (ix. 
 440 ff.) and fell an easy prey to the enemy when he reached 
 the bank ( ix. 526). The aid of Diana did not avail to save 
 Parthenopaeus from the death decreed by Fate (ix. 711 If.). 
 (Japaneus' contempt of the gods led him to challenge Jove to 
 battle (x. 890 if.). ^ When Adrastus failed to prevent mortal 
 combat between Eteocles and Polynices (xi. 420), he fled from 
 Thebes. He was the sole survivor of the Seven. Creon's ciu- 
 
 ' It is inteve.sting to note that in the Ronian de Thchcs ( Mss. SPA) 
 Capaneus does net meet his death during tlie siege directed by Adrastus. 
 but in that directed by Theseus. And then he is not struck by lightning, 
 but his head is crushed by a rock thro\\n froiii tlie top of the wall (II. 
 10087-96). Ke is called ferns (Thcb. x. 257); ef. fiero {Tes. li. 11). 
 
78 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 delta referred to by Boccaccio was shown by his edict that the 
 corpses of the Argives should not be buried (Thch. xii. 94 ff.). 
 
 Canterbury Tales: Group A. 
 
 Knightes Tale. Tyrwhitt pointed out that the K. T. is based 
 on Boccaccio's Teseide,^ but it was Henry Ward's comparison 
 of the Knight's Tale v/ith the Teseide that determined the ex- 
 tent of Chaucer's obligation. Ward's results are indicated by 
 marginal notes in the Six-Text Print of the Tales. From 
 these notes it appears that only 270 lines are Iranslated from 
 Boccaccio ; 374 more have a general likeness and 132 a slight 
 likeness to passages in the Teseide.- Two errors in Ward's 
 marginal notes may here be mentioned: The reference for A. 
 893-900 is Tes. ii. 25 ; there is nothing in the Teiseide corres- 
 ponding to A. 989-90. 
 
 A minute comparison of several descriptive portions of the 
 K. T. with the Teseide was made by J. Koch in the first chapter 
 of an article first published in the Englische Studien (i, p. 
 249 if.) and afterwards translated by the author for the Chaucer 
 Soc. (Essays iv. pp. 357 ff.). 
 
 The statement that Boccaccio kept the text of Statins before 
 him and made extensive use of it needs no further proof than 
 is to be found in the parallels now to be cited. There are still 
 other borrowings ; for Chaucer did not use every passage of the 
 Teseide that is due to Statins. 
 
 The indirect influence of the Thebaid is extensive at the 
 beginning of the K. T. (A. 859-996) ; for Boccaccio in the 
 corresponding portion of the Teseide follows Statins very 
 closely, as will partially appear from the passages cited below. 
 
 " Wliylora, as olde stories telleii U3, 
 Ther was a duk that highte Theseus; 
 Of Athenes he was lord and governour, 
 
 ' Kissner, Diss., p. 6. 
 
 - Furnivairs Temporary Preface, p. 104. 
 
Hie Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 79 
 
 And in his tyuie smich a conquer our, 
 
 That gietter was tlier noon under the sonne. 
 
 Ful many a riehe contree had he wonne " (859-G4). 
 
 Tes. I. 18: Teseo il lor signor possente Duca di Atene ; i. 99: 
 Teseo alto duca d'x\tene; cf. Tes. i. 40, 109, 121. Statins' 
 tribute to Theseus as a warrior is the epithet helliger (xii. 
 546) : cf. indite Theseu (xii. 555). Besides conquering the 
 ximazons and Creon, he was victorious over the notorious rob- 
 bers Sinis, Cercyo, and Sciron. He killed the Marthonian 
 bull, and slew the Minotaur; cf. TJieh. v. 431 f., xii. 607 ff., 
 Legend 2136 ff. and 2443 ff. Cf. further Tes. i. 108 : acciocche 
 mia fama fiorita Tra le genti dimori ; ii. 5 : La tua prodezza, la 
 qua! gia sapea Ciaschedun regno; Ovid M. viii. 268. 
 
 " What with his wisdom and his chivalvye, 
 He conquered al the regne of Femenye,^ 
 That whylom was y-cleped Scithia; 
 And weddede the quene Ipolita, 
 And hroghte liir lioom with him in his eontvee 
 With muchel glorie and greet solempnitee, 
 x\nd eek hir yonge suster Emelye " (865-71). 
 
 TJieh. XII. 519: lamque doraos patrias ScytJiicae post aspera 
 gentis Proelia, xii. 592 : Xon haec ego pectora liqui Graioruui 
 abscedens, Scythiam Poutumque nivalem Cum peterem ; xii. 
 761: '' ISTon cum peltiferis," ait, "haec tibi pugna puellis 
 Virgineas ne crede manus " (cf. xii. 163) ; Tes. i. 109 ; Ippo- 
 lita reina alta e possente. La quale il popol feimniniJe onora ; ir. 
 Avg.: Questo secondo mostra il ritornare Che fe' Teseo di Scitia 
 vincente ; i. 6: Al tempo che Egeo re d' Atene era. Fur donne 
 in Scitia crude e dispietate. 
 
 Theh. xii. 533: ISTec non populos in semet agebat liippolijie, 
 iam blanda genas patiensque mar it i Foederis; xii. 539: Jiosti 
 veniat paritura maritoj Tes. i. 99: Lppolita regina; i. 124: 
 Fermarsi che esso (Teseo) prendesse lppolita per sua cterna 
 sposa; II. 9 : Entro senza dimoro In mare, e insieme lppolita 
 
 ^ With Femenye, cf. Gower. 0. A. IV. 2140, v. 2548; Roman de Troie 
 23283 ff., 256G3-704, 
 
80 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer, 
 
 reina E tra piu donne ne menar con loro La bella Emilia, stella 
 mattutina; ii. 18 : Teseo con vento fresco al siio viaggio Con- 
 tento ritornava in verso Atene . . . e con colei che '1 suo cuor 
 guida e tene Ippolita reina; i. 136: sorella alia reina, Emilia 
 nominata la fantina; ii. 24: Con infinite d' uomini tumolto 
 Dovunque gia con grida eran lodate L'opere sue magnifiche, 
 e con gloria Le dicean degne d'eterna memoria. 
 
 " And thus with victorie and with melodye, 
 Lete I this noble duk to Atlienes vyde, 
 And al his hoost, in amies, him bisyde " (872-4). 
 
 Theb. XII. 520: laarigero suheuntem Tltesea curru Laetifici 
 plausus missnsque ad sidera vnlgi Clamor et emeritis hilaris 
 tuba nuntiat armis; xii. 541 dona trinmphi mirantur; Tes. ii. 
 23: In diverse brigate festiggiando, A cavallo ed a pie erano 
 andati Gli Ateniesi in ver di lui cantando Di varii vestimcnti 
 divisati Con infiniti suoni oguun festando, E con esso in Atene 
 rientrati. 
 
 In lines 875-883 Chaucer summarizes the first book of the 
 Tcseide, which is independent of the Thebaid with perhaps the 
 exception of Tes. i. 47-77 where Boccaccio describes the battle 
 which took place when Theseus attempted to land on the 
 Scythian coast ; cf. A. 879 f : 
 
 " And of the grete bataille for the nones 
 Betwixen Athenes and Amazones." 
 
 This battle may have been suggested to Boccaccio by a similar 
 battle between the Lemnian women and the Argonauts, de- 
 scribed by Statins (Theb. v. 335 ff.)- 1^ both cases there are 
 around the harbor fortifications from which women, who have 
 slain their husbands, send showers of arrows, stones and fire- 
 brands upon the men as they attempt a landing. 
 
 Having succeeded in landing and having put the Amazons to 
 flight, Theseus then laid siege to the fortress of the Amazons 
 (i. 80 ff.). When the city capitulated, he stipulated as one of 
 the conditions of peace (i. 124) that TTippnlyta should become 
 his wife. He married her in the temple of Venus (i. 134). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 81 
 
 " This duk, of whom I make mencioun, 
 When he was come almost unto the toun, 
 In al his welc and in his moste pryde, 
 He was war, as he caste his eye asyde, 
 Wher that ther kneled in the hye weye 
 A company e of ladies, tweye and tweye, 
 Ech after other, clad in clothes Make; 
 But sicich a cry and swich a ico they make, 
 That in this world nis creature livinge, 
 That herde swich another weymentinge; 
 And of this cry they nolde never stenten, 
 Til they the reynes of his brydel henten " (893-904). 
 
 Cf. the parallels quoted for 11. 872-4 above. 
 
 " E mentre eh' egli in cotal guisa giva, 
 Per avventura dinanzi al pietoso 
 Tempio passo, nel qual era 1' achiva 
 Turba di donne in abito doglioso, 
 Le quali, udendo che quivi veniva, 
 Si si levaron con atto furioso, 
 Con alte grida, pianto e gran romorc 
 Pararsi innanzi al earro del signore " ( Tes. ii. 25 ) . 
 
 Cf. II. 27 I'abito tristo; ii. 2Q in atri vestimenti ; ii. 37 I'abito 
 scuroj Theh. xii. Ill nigrae regina catervae. Theh. xii. 540 : 
 Paulum et ah insessis maestae Pelopeides aris Promovere gra- 
 dum seriemqiie et dona triumphi Mirantur, victique animo 
 rediere mariti. 
 
 The temple of Clementia or Clemenza where the Grecian 
 matrons made their plea to Theseus was in the city according 
 to Statins and Boccacccio; cf. TJieb. xii. 481 ff. and Tes. ii. 17, 
 24,-25. But according to Chaucer's version the duke did not 
 enter the city; cf. A. 894 and 968. 
 
 " What folk ben ye, that at myn hoom-cominge 
 Peturben so my feste with cryinge? " 
 Quod Theseus, " have ye so greet envye 
 Of myn honour, that thus compleyne and crye? 
 Or who hath yow niisboden, or offended? 
 And telleth me if it may been amended; 
 And why that ye ben clotlied thus in bhxk?" (905-911). 
 
 " Chi son costor che «' iiostri licti accenti 
 Co' crini spnrti battcndosi il petto, 
 Di squallor pione in atri vestimenti, 
 
82 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 Tutte piangendo? come se 'n dispetto 
 Avesson la mia gloria, all' altre genti, 
 Siccome io vedo, cagion di diletto? 
 Disse Teseo stupefatto stando " ( Tes. ii. 26 ) . 
 
 Theh. XII, 543 : Atque ubi tardavit et ab axe superho Explorat 
 causas victor poscitque henigno Ore preces. 
 
 " The eldest lady of hem alle spak. 
 When she hadde swowned with a deedly chere, 
 That it was routhe for to seen and here, 
 And seyde : " Lord to whom Fortune hath yiven 
 Victorie, and as a conquerour to liven, 
 Noght greveth us your glorie and your honour; 
 But we biseken mercy and socour 
 Have mercy on our wo and our distresse " (912-19). 
 
 With 912 cf. 931. 
 
 "A cui una rispose lagrimando: 
 Signor, non ammirar 1' abito tristo 
 Che innanzi a tutte ci fa dispettose, 
 Ne creder pianger noi del tuo acquisto, 
 Nfe d' alcuno tuo onor esser crucciose: 
 Benchfe 1' averti in cotal gloria visto 
 Pe' nostri danni ne faccia animose 
 A pianger piil, ehe non facemmo forse 
 Essendo pur dal primo dolor morse" (ii. 26-7). 
 
 Theb. XII. 545 : Ansa ante alias Capaneia couiimx : Belliger 
 Aegide, siibitae cui maxima laudis Seniina de nostris aperit Foi-- 
 tuna ruinis. The mention of Fortuna by Statins may have 
 suggested A. 915 f. 
 
 '■ For certes, lord, ther nis noon of us alle, 
 That she nath been a duchesse or a quene " (922f.). 
 
 Tes. II. 28: E qualunque altra che tu vedi in qiiesta Turha, di 
 re fu madre, o moglie, o suora, a figlia. Theh. xii. 548 : Non 
 externa genus, dirae nee conscia noxae Turha sumus: domus 
 Argos erat regesque mariti. 
 
 "And, certes, lord, to abgden your presence, 
 Here in the temple of the goddesse Clemence 
 We han been wayti)>ge al this fourtenight " (927-29). 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 83 
 
 Te3. n. 17: "Esse non vollon da nessuno onore, 
 Ma solo il tempio cercar di Clemenza. 
 E in quello con gravissimo dolore 
 Stanclie e lasse fecion risedenza, 
 Aspettando con lagrime il signore, 
 Assai crucciose della sua assenza." 
 
 Theb. XII. 481: Urbe fuit media nulli concessa potentum Ara 
 deum, mitis posuit Clementia sedem; 512: Hue vulgo mon- 
 strante loeum manus anxia Lernae deveniunt. In Statius, 
 Evadne makes her plea seven days after the end of the siege 
 of Thebes; cf. xii. 563: Septima iam surgens trepidis Aurora 
 iacentes aversatur equis. 
 
 " I wrecche, which that wepe and waille thus, 
 Was ivJnjlom icyf to king Capaneus, 
 That starf at Thebes, cursed be that day! 
 And alle we, that been in this array, 
 And maken al this lamentacioun. 
 We losten alle our hoiisbondes at that toun, 
 Whyl that the sege ther-aboute lay" (931-37). 
 
 Tes. II. 28: Allora oltre si feo E vanes piii che nessun' altra 
 mesta, Dicendo: sposa fui di Capaneo. ii. 29 : Davanti a Tebe, 
 dove trista sorte Ciascun alto haron tolto ha con morte. Theh. 
 XII. 545: Ansa ante alias Capaneia coniunx; 550: Quid enim 
 septena moveri Castra et Agenoreos opus emendare penates? 
 Nee querimur caesos (maritos) : haec bellica iura vicesque 
 Armorum. 
 
 " And yet now the olde Creon, weylaway ! 
 That lord is now of Thebes the citee, 
 Fulfild of ire and of iniquitee, 
 He for despyt, and for his tirannye. 
 To do the dede bodyes vileinye. 
 Of alle our lordes, whiche that been slawe. 
 Hath alle the bodyes on an heep y-drawe, 
 And n'ol nat suffren hem, by noon assent, 
 Neither to been y-buried nor y-brent. 
 But maJceth houndes ete hem in despyt" (938-47). 
 
 Tes. II. 30: Ma Faspra tirrannia di quel ch' ha preso II regno 
 dietro a lor, cio n'ha difeso. ii. 31: II perfido Creonte, a cui 
 
84 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 piu dura L'odio che a morti non fece la vita, A' greci cor pi 
 niega sepoltura, Crudelta credo mai piu non udita; E di qua 
 I'ombre alia palude oscura Di Stigia ci ritiene ; ond© infinita 
 Doglia ci assal tra gli altri nostri mali, Sentendoli mangiare 
 agli animali. Theh. si. 648 : Et iam laeta ducnm spes elusisse 
 duorum Res Amphionias alio sceptrumque maligna Transtulerat 
 Tortuna manu, Cadmique tenebat lura Creon. xii. 558: quos 
 vetat igne Creon Stygiaeque a limine portae. xii. 93 : accen- 
 saque iterat violentius ira: ' Saevum agedum inmitemque vo- 
 cent, si f unera Lernae Tecum ardere veto ; ' xii. 100 : ' Quare 
 iterum repetens iterum que edico: saprema Ne quis ope et 
 flammis ausit iuvisse Pelasgos.' 
 
 " And with that word, withouten more respyt, 
 They fillen gruf, and cnjden pitously" (948f.). 
 
 Tes. II. 35 : Le lagrime non eran mai mancate, Perche parlasse, 
 agli occhi di costei, Ma sempre in quantita multiplicate E 'I 
 simil era all' altre dietro a lei. Theh. xii. 587: Dixerat; 
 excipiunt cunctae tenduntque precantes Cum clamore manus. 
 
 " This gentil duk doun from his courser sterte 
 With kerte pitous, whan he herde hem speke. 
 Him thoghte that liis herte wolde breke. 
 Whan he saugh hem so pitous and so mat, 
 That ivhylom tceren of so greet estat. 
 * And in his armes he hem alle up hente, 
 
 And hem conforteth in ful good entente; 
 And swoor his ooth, as he was trewe knight, 
 He wolde doon so ferforthly his might 
 Up-on the tyraunt Creon hem to icreke ..." (952-61). 
 
 Tes. II. 36 : E grave duol nel cuor gli venue quando Udi de' re 
 la morte, e dopo alquanto Cosi rispose al dolorose canto, ii. 
 37 : L'dbito scuro, e 'I piangere angoscioso, E '1 voi conoscer pe' 
 vostri maggiori ; II ricordarmi il vostro esser pomposo, Gli agi 
 e' dilette e regni e' servitori, E de' re vostri il regnar glofioso 
 Hanno trovato ne' miei sommi onori A' vostri preghi lu.ogo, e la 
 mutata Fortuna trista di lieta tornata. ii. 38 : Com' io credo 
 jDoter far che sia dato Onor di sepoltura a cui donare Vi piacera : 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 85 
 
 e V orgoglio ahassato Di colui fia che cid vl vuol negare. Pero se 
 al male avuto pud conforto Porger vendetta, per me vi fia porto. 
 II. 39 : Fortifieate gii animi clolenti Con isperanza buona, ch' io 
 in giuro Prima che io e i miei baron possenti ci riposiam 
 d'Atene dentro al iniiro, Di eio faremo interi esperimenti. 
 Theh. XII. 588: Kubuit Neptunius lieros Permotus lacrimis. 
 XII. 598: aiit Danais edice rogos, ant proelia Thebis. xii. 594: 
 Victiiinne putasti Thesea, dire Creon ? 
 
 " And right anoon, ivith-outen more ahood, 
 His baner he displayeth, and forth rood 
 To, Thebes-ward, and al his host bisyde " (965-7). 
 
 Tes. II. 50 : Le insegne che ancora ripiegate ISTon eran, si rizzaro 
 prestamente : E' cavalier colle schiere ordinate Dietro alia sua 
 ciascuno acconciamente ne givano. Theh. xii, 596: 'Nulla 
 mora est ' . . . Sic ait oblitus bellique viaeque labonim, Horta- 
 turqiie suos viresque instaurat anlielas. xii. 611 : Continuo in 
 pugnas haut solum accensa inventus. 614: Conveniunt ul- 
 troque ducis vc.villa sequuntur. . . 
 
 " No neer Athenes wolde he go ne ryde, 
 Ne take his ese fully half a day, 
 But onward on his wey that night he lay" (968-70). 
 
 Tes. II. 49 : Teseo adunque, senza rivedere II vecchio padre o 
 parente od amico, Uscl d'Atene, e non gli fu in calere D' Ippo- 
 lita I'amor dolce e pudico, ISTe alcun altro riposo . . . E come 
 egli era entrato nella terra, Cosi ne u^ci alia novella guerra. 
 Theh. XII. 661: Noctem adeo placidasque operi iunxere tenehras. 
 
 " And sente anoon Ipolita the quene 
 And Emelye hii" yonge suster shene, 
 Un-to the toun of Athenes to dwelle" (970-72), 
 
 Tes. II. 40: Si rivolse ad Ippolita dicendo: . . . Dismonta, e 
 col mio padre to starai Finche tornato me qui vederai. Theh. 
 XII. 635 : Isset et Arctoas Cadmea ad moenia ducens Hippolyte 
 turmas : retinet iam certa tumentis Spes uteri, coniunxque rogat 
 dimittere curas Martis et emeritas thalamo sacrare pharetras. 
 
86 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 " Thus rit this duk, thus rit this couquerour, 
 And in his host of chivalrye the flour, 
 Til that he cam to Thebes, and alighte 
 Faire in a feeld, ther as he thoghte fighte " (981-4). 
 
 The combat between the two leaders is described Tes. ii. 59- 
 66; cf. especially ii. 60: Poi (Teseo) tiitte in se sue forze rac- 
 cogiiea, E furioso Ii si lascia andare Addosso a lui, e per tal 
 forza il fere, che lo gitto per morto del destriere. Theh. xii. 
 773: Sic fatiis (Theseus), et auras Dissipat hasta tremens; 
 tunc qua subtemine duro Multiplicem tenues iterant thoraca 
 catenae, Incidit : emicuit per mille foramina sanguis Impius ; 
 ille oculis extremo errore solutis Labitur. Boccaccio's in se 
 sue forze raccogliea is his rendering of extrema se coUigit ira 
 (Theh. XII. 759). Tes. ii. 69: Laonde in fuga trista ed ango- 
 sciosa, Siccome gente che piii non potieno. Si volson tutti, che 
 nessun non osa Volgersi indietro ed insieme aspettarsi, Tanto 
 di presso vidien seguitarsi. According to Statins, the Thebans, 
 upon the death of Creon, invited Theseus to enter the city: 
 Accedunt utrimque pio vexilla tumultu Permiscentque manus ; 
 medio iam foedera bello, lamque hospes Theseus ; orant succe- 
 dere muris Dignarique domes {Theh. xii. 782). 
 
 " And to the ladyes he restored agayn 
 The bones of hir hovisbondes that were slayn. 
 To doon obsequies, as was tho the gyse " (991-3). 
 
 Tes. II. 76 : Donne, gl' iddii alia vostra ragione Hanno prestata 
 debita vittoria, E pero con dovuta oblazione Tenuti siam d' 
 esaltar la lor gloria; Pero mettete ad assegiiizione, Cio che de' 
 vostri f aceste memoria : Date alii vostri re V uficio pio, Secondo 
 che avete nel disio. Theh. xii. 789 : Ecce per adversas Dircaei 
 verticis umbras Eemineus quatit astra fragor, matresque Pe- 
 lasgae Decurrunt . . . gaudent lamenta novaeque Exultant 
 lacrimae; rapit hue, rapit impetus illuc, Thesea magnanimum 
 quaerant prius, anne Creonta, Anne suos: vidui ducent ad 
 corpora luctus. 
 
 " But it were al to long for to devyse 
 The grete clamour and the waymentinge 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 87 
 
 That the hxdyes made at the brenninge 
 Of the bodyes. . . " (994-7). 
 
 Tes. II. 70 : Quindi de' corpi le parti raccoUe, Prima ne' fiuiin 
 gli bagnavan tiitti, Po^ gli potieno sopra i roghi strutti; cf. ii. 
 80. II. 81 : E'n cotal guisa la turha piagnente Con fuochi i 
 morti corpi consumaro. Theh. xii. 797 : Non ego, centena si 
 qnis mea pectora laxet Voce deiis, tot husta simiil vulgiqiie 
 ducumqiie, Tot pariter gemitus digiiis conantihus aequem. Cf. 
 further 800-807. Statins ends his epic by excusing himself 
 for not describing the burial of the Argive chieftains. Here 
 similarity of situation between the Teseide and Thehaid ceases, 
 nevertheless many lines of Boccaccio's story of the prisoners 
 Palemon and Arcita are due to Statins. In paralleling Chau- 
 cer's account of Theseus' Amazonian triumph and Theban 
 expedition with quotations from his sources, the close relation 
 between Boccaccio and Statins at this point has been only par- 
 tially brought out. With the exception of lines A. 915, 975, 
 and 980, where Chaucer went back to Boccaccio's source 
 for details, the Teseide is the immediate source for the 
 opening of the K. T. (A. 859-996). However, a very 
 important fact must be remembered, viz. : the Thehaid xii. 
 519 S. (quoted in the ms. at the beginning of the Tale) deter- 
 mined the starting-point of Chaucer's narrative. He begins 
 with the description of Theseus' triumph ; and outlines the 
 antecedent portion of Boccaccio's story. 
 
 "... and the gvete honour 
 That Theseus, the noble conquerour. 
 Doth to the ladyes, whan they from him wente " (997-9). 
 
 Chaucer may be thinking of Theseus' permission to the ladies 
 to do as they pleased with Thebes, Tes. ii. 77 ; cf. 81. 
 
 " He took his host, and hoom he rood anon 
 With laurer crowned as a conquerour" (1026f. ). 
 
 Chaucer here speaks of Theseus' crown of laurel which he 
 omitted to mention in his description of the Amazonian triumph 
 at the beginning of the Tale, but did not omit in the corre- 
 
88 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 spending description in the Anelida (1. 24 f.). Boccaccio does 
 not mention the laurel crown in connection with the second tri- 
 umph, but does so in connection with the first: Tes. ii. 21: 
 corona d' allor; cf. Theh. xii. 520 laurigero . . . curru. 
 
 "A worthy duk that higlite Perotheus, 
 That felawe was un-to duk Theseus 
 Sin thilke day that they were children lyte, 
 Was come to Athenes, his felawe to visyte. 
 And for to pleye, as he was wont to do, 
 For in this world he loved no man so: 
 And he loved him as tendrely ageyn. 
 /S'o loel they loved, as olde bokes scyn. 
 That whan that oon -was dead, sothly to telle. 
 His felawe wente and soghte him doun in lielle " (1191-1200). 
 
 Boccaccio tells of Pirithous' visit to Teseo, suo euro amico {Tes. 
 III. 47 ff.) ; but does not speak of his entrance to Hades bv 
 natural death. Chaucer found this mediaeval perversion of 
 classical mythology ^ in the Roman de la Rose, 8186 ff., as 
 Skeat observes. The lines are: — 
 
 ^ According to classical legend Theseus, the sworn friend of Pirithous, 
 accompanied him to Hades to aid him in his daring attempt to carry 
 off Proserpina as his bride. But Pluto bound both heroes to a rock where 
 they remained until Hercules delivered Theseus, but left Pirithous. Chau- 
 cer's use of the word felawe suggests that he knew from other sources 
 that there was an oath of friendship binding Theseus and Pirithous. 
 Statins (Theh. i. 474) compares the friendship between Tydeus and Poly- 
 nices to that between Theseus and Pirithous, thus showing that the 
 fidelity of the latter pair was proverbial : siquidem hanc perhibent post 
 vulnera iunetis Esse fidem, quanta partitum extrema protervo Thesea 
 Pirithoo. Statius again refers to the great danger Theseus incurred for 
 the sake of his friend. Pluto, speaking of the invasion of his realm, says 
 (viii. 53) : Me Pirithoi temerarius ardor Temptat et audaci Theseus 
 iuratus amico. Cf. viii. 96: Nee Venerem inlicitam (crede his insignibus) 
 ausi Intramus Lethen: fugiat ne tristis in antrum Cerberus, aut nostros 
 timeat Proserpina currus. 
 
 Lactantius in his note on Theh. viii. 53 says: Haec Pirithoi fabula talis 
 est: Pirithous cum Proserpinam rapere suo matrimonio induxisset in 
 animum, huius tarn seelerati consilii Theseum participera fecit. Quem 
 cum amieitiarum intuitu Theseus ad inferos Proserpinam pointer rapturus 
 secutus fuisset gravi sunt utrique damnati supplicio. Unde Virgilius: 
 ' sedet aeternumque sedebit infelix Theseus' (cf. Aen. vi. 617f. ). See 
 Lactantius' note to Theh. i. 476; Roscher's Lexikon s. v. Peirithous ; and 
 compare the note to Troil. v. 1488, p. 28. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 89 
 
 " Si cum vesquist, ce dist 1' istoire, 
 Pyiithoiis apres sa mort, 
 Que Theseus tant ania mort. 
 Tant le queroit, tant le sivoit. . . 
 Que vis -en enfer 1' ala querie." 
 
 " Alias ! y-brought is to confusioun 
 The blood royal of Cadme and Amphioun; 
 Of Cadmus, ichich that teas the firste man 
 That Thebes bulte, or first the toun bigan. 
 And of the citee first was crouned king " ( 1545-49 ) . 
 
 Tes. IV. 13 : Anfione, Se tu, intanto che co' dolci canti Delia 
 tua lira, tocca con ragione Per chiuder Tebe, i monte circiis- 
 tanti Chiamasti, avessi immaginato questo, Forse ti sarie stato 
 il snon molesto. iv. 14: Dove son ora le case eminenti Del 
 nostro primo Cadmo? 
 
 Allusions to Cadmus as the founder of Thebes are, of course, 
 numerous in the Thehaid. Upon the occasion of Amphiaraus' 
 fall to Tartarus, the Thebans celebrated their victory over the 
 besiegers and sang psens concerning their origin {Theh. viii. 
 227) : Nunc fata revolvunt Maiorum vetcresque canunt ab 
 origine Thebas : Hi mare Sidonium manibusque attrita To- 
 nantis Cornua et ingenti sulcatum I^erea tauro, Hi Cadmum 
 lassamque bovem fetosque cruenti Martis agros, alii Tjriam 
 reptantia saxa Ad chelyn et duras animantem Amphiona cautes. 
 Cadmus, after his futile search for his sister Europa had per- 
 petually exiled him from his native land, consulted the oracle 
 of Apollo and was counseled to found a city. Lassa hos is the 
 cow that directed him to its site, and fell agri Martis are the 
 fields sown with the teeth of Mars' dragon. 
 
 The line of Theban kings descended from Cadmus and Har- 
 monia, daughter of Mars and Venus. When OEdipus solved 
 the riddle of the Sphinx and married his mother, the royal line 
 became confusus. Cf. Theh. i. 16 : Limes mihi carminis esto 
 Oedipodae confusa domus. ISTote that Chaucer here, as else- 
 where in the K. T., takes Boccaccio as a guide in using knowl- 
 edge which he gained directly from the Thehaid. The Italian 
 quoted above is not a sufficient source for the specific statements 
 of Chaucer's lines. 
 
^0 The InfluencG of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 "0 regne, that loolt no felawe have with thee! 
 Ful sooth is seyd, that love ne lordshipe 
 Wol noght, his thankes, have no fehiweshipe " (1624-26). 
 
 Boccaccio is source for the last two lines, but Chaucer seems to 
 have gone to Boccaccio's source for the first line. Tes. v. 13: 
 Signoria j^e amore sta bene in Compagnia. Theb. i. 127: 
 inde regendi Saevus amor, ruptaeque vices iurisque secundi 
 Ambitus impatiens, et summo dulcius unum Stare loco, sociis- 
 que comes discordia regnis. Compare Tes. v. 13 with Theb. i. 
 46-130. 
 
 " Right as the hunter in the regne of Trace, 
 That stondeth at the gappe with a spere, 
 Whan hunted is the leoun or the here, 
 And hereth him come russhing in the greves, 
 And breketh bothe bowes and the leves, 
 And thinketh, ' heer cometh my mortel enemy, 
 With-oute faile, he moot be deed, or I; 
 For outlier I mot sleen him at the gappe, 
 Or he mot sleen me, if that me mishappe ' ..." (1638 ff.). 
 
 Bell acutely remarked : " This fine simile appears to have 
 been taken from the Thebais iv. 494 " : Qualis Gaetulae stabu- 
 lantem ad confraga silvae Venator longo motwn clamore leonem 
 Expectat firmans animum et sudantia nisu Tela premens ; 
 gelat ora pavor gressusque tremescunt, Quis veniat quantusque, 
 sed horrida signa fremeyitis Accipit et caeca metitur murmura 
 cura. Henry Ward showed that Chaucer has, in fact, com- 
 bined two passages in the Teseide (vii. 106, 119), Strophes 
 106 and 107 are a close adajjtation of the lines just quoted 
 from Statius : E ciaschedun per se divenne tale, Qual ne' getuli 
 boschi il cacciatore A' rotti balzi accostatosi, il quale II leon 
 mosso per lungo romore Aspetta, e ferma in se I' aninio eguale; 
 E nella faccia gela per tremore, Premendo i tell pier forza 
 tremanti, E li suoi passi treman tutti quant i : Ne sa chi venga, 
 ne quaV e' si sia, Ma di fremente orribili segni Riceve nella 
 mente, che disia Di non avere a cio tesi gl' ingegni. Statius 
 introduces the simile to depict the dread of Eteocles as to the 
 answer of the oracle. Boccaccio uses it to portray the fear of 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 91 
 
 Palemon and Arcita at the beginning of the tournament while 
 Chaucer had transferred it to the occasion of their duel where 
 it is much more appropriate. 
 
 With lines A. 1641-2, compare Tes. vii. 119 : Qual per la 
 hosco il cinghiar rovinoso, Poi ch' ha di dietro a se sentiti i 
 cani, Le setole levate, ed ispumoso Or qua or la per viottoli 
 strani Rugghiante va fuggendo fur'ioso, Raim rvmpendo,^ e 
 schiantando sllvani; Cotale entro mirahihnente annato Palemon 
 quivi da ciascun mirato. 
 
 The resemblance between A. 1698-1713 and Theh. i. 438 if. 
 is slight : in both instances a ruler stops a fight between two 
 men, and demands to know who the combatants are (See Skeat's 
 note to 1698). However, it is probable that Boccaccio, who 
 is Chaucer's direct source for this description, adapted the 
 general outline of the combat between Palemon and Arcita, 
 alias Penteo (Tes. v. 75-87), from the description of the fisti- 
 cuff between Tydeus and Polynices (Theh. i. 418-467). In 
 both Statins and Boccaccio, we have consecutively: the ruler's 
 interference, his asking who the combatants are, and their 
 replies. Chaucer is nearer to Statins than to Boccaccio in one 
 particular: Palemon like Tydeus would shift the blame upon 
 his opponent. 
 
 ^ The words rami rompcndo in the original suggest, and the sense in 
 the English demands, that breking be read instead of breketh (1. 1642) ; 
 for the wild animal, not the man, breaks bothe boives and the leves, 
 hence the verb should be coordinate tvith rtisshing. The scribal error is 
 due to the ending of hereth in the line above. The Mss. uniformly suggest 
 -eth: The Ellesmere, Hengwrt and Petworth read breketh; Cambridge, 
 brekith; Lansdowne brekethe; Corpus, bereth. 
 
 Similarly these six mss. are probably erroneous at C. T., B. 1749, where 
 it wovild seem that aspcs, not waspes, should be read: 
 
 Our firste fo, the serpent Sathanas 
 That hath in lewes herte his waspes nest. 
 
 The scribe evidently did not know that the aspis is one of the deadly 
 serpents. Pliny, 77. N. 29, 65: Aspides percussos torpore et somno necant, 
 omnium serpentium minime sanabiles. Augustine, In Psalm. 57, 14: 
 Aspides erant, serpentes erant (ludaei) ; 13, 3: veneniim dolum dicit, 
 aspidum autem, quia nolunt atidvre praecepta legis, sicut aspides nolunt 
 audire verba incantantis. 
 
92 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 In describing the temple of Mars (Tes. vii. 29-37), Boccaccio 
 follows Statins (Theb. vii. 34-73) rather closely just as he did 
 in describing Theseus' Amazonian triumph. Chaucer (A. 
 1967-2050), though he follows Boccaccio in the main, goes 
 back to the ultimate source for additional details. Besides, 
 many lines are independent of either source. 
 
 " Why sholde I noght as wel eek telle you al 
 The portreiture, that was up-on the loal 
 With-inne the temple of mighty Mars the redel 
 Al peynted toas the ival, in lengthe and irede, 
 Lyk to the estres of the grisly place, 
 That highte the grete temple of Mars in Trace, 
 In thilke colde frosty regioun, 
 Ther-as Mars hath Ids sovereyn mansioun" (1967-74). 
 
 Tes. VII. oG : Ed era il tempio tutto istoriato Da sottil mano e 
 di sopra d' intorno ; vii. 29 orribile ospizio ; vii. 32 : La luce, 
 che abborriva il luogo rio. Theb. vii. 41 horrescitqxxe tuens. 
 Tes. III. 1 Marte nella fredda regione; vii. 30: Ne' campi 
 iracii sotto i cieli iberni. Theb. vii. 34: At Thracum Cyllenius 
 arva subibat Atque ilium Arctoae labentem cardine portae. 
 Tes. vii. 29 : La qual divenne di spavento muta Com' di Marte 
 la casa ebbe veduta. Theh. vii. 40 : Hie steriles delubra notat 
 Mavortia silvas ; vii. 42 : domus inmansueta. 
 
 " First on the wal was peynted a foreste, 
 In lohich ther dwelleth neither 7nan ne beste, 
 With knotty knarry hareyn trees olde 
 Of stubbes sharpe and hidous to biholde; 
 In ichich ther ran a rumbcl and a sivough. 
 As though a storm sholde bresten every bough" (1975-80). 
 
 Tes. vii. ol: E 'n una selva steril di robusti Cerri, dov' eran 
 folti ed alti molto, Nodosi ed aspri, rigidi e vetusti, Che d'ombra 
 eterna ricuoprono il volto Del tristo suolo, e in fra gli antichi 
 fusti. Da ben mille furor sempre ravvolto, Vi si sentia grandis- 
 simo romore, Ne v' era bestia ancora ne pastore. Theb. vii. 
 36 : Tempestas aeterna plagae praetentaque caelo Agmina nim- 
 borum primique Aquilonis hiatus In diversa ferunt: crepat 
 aurea grandine multa Palla, nee Arcadii bene protegit umbra 
 galeri. Hie steriles delubra notat Mavortia silvas. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 93 
 
 " And downward from an hillc under a bente, 
 Ther stood the temple of Slavs armipotente, 
 Wroght al of burned steel, of which thentree 
 Was long and streit, and gastly for to see" (1081-4). 
 
 Tes. VII. 32 : In questa vide la ca' dello Iddio Armipotente, e 
 questa e edificata Tutta d' acciaio splendido e pulio . . . Tutta 
 di ferro era la stretta entrata. Theh. vii. 41 . . . ubi mille 
 furor ih'us illi Cingitiir averso domus inmansueta suh Haemo. 
 Ferrea conipago laterum,, ferro apta teruntur Limina. 
 
 Boccaccio says nothing about the configuration of this region 
 of Thrace; and so Chaucer (A. 1981) goes back to the Thehaid 
 (vii. 42) for this particular which makes his description more 
 picturesque. Boccaccio's epithet for Mars, armipotente, was 
 taken from the Thehaid (vii. 78) Armipotens. 
 
 " The dores were alle of adamant etenie 
 Y- clenched overthwart and endelong 
 With iren tough; and, for to make it strong. 
 Every piler, the temple to sustene, 
 Was tonne-greet, of iren bright and shene " (1990-94). 
 
 2Vs. VII. 3'2: E le porte eran d' eterno diamante. Ferrate d' ogiii 
 parte tutte quante. Theh. vii. 68 : clausaeque adamante pbr- 
 enni Dissiluere fores. Tes. vii. 33: E le colonne di ferro 
 costei Vide, che I' edificio sostenieno. Theh. vii. 44: ferratis 
 incumhwit tecta columnis. 
 
 " The cruel ire, reed as any gledej 
 The pykepurs, and eelc the pale drede" (1997 f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 33 : Videvi V Ire rosse come fuoco, E la Paura pallida 
 in quel loco. Theh. vii. 48 : Iraeque ruhentes Exanguesque 
 Metus. 
 
 "The smyler with the knyf under the cloke " (1999). 
 
 Tes. VII. 34: E con gli occidti ferri i Tradimenti Vide, e le 
 Insidie con giusta apparenza. Theh. vii. 49 : occuUisque ensi- 
 hus astant Insidiae. Anyone must admit that Chaucer's char- 
 acterization of treachery is the best of the three. 
 
 " Contek, with bloody knyf and sharp menace; 
 Al fill of chirking icas that sory place" (2003 f.). 
 
94 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Tes. VII. 34: Li Discordia sedeva, e sanguinenti Ferri avie in 
 mano, e di ogni differenza ; E tutti i luoghi pareano strepenti 
 D' aspre minacce e di criidele intenza. Theh. vii. 50 : gemi- 
 numque tenens Discordia ferrum. Innumeris strepit aula 
 Minis. Chaucer renders aspre minacce by sharp menace; and 
 uses it in a different connection referring it to conteh (Dis- 
 cordia) . 
 
 " Amiddes of the temple sat meschaunce, 
 With disconfort and sory countenance" (2009f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 34: E 'n mezzo il loco la Virtu tristissiina Sedie di 
 degne lode poverissima. Theh. vii. 51 : Tristissima Virtus Stat 
 medio. Meschaunce supplants Virtus in Chaucer's adaptation. 
 
 " Yet saugh I woodnesse laughing in his rage; 
 Armed compleint, out-hees, and fiers outrage" (2011 f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 35 : Videvi ancora V allegro Furore E oltre a cio con 
 volto sanguinoso La Morte armata vide e lo Stupore. Theh. 
 VII. 52 : laetusque Furor vultuque cruento Mors armata sedet. 
 By a curious anachronism, Chaucer makes the Knight speak 
 as though he had seen in Theseus' temple all the illusive por- 
 traiture of the real temple of Mars in Thrace as seen by Cylle- 
 nius in the Thehaid or by Arcita's prayer in the Teseide. Cf. 
 A. 1995, 2005, 2017, and 2028. The explanatory theory is 
 that Chaucer's description has been " superficially modified " 
 from his earlier translation of the Teseide.'^ 
 
 "The tiraunt. -with the prey by force y-raft; 
 The totin destroyed, ther was nothing \iiii" (2015 f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 36 : Eran le prede di notte e di giorno Tolte alle terre 
 . . . Vedevansi le genti incatenate, Porti di ferro e fortezze 
 spezzate. Theh. vii. 54 : . . . incensis qui raptus ah urhihus 
 ignis. Terrarum exuviae circum et fastigia templi Captae 
 insignibant gentes, caelataque feiTO Fragmina portarum. 
 
 "Yet savigh I brent the shippes hoppestcres" (2017). 
 ^ See Koch, Chaucer Society ( Essays iv., p. 369 ff. ) . 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 95 
 
 Tes. VII. 37: Videvi ancor le navi bellatrici. Thelj. vii. 57: 
 hellatrices . . . carinae. Tyrwhitt explains shippes hoppe- 
 steres as dancing ships, the noun hoppesteres which would mean 
 female dancers being in apposition to shippes. ''It is a well 
 known fact that a ship, in most languages, is considered as a 
 female." He deems the idea of a ship dancing on the ivaves 
 less proper in this passage than is that conveyed by bellatrici. 
 Skeat adds that Chaucer probably mistook the word hellatrices 
 in Statins or the corresponding word bellatrici for ballatrices or 
 ballatrici. See his valuable note. 
 
 " The carter over-ridcn loith his carte, 
 Under the icheel ful lotce he lay adoun" (2022f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 37 : i voti earn, U volii guastati. Theb. vii. 58 : et 
 vaciii currus protritaque curribus ora. Through Boccaccio is 
 here translating Statins, his line is rather indefinite because 
 he has neglected curnhus and because guastati is not, like 
 2)rotrita, suggestive of trampling do\vn and grinding into the 
 dust. Chaucer is probably following Statins who makes it 
 clear that the two halves of the line are to be taken together. 
 Statins waives further enumeration with the comprehensive 
 terms adeo vis omnis et omne Vidnns (vii. 59). Chaucer with 
 these words in mind adds (A. 2024) : 
 
 " Ther were also of Martes divisioun. . . " 
 
 Cf. Tes. VII. 37 : Ed ogiii forza cogli aspetti elati Ogni fcdita 
 ancor si vedea lici. 
 
 " The statue of Mars up-on a cai'te stood, 
 Armed, and loked grim as he were tuood" (2041 f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 37: E 'n ogni loco nelV aspetto fiero Si vedea Marte 
 torbido ed altiero. Theb. vii. GO: Ubique ipsum, sed non 
 usquam ore remisso Cernere erat. vii. 70 : ipse subit cnrru. 
 
 "With soiil pencel was depeynt this storie, 
 In redoutinge of Mars and of his glorie " (2040 f.). 
 
 Kolbing (Engl. Studien ii. 528) has pointed out that the 
 
96 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 adjective sotil is taken from Boccaccio Tes. vii. 38 : E tal ricetto 
 edificato avea Mulcibero sottil Colla sua arte. Theh. vii. 61 : 
 talem divina Mulciber arte Ediderat, said of the images of 
 Mars upon the walls of his Thracian temple. 
 
 Chaueer represents not only the embossed work in Statins' 
 temple {Tlieh. vii. 02) ; but also the surroundings, its exterior 
 and interior appearance together with the personified abstrac- 
 tions (Theh. VII. 47 ff.) as peynted illusively upon the wall of 
 the temple in Theseus' lists. 
 
 That Chaucer combined sources in lines A, 1967-2050, as he 
 did at the beginning of the Tale, is indicated by certain 
 elements of his description which do not appear in that of 
 Boccaccio, but which can be accounted for by referring to 
 Statins: A. 1981 "And downward from an hille; " cf. averso 
 . . . sub Haemo (Theh. vii. 42). The gloss impetus written 
 above vese (A. 1985) in the Ellesmere and Hengwrt imss. is 
 taken from the Thehaid (vii. 47). With first (A. 1995), cf. 
 primis . . . e foribus (vii. 47). Cf. also A. 2027 f. with 
 Theh. VII. 55: 
 
 " And al above, depeyiited in a tour, 
 Saw I conquest sittinge in greet honour; "' 
 
 fastigia templi insig-nibant gentes. 
 
 Though Chaucer has followed Boccaccio much more closely 
 than Statins, yet he could not have given us such a clear account 
 if he had not used Statins as a commentary on Boccaccio. 
 
 " Ther maistow seen coming with Palamoun 
 Ligurge him-self, the grete king of Trace" (2128 f.). 
 
 But for the prominence of Lycurgus, father of Opheltes, in the 
 Thehaid (Bks. iv., v. and vi.), he would not have appeared at 
 Theseus' tournament in the Teseide, and consequently not in 
 the K. T. Tes. vi. 14: II primo venne ancora lagrimoso Per 
 la morte di Ofelte a ner vestito II re Licurgo; cf. Theh. iv. 741. 
 Chaucer, however, led astray by his desire to go back to sources, 
 has confused this Lycurgus, who was ductor Nemaea {Theh. v. 
 733), with another king of the same name who ruled in Thrace 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 97 
 
 and was inimical to Bacchus. Theh. vii. 178 : Quo sacra tamen 
 litusque peremptae Gentis et, in tumulos si quid male feta 
 reliquit Mater, abire iubes ? Thracen silvasque Lycurgi? 
 Cf. Theh. IV. 386. Chaucer naturally supposed that Statins 
 was in every case speaking of the same Lycurgus. Professor 
 Skeat, too, fails to distinguish the two Lycurgi. See his note 
 on this passage and also on the Legend 2423. 
 Chaucer, describing Lycurgus, says (2140) : 
 
 " In-stede of cote-armure over his hainays, 
 With nayles yelice and brighte as any gold, 
 He hadde a beres skin, col-black, for-old." 
 
 Henry Ward indicates that this is taken from the Teseide vi. 
 22 : ma legato D' orso un velluto cuoio con lucenti Unghioni 
 al collo. Chaucer and Boccaccio here have in mind the ancient 
 practice of gilding an animal's claws with gold when its hide 
 was worn as a cloak. Cf. Theh. vi. 697 : Turn genitus Talao 
 victori tigrin inanem Ire iubet, fulvo quae circumfusa Margine 
 et extremos auro mansuerat ungues. Cf. further Theh. ix. 
 685 f. and Tes. vi. 36. 
 
 On the morning of the day upon which Emelye's husband 
 was to be decided by the fortune of knightly battle, she went 
 to the temple of Diana to sacrifice, and to enlist the aid of the 
 virgin goddess (2289) : 
 
 " Hir brighte heer ivas kempt, untrcssed al ; 
 A coroune of a grene ook cerial 
 Up-on hir heed was set ful fair and mete. 
 Tico fyres on, the atiter gan she bete." 
 
 Cf. Tes. VII. 72 : E hiondi crini dalli vel scoprissi. vii. 74 : 
 E corond di cjuercia cereale, Fatta venire assai pietosamente, 
 Tututto il tempio, e 'I suo capo altrettale . . . Sopra 1' altare, 
 molto reverente Due roglii fece di simil grossezza. Chaucer 
 is following Boccaccio's account of Emelye's actions and in 
 preference to telling us just what sacrifices (Tes. vii. 75 and 
 76) she offered after kindling the fires and before invoking 
 the goddess, he simply adds : 
 7 
 
98 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 " And dide hir tbinges, as men may biholde 
 In Stace of Thebes, and thise bokes olde " (2293f. ). 
 
 It will be shown below that this reference is given in good 
 faith. ^ Chaucer wished to give at length Emelye's prayer; 
 and he accordingly resumed Boccaccio's story (vii. 77), elabo- 
 rating after his own manner the outlines taken from his 
 original. By hir thinges Chaucer probably means such sacri- 
 ficial rites as Boccaccio describes, Tes. vii. 75 : Quindi con pia 
 man v' accese il foco E quel di vino e di latte innafiato, Per tre 
 fiate tempero un poco: E poi 1' incenso prese, e seminato Sopra 
 di quello riempie il loco Di fummo assai soave in ogni lato: 
 E poi si fe' piu tortore recare, e 'I sangue lor sopra 'I fuoco 
 spruzzare. vii. 76 : E molte bianche agnelette hidenti Elatte 
 al modo antico ed isvenate Si fe' recare avanti alle sue genti, 
 E traiti loro cuori e le curate, Ancor gli caldi spiriti battenti, 
 Sopra gli accesi fuoclii V ha posate: E comincio pietosa nelF 
 aspetto Cosi a dir come appresso fia detto. Perhaps Boccaccio's 
 elatte al modo antico accounts for Chaucer's reference to old 
 books ; but he knew whereof he spoke when he said such sacri- 
 fices are described in the Thehaid. 
 
 The Stygian rites performed by Tiresias and his daughter 
 Manto in order to forecast the event of the Theban war (llieb. 
 IV. 443 if.) are similar to those performed by Emilia in the 
 stanzas above quoted. Wine, milk, honey, arid blood are poured 
 into a hole dug in the ground (iv. 451 If.) instead of being- 
 sprinkled upon the fire. Then three fires are built for Hecate, 
 as many for the Furies, one for Pluto, and one for Persephone 
 
 " Cf. Prof. Skeat's note: " //i. Siacc of TJiches, in tbe Thehaid of Statins, 
 Avliere tlie reader will not find it." 
 
 Liddell says: " Cbaucer seems anxious that tlie reader shall consider 
 Statins as Jiis authority rather than Boccaccio. It is a common trick 
 of his to mislead the serious-minded student. He is really following 
 the Teseide vii. 76-90." Such a charge is often made. I believe Chaucer 
 was honest in his references to his sources. Indeed, he was scholarly in 
 his metliod. He is here referring to the only instance of a suppliant's 
 visit to a shrine of Diana in the Thehaid, and he was aware that Boccaccio 
 v»'as indebted to the same passage. 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 99 
 
 (456 f.). Then the entrails of black sheep and cattle, still 
 quivering ivith life are burned (466 f.). After Manto has 
 performed these sacrifices, Tiresias invokes Hecate, Pluto and 
 Tisiphone (473 f.). Similarly Emilia sacrifices, then offers 
 her prayer : O Dea, a cui la terra e '1 cielo e '1 mare, E' regni di 
 Pliiton son manifesti, Qualor ti piace di que' visitare {Tes. 
 VII. 77). The three hearths built for Hecate (Thel. iv. 456) 
 would suggest to Boccaccio that he mention the three abodes o£ 
 Diana (vii. 77; cf. Verg. Aen. iv. 511). Most noteworthy is 
 the fact that the rites performed by Emelye combine worship 
 and augury just as do those performed by Tiresias. Cf. A. 
 2355-7 and Tes. vii. 89. 
 
 Chaucer probably knew also that Boccaccio was dependent 
 upon another passage in Statius for hints of the description of 
 Emilia's preparations to sacrifice as well as for the main 
 features of her prayer. This passage records the actions of 
 Atalanta on the morning of the day her son Parthenopaeus 
 was slain (Theb. ix. 570 ff.). Indeed, lines 2273-4 indicate 
 that Chaucer made direct use of the same passage, since Boccac- 
 cio gives no time setting to the worship of Emilia: 
 
 " Up roos the sonne, and up roos Emelye 
 And to the temple of Diane gan hye." 
 
 Cf. Theb. IX. 604: Arraigerae ruit ad delubra Dianae Bore sub 
 Eoo. However, Chaucer may have transferred the time of 
 Palemon's prayer to Emelye's. Tes. vii. 68 : Stetesi adunque, 
 m.entre il mondo chiuso Tenne Apollo di luce, Palemone Dentro 
 dal tempio sagrato rinchiuso Continovo in divota orazione. 
 
 " Smoking the temple, ful of clothes faire, 
 This Emelye, with herte debonaire, 
 Hir body tcessh ivith water of a loelle" (2281-3). 
 
 Tes. vii. 72 : E poi, in loco a poche manifesto, I)i fontano 
 liquore il delicato Corpo lavossi. Theb. ix. 602 : Ergo vt in 
 amne nefas merso ter crine piavit; cf. ix. 573 : Ante diem 
 gelidas ibat Ladonis ad undas Purgatura malum fluvio vivente 
 soporem. Atalanta purifies herself before going to the temple, 
 
100 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 whereas Emelye has servants carry spring water to the temple. 
 With Jieer . . . untressed (A. 2289) cf. Crine dato passim 
 plantisque ex more solutis (TJieh. ix. 5T2). 
 
 " Whan kindled was the fyr, with pitous chere 
 
 Un-to Diane she spak, as ye may here. 
 ' chaste goddesse of the wodes grene, 
 
 To whom bothe hevene and erthe and see is sene.' ..." 
 
 (2295-8). 
 
 Tes. VII. 78 : Quivi chinata stette assai pensosa Poi la dirizzo 
 tutta lagrimosa. vii. 79: E comincio con rotta voce a dire, 
 O casta Dea, de' hoschi lustratrice La qnal ti fai a vergini 
 seguire ; cf . vii. 77 : O Dea, a cui la terra e 'I cielo e 'I maj-e, E' 
 regni di Pluton son manifesti. Theh. ix. GOG : Tunc limina 
 divae Adstitit et tali neqniquam voce precatur: Virgo potens 
 nemorum, cuius non mollia sig-na Militiamque trucem sexum 
 indignata frequento ... ; cf. ix. 627: nemoralis Delia; vi. 
 611 : Diva potens nemorum. x. 365 : Arcanae moderatrix 
 Cynthia noctis, Si te tergeminis perhihent variare fgnris 
 Numen et in silvas alio descendere vultu. 
 
 " I am, thou woost, yet of thy companye, 
 A mayde, and love hunting and venerye, 
 And for to walken in the wodes wilde, 
 And noght to been a wyf, and be with ehilde " (2307-10). 
 
 Tes. vii. 81: lo sono ancora delle tue iscJiiere Vergine, assai 
 pin atta alia faretra, Ed a' hoschi cercare, che a piacere Per 
 amore a marito. Theh. ix. 616: Sic quoque venatrix animoque 
 innupta remansi; cf. ix. 585-92 and 613. 
 
 " And fro me turne aicey hir hertes so . . . 
 And if so be thou wolt not do me grace . . . 
 As sende me him that most desireth me" (2318 flf.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 82: Attuta gli aspri e focosi vapori Che accendono il 
 disio che si m' affeta De' giovanetti di me amadori. vii. 83 : 
 E se i fati pur m' hanno riservata a giunonica legge sattostare. 
 VII. 85 : Fa' che e' venga nelle braccia mia Colui a cui pin con 
 voler m' accosto E che con piu fermezza me disia. Theh. ix. 
 624. Da visere belli Victorem, vel, si ampla peto, da visere 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 101 
 
 tantum! Thus both Atalanta and Emelje make alternative 
 petitions. 
 
 " And at the brondes ende out-ran anoon 
 As it were blody dropes many oon " (2339 f. )• 
 
 Tes. VII. 92 : E parean sangue gli accesi tizzoni Daccapo spenti, 
 tututti gemendo Lagrime ta' che spegneano i carboni. Theh. 
 IX. 596: Rorantes sanguine ramos Expirare solo. 
 
 " Among the goddes liye it is affermed, 
 And by eterne word write and confermed (2349 f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 89 : E gia net cielo tra gV iddii fermato. vii. 85 : E se 
 gl' Iddii fors' hanno gia disposto Con eterna parola. Theh. ix. 
 652: Utinam indulgere precanti Fata darent! ix. 661: Non 
 hoc mutdbile fatum, says Apollo to Diana concerning the inevi- 
 table death of Parthenopaeiis. 
 
 "And forth she wente, and made a vanisshinge" (2360). 
 
 Tes. VII. 90 : ma isnella Ciascuna a hoschi ginne onde venette. 
 Theh. IX. 637: Illam diva ferox etiamnuni in limine sacro 
 Expositam et gelidas verrentem crinibus aras linquit. 
 
 Compare: The bittre teres that on my chekes falle (232Y) ; 
 Di lagrime bagno la faccia bella (Tes. vii. 78) ; Fletuque soluto 
 (Theh. IX. 635). Hunteresse (2347), le saette della faretra 
 di Diana (Tes. vii. 90), venatrix (Theh. ix. 616). 
 
 From the citations above it appears that both Emelye and 
 Atalanta go to worship Diana because they are in great trouble 
 on the morning of a day that is to bring misfortune. Each 
 purifies herself by washing in water of a stream. Both per- 
 form their rite with hair untressed. Emelye addresses Diana 
 as chaste goddesse of the wodes grene; Atalanta begins her 
 l^rayer: Virgo potens nemorum. In their prayers both wor- 
 shippers make knoAvn their desire to live unmarried, and speak 
 of their favorite pastime of hunting, i. e., they are faithful 
 devotees of the goddess. Both pray that impending evil may 
 be averted ; and make an alternative request in case the first 
 should not be granted. Emelye saw drops of blood run out 
 
102 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 from the quenched brands of the altar fire (2339) ; Atalanta, 
 in her foreboding dream of the previous night, saw the branches 
 of an oak sacred to Diana broken and blood dripping from them. 
 In either case, death was portended by the omen. The first 
 request in both prayers was contrary to the decree of fate. In 
 both instances the goddess, after hearing the prayer, vanished 
 while the suppliant was still at the altar. 
 
 "That other fyr was qiieynt. and al agon" (2336). 
 
 To show that this was an evil omen, Skeat quotes Statins Theb. 
 VIII. 630: Turbata repente Omnia cernebam, subitusque inter- 
 cidit ignis. . . Quaenam haec dubia praesagia cladis ? where 
 igtiis is the nuptial torch. Chaucer's source is the Teseide vii. 
 92 quoted above (1. 2339). 
 
 " O stronge god, that in the regnes colde 
 Of Trace honoured art. and lord y-holde " (2373 f.). 
 
 Tes. VII. 24 : forte Iddio, che ne' regni nevosi Bistonii servi 
 le tue sacre case. Cf. the note to A. 1973. 
 
 " For thilke peyne, and thilke hote fyr, 
 In which thou whylom brendest for desyr, 
 Whan thou usedest the grete beautee 
 Of fayre yonge fresshe Venus free, 
 And haddest hir in armes at thy wille, 
 Al-though thee ones on a tyme misfille 
 Whan Vulcanus had caught thee in his las, 
 And fond thee ligging by his wyf. alias! " (2383-90). 
 
 Tes. VII. 25 : Per quella pietade Ch' ebbe JSTettuno, allor che 
 con disio Di Citerea umvi la hiltade, Rinchiuso da Vulcano, ad 
 ogni Iddio Fatto palese; umilmente ti prego Che alii miei 
 preghi tu non facci niego. Theh. ii. 269 : Lemnius haec ut 
 prisca fides, Mavortia longum Furta dolens, capto postquam nil 
 ohstat amori Poena nee uUrices castigavero catenae, Harmoniae 
 dotale decus sub luce iugali Struxerat. iii. 271 : conubia caelo 
 festa; Lemniacae . . . catenae. Cf. ix, 821. 
 
 " Atid in thy temple I wol my baner honge, 
 And alle the armes of tny compatiye; 
 And evere-mo, unto that day I dye, 
 Eterne fyr I wol biforn thee finde " (2410-13). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. . 103 
 
 Tes. VII. 28 : 1 templi tuoi eterni s'orneranno DelV armi del mio 
 vinto compagnone, Ed ancora le mie vi penderanno, E fievi di- 
 segnata la cagione: Eterni fuochi sempre vi arderanno. The 
 vow whicli Arcite promises to pay to Mars if lie wins Emelye 
 in the tonrney is similar to that which Tydeus made to Pallas, 
 saying that he would perform it in the event of his victory at 
 Thebes (Theh. ii. 732-40); cf. especially: figamque superbis 
 Arma tholis, quaeque ipse meo quaesita revexi Sanguine, quae- 
 que dabis captis, Tritonia, Thebis (T33-5) ; pervigilemque focis 
 ignem longaeva sacerdos ISTutriet (739 f.). 
 
 " And eek to this avow I wol me binde : 
 My herd, myn heer that hongeth long adoun, 
 That never yet tie felte offensioitn 
 Of rasour nor of shere, I icol thee yive" (2414-17). 
 
 This promise also made to Mars by Arcite has several parallels 
 in the Thehaid. Similarly Adrastus had promised his hair and 
 beard to Jove in case value should be received. In his dis- 
 appointment and grief, he sacrificed his beard to the manes of 
 his son and upbraided Jove (Theh. vi. 178-86). Hypanis had 
 vowed his beard to Phoebus, Polites his hair to Bacchus if 
 granted safe return from war (Theh. viii. 491). Partheno- 
 paeus had made a similar futile vow to Diana (Theh. vi. 585). 
 Chaucer's source is Tes. vii. 28 : E la harha e i meie crin che 
 offens'ione Di ferro nan sentiron, ti prometto. 
 
 " The voys of peple touchede the hevene; 
 So loude cryden they with niery stevene " (2561 f.). 
 
 This description of loud applause is a classical commonplace. 
 Cf. Theh. III. 593 : It clamor ad auras ; iii. 670 : Rursus fragor 
 intonat ingens Hortantum et vasto subter volat astra tumultu. 
 Cf. further v. 143 and vi. 426. Chaucer, however, is trans- 
 lating Tes. VII. 14: De' nobile e del populo il romore Toccd le 
 stelle, si fu alto e forte. Cf. Anelida 27. 
 
 " Out of the ground a furie infernal sterte, 
 From Pluto sente, at requeste of Saturne, 
 For which his hors for fere gan to turne, 
 
i04 The Influence of Statins upon Chancer. 
 
 And leep asyde, and foundred as he leep; 
 
 And, er that Arcite may taken keep. 
 
 He pighte him on the pomel of his heed. 
 
 That in the phxce he lay as he loere deed" (2684-90). 
 
 Chaucer here adapts Boccaccio {Tes. ix. 4-9), who in turn 
 has combined two passages in Statins, Theh. i. 89-120 and vi. 
 473-90, the latter of which represents a somewhat similar situ- 
 ation. During the chariot race at the funeral games of Arche- 
 morus, Phoebus, who desired to honor his priest with victory, 
 raised from the ground a serpent-haired monster at the sight 
 of which Arion, one of the horses yoked to Polynices' chariot, 
 reared and plunged so that Polynices was thrown headlong to 
 the ground and barely escaped alive. Thus in Statins, Boccac- 
 cio, and Chaucer a deity sends a fury to frighten a horse and 
 give an unexpected turn to a contest. 
 
 Tes. IX. 5 : Venne costei di ceraste crinita E di verdi idre li 
 suoi ornamenti Erano, a cui in elisio la vita Riconfortata avea, 
 li qua' lamhenti Le sulfuree flamme che uscita Di hocca, le 
 cadeano puzzolenti, Piu fiera la f acieno : e questa Dea Di serpi 
 scuriata in man tenea. Cf. Theh. i. 89 : Inamoenum forte 
 sedebat Cocyton iuxta, resoluta vertice crines Lamhere sulphu- 
 reas permiserat anguihus undas ; i. 103 : Centum illi stantes 
 umhrahant ora cerastae Turha minax diri capitis, i. 107 : 
 Ingneus atro Ore vapor, i. 113 : Haec vivo manus aera ver- 
 herat hydro. Cf. further Tes. ix. 6 with Theh. i. 97 f. and 
 116 ff. 
 
 Tes. IX. 7 : Costei nel chiaro di rassicurata ISTon muto forma, 
 ne cangio sembiante. Ma gia nel campo tosto se n' e andata. La 
 dove Arcita correva festante: E orribile com' era fu parata Al 
 corrente destrier tosto davante, II qual per ispavento in pie 
 levossi, Ed indietro cader tutto lasciossi. Cf. Theh. vi. 473 : 
 Anguicomam monstri effigiem, saevissima visu Ora, movet sive 
 ille Ereho sen finxit in actu Temporis, innumera certe formi- 
 dine cultum Tollit in astra nefas. vi. 479 : 'Nam flavus Arion 
 Ft vidit, saliere iubae, atque erectus in annus Stat. vi. 482; 
 Ruit ilicet exul Aonius nexusque diu per terga volutus Exuit. 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 105 
 
 VI. 488 : Tandem caligine mersum Erigit accursu comitum 
 caput aegraque tollit Membra solo. Tes. ix. 8: (Arcita) che 
 fu in forse allora delta vita Ahhandonar. 
 
 " Anon he was y-born out of the place 
 With herte soor to Theseus paleys . . . 
 For he was yet in memorie and alyve, 
 And alway crying afer Emelye " (2694ff. ). 
 
 Skeat would compare Theh. viii. 636 &., where Atys mortally 
 wounded is carried to the royal palace in order that he may 
 die in the presence of Ismene, his betrothed. Theh. viii. 641 : 
 Prima videt caramque tremens locasta vocabat Ismenen: nam- 
 que hoc solum moribunda precatur Vox generi, solum hoc 
 gelidis iam nomen inerrat Faucibus. It is doubtful whether 
 Chaucer had Statius in mind, but Boccaccio may have had. 
 Although Arcita is carried at once to the city; and does not, 
 as in the Teseide, ride thither in a triumphal procession with 
 Emelye beside him in his chariot, still Chaucer's lines are an 
 adaptation of Boccaccio's insipid narrative {Tes. ix. 13-49). 
 Cf. in order ix. 48, 13, 49, 25. 
 
 Three days after his fall, Arcite's condition became alarming. 
 His death is described A. 2743-2808. Skeat says this passage 
 is certainly imitated from Statius' account of the death of Atys 
 {Theh. VIII. 636-654). The extent of the resemblance is that 
 a lover fatally injured calls for his betrothed and dies in her 
 presence, with his gaze fixed upon her face, his last word being 
 her name. Cf . Theh. viii. 642 : Ismenen : namque hoc solum 
 moribunda precatur Vox generi, solum hoc gelidis iam nomen 
 inerrat Faucibus. viii. 646 : Quater iam morte sub ipsa Ad 
 nomen visus defectaque fortiter ora Sustulit ; illam unam 
 neglecto lumine caeli Aspicit et vultu non exsatiatur amato. 
 He sendeth after Emelye (A. 2762). 
 
 " Dusked his eyen two, and failled breeth. 
 But on his lady yet caste he his ye; 
 His laste word was, 'mercy, Emelye!'" (A. 2806). 
 
 Here, too, Chaucer is dependent rather upon Boccaccio, who in 
 
106 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 turn may have had in mind the death of Atys. Cf. Tes. x. 
 Ill: E in verso Emilia i suoi occhi s' apriro Mirando lei. 
 X. 112: Addio Emilia, e piii oltre non disse. 
 
 " No man mighte gladden Theseus, 
 
 Savinge his olde fader Egeus, 
 
 That knew this worldes transmutacioun ..." (2837-9). 
 " ' Right as ther deyed never man ' quod he, 
 
 ' That he ne livede in erthe in som degree, 
 
 Right so ther livede never man,' he seyde, 
 'In al this world, that som tyme he ne deyde. 
 
 This loorld nis but a thurghfare ful of ivo.' " (2843-7). 
 
 The role of comforter is here assumed by Egeus just as it 
 is by Adrastus at Archemorus' funeral. The philosophic balm 
 applied by both is much the same. Cf . Theh. vi. 46 : Solatur 
 Adrastus Alloquiis genitorem ultro, nunc fata recensens resque 
 hominum duras et inexorabile pensum. However, Chaucer 
 is here adapting Boccaccio {Tes. 9-12), who has elaborated 
 the passage in the Thehaid. Cf. particularly Tes. xi. 12 with 
 Theh. VI. 51-53 : 
 
 " Anzi cosi I'udivan, come il mare 
 Tirren turbato ascolta i naviganti, 
 O come folgor che scenda dall' are 
 Per nuvoletti teneri ovvianti 
 Dair impeto suo cura di ristare, 
 Ma gli apre e scinde, e lor lascia fumanti : 
 
 Ille quoque adfatus non mollius audit amicos, 
 
 Quam trucis lonii rabies clamantia ponto 
 
 Vota virum aut tenues curant vaga fulmina nimbos." 
 
 Tes. XI. 9: Niuno potea racconsolar Teseo; xi. 10: Ma 
 (Egeo) come savio, ed uom che conoscea. I mondan casi e le 
 cose avvenute . . . per dare esempio a chiunque il vedea. Di 
 confortarsi delle cose sute. x. 11 : Ed ingegnossi con parole al- 
 quanto . . . Di voler temperare il tristo pianto. Ricordando le 
 cose antichc e vere. Le raorti e' mutamenti e '1 duolo e '1 canto. 
 L'un dopo I'altro spesso ognun vedere. Lines A. 2843-46, 
 corresponding to inexorahile pensum are taken from the Tes. 
 XII. 6. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. . 107 
 
 Lines A. 28G3-29G2 correspond to the Teseide xi. 13-67 
 which in turn is based on Statins' description of the funeral 
 rites and games in honor of Archemorus (Theh. vi.). Upon 
 considering an appropriate place of burial for Arcite, Theseus 
 decided that in the grove where the lovers had fought their 
 duel, 
 
 " He wolde make a fyr, in which thoffice 
 Funeral he mighte al accomplice" (2863 f.). 
 
 Tes. XI. 13 : Ma penso che nel bosco, ove rancura. Aver sovente 
 soleva d'amore. Faria comporre il rogo, dentro al quale. L'un- 
 ficio, si compiesse funerale. Theh. vi. 1 : Nuntia multivago 
 Danaas perlabitur urbes. Tama gradu, sancire novo sollemnia 
 husto. Inachidas ludumque super. 
 
 " And leet comaunde anon to hakke and hewe 
 The okes olde, and leye hem on a rewe 
 In col pons wel arrayed for to brenne; 
 His officeres with swifte feet they renne 
 And ryde anon at his coraaundement " ( 2865-69 ) . 
 
 Tes. XI. 14 : E comando ch' una selva, che stava A quel bosco 
 vicina vecchia molto. Fosse tagliata, e cid che hisognava Per lo 
 solenne rogo fosse accolto . . , Mossonsi allora gli ministri tosto 
 Per far aid che Teseo loro avie imposto. Theh. vi. 79 : Parte 
 alia gnari monitis exercitus instat Augur is aeriam truncis 
 nemorumque ruina Montis opus cumulare pyram, quae crimina 
 caesi Angiiis et infausti cremet atra piacula belli. 8ternUur 
 extemplo veteres incaedua ferro Silva comas . . . stat sacra 
 senectae Numine, nee solus hominum transgressa veterno Fertur 
 avos, iSTyniphas etiam mutasse superstes Faunorunique greges. 
 
 " And after this, Theseus hath y-sent 
 After a here, and it al over-spradde 
 With cloth of gold, the richest that he hadde. 
 And of the same suyte he cladde Arcite; 
 Upon his hondes hadde he gloves whyte; 
 Eek on his heed a crounc of laurer grene, 
 And in his hond a swerd ful bright and kene " (2870-76). 
 
 Tes. XI. 15 : El fece poi un feretro venire Reale a se davanti, e 
 
108 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 tosto fello D' un drappo ad or hellissimo fornire, E similmente 
 ancor fece di quello II morto Arcita tutto Hvestire, E poi il fece 
 a giacer porre in ello Incoronato di frondi d' alloro, Con ricco 
 nastro rilegate d' oro. Theh. vi. 54: Tristibiis interea ramis 
 teneraque cupresso Damnatus flammae toru^ et puerile feretrum 
 Texitur. vi. 62 : 8umma crepant auro, Tyrioque attollitur 
 ostro Molle supercilium. The following lines, which Kohlmann 
 excludes from his text, may have suggested A. 2876 to Chau- 
 cer: Spes avidae! quas non in nomen credula vestes Urgebat 
 studio cultusque insignia regni Purpureos scepti^mque minus? 
 (vi. 79). 
 
 " And for the peple sJiolde seen him alle, 
 Whan it loas day, he broughte him to the halle, 
 That roreth of the crying and the soun " (2879-87). 
 
 Tes. XI. 16: E poiche fu d' ogni parte lucente II nuovo giorno, 
 egli 'I fece portare Nella gran corte, ove tutta la gente Come 
 voleva il potea riguardare. xi. 30 : Ogni parte era gia piena 
 di pianto; E gia V aula regia muggh'iava. Theh. vi. 25 : Clara 
 lahoriferos caelo Tithonia currus Extulerat vigilesque deae pal- 
 lentis habenas ; et I^ox et cornu fugiebat Somnus inani ; lam 
 plangore viae, gemitu iam regia mugit Flehilis. Cf. vi. 42. 
 
 " Tho cam this wofiil Theban Palamoun, 
 With fiotery herd, and ruggy asshy heres. 
 In clothes blake, y-dropped al with teres" (2882-4). 
 
 Tes. XI. 30 : E Palemone di lugubre manto Coperto nella corte 
 si mostrava Con rahhuffata harha e tristo crine, E polveroso ed 
 aspro senza fine. Theh. vi. 30 : Sedet ipse exutus honoro Vitta- 
 rum nexu genitor squalentiaque ora Sparsus et incultam ferali 
 pulvere harham. 
 
 " And, passing othere of weping, Emelye, 
 The rewfuUeste of al the companye " (2885 f.). 
 
 Tes. XI. 31 : E sopra '1 corpo misero d' Arcita Non men dolente 
 Emilia piangea, Tutta nel viso palida e smarrita, E' circo- 
 stanti pill pianger faoea. Theh. vi. 33 : Asperior contra plane- 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 109 
 
 iusque egressa viriles Extemplo famulas premit hortaturque 
 volentes Orba parens. Eurydice is the prototype of Emilia as 
 Lycurgus is of Palemon. 
 
 " In as muclie as the service sholde be 
 The more noble and riche in his degree, 
 Duk Theseus leet forth three stedes bringe, 
 That trapped loere in steel al gliteringe, 
 And covered with the armes of daun Arcite, 
 Up-on thise stedes, that weren grete and whyte, 
 Ther seten folk, of which oon bar his sheeld, 
 Another his spere up in his hondes heeld; 
 The thridde bar with him his bowe Turkeys, 
 Of brend gold was the cas, and eek the barneys" (2887-96). 
 
 Tes. XI. 36 : Ed accioche Teseo intero segno Del nohil sangue 
 desse di costui ... xi. 35 : Quivi cavalli altissimi giiardati 
 Per lid furon coverti nohilmente. E su vi fur delle sue anne 
 armati 8ovra ciascuno un nohile sergente . . . Quivi faretre 
 ed archi con saette, E piu sue vesti nobili e dilette. Theh. vi. 
 72 : Inde ingens lacrimis honor et miseranda voluptas, Mune- 
 raque in cineres annis graviora feruntur (Namque illi et 
 pharetras brevioraque tela dicareat Festinus voti pater inson- 
 tesque sagittas; lam tunc et nota stabuli de gente probatos In 
 nomen pascehat equos) cinctusque sonantes Armaque maiores 
 expeetatura lacertos. 
 
 The nobleste of the Grckes that ther icere 
 
 Upon hir shnldres carieden the bere, 
 
 With slakke pas, and cijen rede and loete" (2899-2901). 
 
 Tes. XI. 38 : Sopra le spalle li Greci maggiori II feretro levarsi 
 lagrimando, E con esso d'Atene usciron fuori. Theh. vi. 121 : 
 Longo post tempore surgit Colla super iuvenum (numero dux 
 legerat omni) Ipse fero clamore torus. 
 
 " Up-on the right bond wente old Egeus, 
 And on that other syde duk Theseus, 
 With vessels in hir hand of gold ful fyn, 
 Al ful of honey, milk, and blood, and wyn " (2905-08). 
 
 Tes. XI. 37 : Li piu nobili Achivi i vasi cari Di mel, di sangue 
 
110 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 e di latte novello Pieni portavan con lament! amari Sopra le 
 bracccia precedendo quelle. Theh. vi. 119: Portant inferias 
 arsuraque f ercula primi Graiorum. What was carried on these 
 fercula was put to use later; cf. vi. 195: Pallentique croco 
 strident ardentia mella Spumantes mero paterae verguntur et 
 atri Sanguinis et rapti gratissima cymbia lactis. Chaucer's 
 addition of wyn indicates that he was comparing Statins and 
 Boccaccio. 
 
 " Eek Palamon, with f ul greet companye ; 
 And after that cam woful Emelye ..." (2909 f.). 
 
 Even the order of the procession comes from Statins through the 
 Teseide (xi. 40). Cf. Theh. vi. 123: Cinxere Lycurgum Ler- 
 naei proceres, genetricem mollior ambit Turba. 
 
 " Heigh labour, and ful greet apparaillinge 
 Was at the service and the fyr-makinge, 
 That with his grene top the heveyi raughte" (2913-15). 
 
 Tes. XI. 18: Alta fatica e grande s'apparecchia, Cioe voler I'an- 
 tico suol mostrare All' alto Febo della selva vecchia, La qual 
 Teseo comando a tagliare Si andasse, accio ch' una pira par- 
 ecchia Alia stata d' Ofelte possan fare: E, se si puote, ancor 
 la vuol maggiore, In quanto fu piu d' Arcita il valore. By 
 this comparison of Arcita's pyre with that of Opheltes, Boccac- 
 cio gives Chaucer a clew to his model. Tes. xi. 26 : Adunque 
 fu degli alberi tagllata Un rogo fatto mimhlemente Poco piii 
 furo i monti accumulati Sopra Tessaglia dalla folle gente In 
 verso 'I del mattamente levati, Che fosse quivi quel rogo emi- 
 nente. Theh. vi. 79 : Parte alia gnari monitis exercitus instat 
 Auguris aeviam truncis nemorumque ruina Montis opus cumu- 
 lare pyrayn. 
 
 " But how the fyr was maked up on higlite, 
 And eek the names liow the trees highte, 
 As ook, firre, birch, asp, alder, holm, popler, 
 Wilow, elm, plane, ash, box, chasteyn, lind, laurer, 
 Mapul, thorn, beech, hasel, ew, whippeltree, 
 How they weren feld, shal nat be told for me" (2919-24). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. Ill 
 
 Of the trees in this list, the following are mentioned by both 
 Statins (Theh. vi. 91-9) and Boccaccio {Tes. xi. 22-24) : 
 
 " ook, eaoni, escoli, cerri, Chaonium nemus, robur ; 
 fine, abete, abies ; 
 holm, ilici, iliacae trabes; 
 elm, olmo, ulmus; 
 ash, orni,* frassini, orni, fraxinus; 
 beech, faggi, f agus ; 
 ew, tasso, taxus ; 
 alder, auno, alnus. 
 
 Boccaccio names further lind and hasel (tigli and corilo). The 
 rest were added by Chaucer. Cf. the note on Pari. 176, p. 65, 
 also Skeat's note to A. 2863. 
 
 " A^e hoiv the goddes roniien up and doun, 
 Disherited of hir habitacioun, 
 In which they woneden in reste and pees, 
 Nymphes, Faunes, and Amadrides " (2925-8). 
 
 Tes. XI. 25 : Donde la Terra sconsolato pianto 'Re diede, e 
 quindi ciascun altro iddio De' luoghi amati si parti intanto, 
 Dolente certo, e contra suo disio; E I'arbitro dell' ombre Pan, 
 che tanto Quel luogo amava, e ciascun Semidio E' lor parenti. 
 Theh. VI. 103 : Linquunt flentes dilecta locorum Otia cana Pales 
 Silvanusque arbiter umbrae 8emideunique pecus, migrantihus 
 adgemit illis Silva, nee amplexae dimittunt robora Nymphae. 
 Chaucer here follows Statius rather than Boccaccio. Dilecta 
 locorum otia is rendered by " habitacioun, in which they wone- 
 den in rest and pees." Cf. Theh. vi. 88 and Tes. xi. 20. 
 
 " A'e how the bestes and the briddes alle 
 Fledden for fere, whan the loode was falle" (2929-31). 
 
 Tes. XI. 21 : Al miserabil loco soprastava Tagliamento continovo, 
 del quale Ogni si vide che vi stava ; E fuggl quindi ciascun 
 
 ^ Boccaccio gives his ash-trees an anomalous property by mistranslating 
 his original. Tes. xi. 23: E gli orni pien di pece, nutrimenti D' ogni 
 gran fiamma. Theb. vi. 93: Procunibunt piccae, flammis alimenta supre- 
 mis Ornique. 
 
112 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 animate, Ed ogni ucello i suoi nidi lasciava, Temendo il mai 
 pill non sentito male. The]?, vi. 89 : Aderat miserahile luco 
 Excidium: fugere ferae, nidosque tepentes Ahsitiuiit (metus 
 urget) aves. 
 
 " Ne how the fyr was couched first with stree, 
 And than with drye stokkes cloven a three, 
 And than wdth grene tcode and spycerye, 
 And than with cloth of gold and with perrye, 
 And gerlandcs hanging icith ful many a flour, 
 The mirre, thencens, with al so greet odour" (2933-38). 
 
 Tes. XI. 27: El fu di sotto di strame selvaggio Agrestemente 
 fatto, e di ironconi D' alheri grossi, e f u il suo spazio maggio ; 
 Poi fu di frondi di molte ragioui Tessuto, e fatto con troppo 
 piu saggio Avvedimento e di piii condizioni Di ghirlande e di 
 fiori pitturato: E questo suolo assai fu elevato. Tes. xi. 28: 
 Sopra di questi V arabe richezze, E quelle cV ofiente con odori 
 Mirabil fero delle lor belezze II terzo suol composto sopra i 
 fiori ; Qiiivi lo incenso, il qual giammai vecchiezze I^on conobbe, 
 vi fu dato agii ardori, E "Z cennamo il qual piii ch' altro e 
 durante, Ed il legno aloe di sopra stante. Strophe 28 corre- 
 sponds to spycerye, mirre, and encens, with al so greet odour. 
 
 The cloth of gold (2936) is accounted for by Tes. xi. 29: 
 Poi fu la sommita di quella pira D'un drappo in ostro tirio 
 con oro Tinto coperta. But as Boccaccio does not mention 
 jewelry (perrye) in this connection, we have another indication 
 that Chaucer had the Thehaid before him. Cf. gemmae 1. G2 
 below. 
 
 Boccaccio's stanzas (Tes. xi. 27, 28) are based on these lines 
 of Statins (Theh. vi. 56) : Ima virent agresti stramina cultu, 
 Proxima gramineis operosior area sertis,Et picturatus morituris 
 foribus agger; Tertius adsurgens Ardbum strue tollitur ordo 
 Eoas complexus opes incanaque glebis Tura et ab antiquo du- 
 rantia cinnama Belo. Smnma crepant auro, Tyrioque attollitur 
 ostro Molle supercilium, teretes hoc undique gemmae Inradiant. 
 Xote that Statins is describing a bier, not a pyre as Boccaccio 
 and Chaucer are. The materials, with the exception of the 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 113 
 
 stohhes and the grene wade added by Boccaccio, are more suit- 
 able for the bier. Absorption in his Italian original has here 
 dulled Chaucer's sense of the artistic. It should be said further 
 that stree (cf. A. 2918) is different from agrestl stmmina 
 cultu, as is shown by virent. 
 
 " Ne how that Enielye, as was the gyse, 
 Putte in the fyr of funeral servyse; 
 Ne how she swowned whan men made the fyr" (2941-3). 
 
 These lines are based on Boccaccio (xi, 44), and were suggested 
 by Statins (Theh. vi. 187) : lam face suhiecta primis in fron- 
 dibus ignis: Exclamant (labor insanos arcere) parentes. Tes. 
 XI. 44: Perche al rogo fatta piii vicina. Con debol braccio le 
 fi.amme vi mise, E per dolore indietro risupina Tra le le sue 
 donne cadde. Cf. xi. 40, il foco feral. Theh. vi. (184) : Sic 
 fata repente Concidit, ahruptisque ohmutuit ore querelUs. 
 
 "Ne what she spak, ne what was her desyr " (2944). 
 
 As stated above, Eurydice is the prototype of the bereaved 
 Emilia. The lament of the latter (Tes. xi. 41-3) bears some 
 resemblance to that of the former {Theh. vi. 131-70). 
 
 " 'Ne what leweles men in the fyr tho caste, 
 Whan that the fyr was greet and bre^ite faste . . , 
 And of hir vestiments, whiche that they were, 
 And cuppes ful of wyn, and milk and blood, 
 Into the fyr, that brente as it were wood" (2945-50). 
 
 Tes. XI. 50: Le gemme crepitavano, e V argento, Che ne' gran 
 vasi e negli ornamenti era, Si frondea tutto, ed ogni vestimento 
 Sudava d' oro 7iella fiamma fera: E ciascun legno dell' assirio 
 unguento Si f acea grasso e con maggior lumiera : E' meli ardenti 
 stridevano in esse, Con altre cose allora in quelle messe. xi. 
 48 : Militari arme con altri gioielU E tutti su li vi fece salire. 
 XI. 51 : E le cratere di vini spumanti, E dell' oscuro sangue, 
 e '1 grazi'oso Candido latte, tututti fumanti Sentieno ancora il 
 foco ponderoso. Theh. vi. 191: Ditantur flammae; non un- 
 quam opulentior illic Ante cinis: crepitant gemmae, atqiie 
 immane liquescit Argentum, et pictis exudat vestihus aurum ; 
 
114 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 'NeG non Assyriis pinguescunt robora sucis, Pallentique croco 
 strident ardentia mella, Spumantes mero paterae vergimtur et 
 atri Sanguinis et rapti gratissima cymbia lactis. 
 
 " Ne how som caste hir sheeld, and som hir spere " (2947). 
 
 Tes. XI. 56 : Ed oltre a questo, chi vi gitto freno, Chi lancia, 
 clii iscudo e qual balteo, Chi elmo e qual barbuta, e altri pieno 
 Di saette turcasso e chi vi deo Archi e chi spade come me' 
 potieno. Theh. vi. 209 : Raptumque suis libamen ah armis 
 Quisque iacit, sen frena libet sen cingula flammis Mergere seu 
 iaculum siimmae seu cassidis iimbram. 
 
 " Ne how the Grekes with an huge route 
 Thryes Hden al the fyr aboute 
 Upon the left hand, with a loud shoutinge, 
 And thryes -with hir speres clateringe; 
 And thryes ho^o the ladies gonne crye" (2951-55). 
 
 Tes. XI. 52 : Allor Egeo fe' far di cavalieri Ischiere sette di dieci 
 per una, Armati tutti sopra gran destrieri, E ciascheduno aveva 
 indosso alcuna Sua sopravvesta qual' era mestieri Di vestirlasi 
 a quella festa bruna ; Delle qua' sette de' Greci i maggiori 
 Furono allora li conducitori. xi. 53 : E a sinistra man cor- 
 tando giro, Tre volte il rogo tutto intorniaro: E la polvere 
 alzata il salir diro Delle fiamme piegava, e risonaro Le lance ch' 
 alle lance si feriro. xi. 54 : Dieron quell' armi orrihile fragore 
 Quattro fiate, ed altrettanto pianto Le donne dier con misero 
 dolore^ E colle palme ripercosse alquanto. Theh. vi. 198 : Tunc 
 septem numero turmas {centenus ubique Surgit eques) versis 
 ducunt insignibus ipsi Graiugenae reges, lustrantque ex more 
 sinistro Orhe rogum et stantes inclinant pulvere flammas. Ter 
 curvos egere sinus, inlisaque tells Tela sonant, quater horrendum 
 pepulere fragorem Arma, quater mollem famularum hracchia 
 planctum. 
 
 " Ne how Arcite is brent to asshen colde " (2957). 
 
 Tes. XI. 57: II giorno inverso della notte andava E Vulcan lasso 
 in ceneri recate Le cose avea che ciascun gli donava; Perche con 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 115 
 
 acque, per cio ordinate, Da' Greci il rogo gia si saporava. 
 Theh. VI. 212: Finis erat, lassusque putres iam Mulciher ibat 
 In cineres; instant flammis multoque soporant imbre rogum. 
 
 " Ne how the Grekes pleje 
 The wake-pleyes, ne kepe I nat to seye; 
 Who wrastleth best naked, icith oille enoynt, 
 Ne who that bar him best, in no disioynt " (2959-62). 
 
 Such is Chaucer's brief mention of the funeral games described 
 in th Teseide (xi. 59-67). Boccaccio's description is imitated 
 from Statius' lengthy account of the games in honor of Arche- 
 morus. (Theh. vi. 274-921). On the wrestling-match, see 
 Tes. XI. 62 and Theb. vi. 801 ff. Cf. unta palestra (Tes. xi. 
 62), uncta pale {Theb. vi. 805), palaestras (vi. 808), postquam 
 oleo gavisa cutis (vi. 822) ; also Tes. xi. 67: jSTe' fatti giuochi 
 assai ben si portaro. 
 
 There can be little doubt that Chaucer in describing Arcite's 
 funeral, as elsewhere in the K. T. (A. 859-996 and 1967-2050), 
 compared Boccaccio with Statius, although he has in this in- 
 stance left but slight traces of such comparison (cf. notes to 11. 
 2925, 2933). It will be observed that in these three descriptive 
 portions of the K. T., Chaucer has followed Boccaccio's out- 
 lines rather closely and that Boccaccio has, in turn, closely 
 adapted Statius, even in translating certain passages. 
 
 Group H. 
 
 " Pleyen he ( Phebus ) coude on every minstralcye, 
 And singen, that it was a melodye, 
 To heren of his clere vois the soun. 
 Certes the king of Thebes, Amphioun, 
 That with his singing walled that citee, 
 Coude never singen half so wel as he" (113-18). 
 
 Tes. IV. 13 : Anflone, Se tu intanto che co 'dolci canti Delia 
 tua lira, tocca con ragione Per chiuder Tcbe, i monti circus- 
 tanti Chiamasti, avessi immaginato questo, Forse ti sarie state 
 il suon molesto. Amphion's feat of building the walls of 
 
116 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Thebes by his enchanting music is often referred to by Statins. 
 Theh. X. 873 : Humilesne iimphionis arces, Pro pudor ! hi 
 faciles carmenque imbelle secuti, Ili (mentita din Thebarum 
 f abnla) muri ? Et quid tarn egregium prosternere moenia 
 molli Structa lyra ? Cf , i. 9 ; ii. 453 ff., and see the note to 
 A. 1545. 
 
 B. Through Le Roman de Thebes. 
 
 A form of the Theban legend widely known in the middle 
 ages was the Old French Roman de Thebes,^ whose anonymous 
 author wrote about the middle of the 12th century (Constans, 
 Thebes ii., p. cxviii). This poem gave rise to a number of 
 prose redactions in the Old French (Constans ii. cxxiii ; also 
 Legende, p. 315 ff.). Lydgate is known to have used such a 
 prose Thebes as the chief source of his Story of Thebes 
 (Koeppel, Lydgate's Story of Thebes. Eine Quellenunter- 
 suchung, p. 65), and his master, Chaucer, in all probability, 
 had accss to the same source. However, an examination of 
 Chaucer's poems indicates that he followed the poetical version 
 rather than a prose redaction based on the poem. There were 
 many mss. of the poetical Roman, and one of the five now extant 
 (ms. Spalding) was written in England in Chaucer's day (Con- 
 stans 11.^ p. xix). 
 
 The Thebaid-Thebes Problem. 
 
 The relation between the Thebaid and the Roman de Thebes 
 is a mooted question. Two opposing views have been advanced. 
 Constans (ii.^ pp. cxix-xxii ; Legende, p. 277) and F. M. 
 Warren (Mod. Lang. Assoc. Publicat., 1901, pp. 375-87) hold 
 that there was a Latin prose version of the legend intermediate 
 between the Thebaid and the Thebes. Paul Meyer, in his re- 
 view of Constans' edition, opposed this theory (Romania xxi, 
 
 ^ Le Roman de Thebes public d'aprfes tous les manuscrits par Leopold 
 Constans. Paris, 1890. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 117 
 
 107). Criticising the preponderant authority given to ms. S. 
 in constituting the text, he says: *' II resulte de ce classeinent 
 que M. C. admet I'existence d'enormes interpolations, qui occu- 
 pent une partie du second volume. II en resulte encore que 
 la legon consideree par lui comme authentique est celle qui 
 s'eloigne le plus de la ThebaJide de Stace. La lecon qui se 
 rapproche le plus du poeme latin serait due a un auteur ' lege- 
 rement pedant, qui altere la simplicite du poeme primitif par 
 des remaniements d'une erudition affectee ' (p. Ixiv). Pour 
 exj^liquer que la redaction premiere ait laisse de cote d'impor- 
 tants episodes du latin, M. C. suppose que le poete a compose 
 non d'apres la Thehdide, mais d'apres une version en prose 
 latine, texte de I'existence duquel on n'a d'ailleurs aucune 
 notion. Cette hypothese, visiblement imaginee pour les be- 
 soins de la cause, avait deja souleve des objections, lorsque M. C. 
 I'avait presentee pour la premiere fois dans sa these. Elle 
 reparait ici sans preuve nouvelle." 
 
 Warren says (p. 377) : " The author of Thebes rarely owns 
 up to any literary obligation. He merely states he is trans- 
 lating a Latin book ' called Statins,' because laymen could not 
 read Latin. Cf. Constans, op. cit., ii. 106, 11. 27-30 : — 
 
 " II le fist tout selonc la Ifetre 
 Dont lai ne s6vent entremfetre; 
 Et por chou fu li romans fais 
 Que nel savoit hon ki fust lais." 
 
 Cf. II. 267, 1. 191: 
 
 " Et ke il fisent par grant grasse 
 En un livre c'on di(s)t Estasse." 
 
 Between Statins' epic and the mediaeval story of love and com- 
 bat there are differences which a translator would hardly have 
 introduced. The mythology of the Thehaid is quite suppressed, 
 also many of its episodes, while some which are retained in 
 outline are recast and modified. Wholly new episodes of a 
 romantic nature are inserted. And these changes are not the 
 result of any failure on the part of the author of the Roman 
 
118 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 de Thebes to carefully copy the incidents of his sources. He 
 reproduces enough of the details of Statins to show that he was 
 not rhyming from memory. Besides in the passage already 
 referred to, he says he is translating a text. . . This text, the 
 direct source of the French poem, could not in all probability 
 have been the Thehaid itself because of the changes and modi- 
 fications which the story has undergone in the Roman." 
 
 My imperfect study of the problem inclines me to the view 
 of Paul Meyer, The lines of the Old French quoted above by 
 Professor Warren do not justify his inference. The author of 
 the Thebes does not say he translates, nor does he say anything 
 about his own method; but he describes his source, a ms. of 
 Estasse, as one written in Latin so that the lai could not under- 
 stand it. Thus the lines quoted are not a statement about the 
 method of composition followed by the author of the Thebes, 
 but they apply only to the author of a Latin ms. and attribute 
 to him a purpose to write a book exclusively for the nobility. 
 This description of the source as a book peculiarly suited to the 
 nobility finds some basis in the Thehaid. A writer who wished 
 to cater to the new French nobility might form the opinion 
 that Statins did not write for the low-born (vilains, O. 1. 18) 
 from such passages as Theb. i. 463 ff., where Tydeus and Poly- 
 nices both proudly refer to their noble birth, also from the envoi 
 in which Statins hopes the book may be well received by the 
 emperor (xii. 814). Besides, the entire story is of a noble 
 house (i. 17) and tells of the deeds of heroes (i. 41). 
 
 Let us consider the other direct references to Statins found 
 in the various mss. of the Thebes. Ms. C. 8905 refers to 
 Huitasses (so ms. B. to Huitasce) as source for the terrible fate 
 which overtook Capaneus. 
 
 " Hors des herberges en la plaingne 
 S'en ist de Griex bele compaingne. 
 Capaneiia li preuz les guie: 
 Sor lui fu toute la baillie. 8900. 
 Tout droit a la cit6 les meine, 
 M&s mout i regut male estreine: 
 Le jour fu morz en t6l mani^re 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. . 119 
 
 Qui seur toutes autres fu fiere, 
 
 Si comme Huitasses le descrit, 8905 
 
 Qui le voir en sot bien et dit. 
 
 Some seven hundred lines are then devoted to a vivid descrip- 
 tion of Capaneus' attack on Thebes, his scaling and rending 
 the walls, his blasphemy and challenge to Jove, the coimcil of 
 the gods, and Capaneus' death bv a thunderbolt. These lines are 
 an elaboration of the Thehaid x. 827-936. ISToteworthy is the 
 mention in both accounts of a former attack on the ruler of 
 Olympus (Thehes 9589 C) : 
 
 " Des la bataille des jaianz 
 Ne fu m&s outrages si granz. 
 
 Cf. Theh. X. 909 : Quaenam spes hominum tumidae post proelia 
 Phlegrae ? 
 
 IlToteworthy also is the fact that Capaneus, contemptor divum 
 of the Thehaid, is portrayed fully in that character in mss. B. 
 and C. of the Thehes. Cf. C. 9365 ff. : 
 
 " Ne dieu de ciel ne dieu de terre 
 Ne pueent pas soffrir ma guerre. 
 Dieu ne deesse n'est el monde 
 Que ma destre main ne confonde. 
 and 9353: Ja n'ai d'eus touz poor ne dote; 
 Ja n'en iert si pleinne la rote 
 Que sempres desconfit ne soient, 
 Et trestuit cil qui en eulz croient. 
 Ma destre, m'espee, ma lance, 
 Ce sont mi dieu, e'est ma creance." 
 
 Cf. Theh. III. 615: Virtus mihi numen et ensis. Quern teneo! 
 Statins is referred to as having described the manly sport of 
 hurling the discus (ms. C. 2737) : 
 
 " Torment redoutent icel jeu : 
 Horn foibles n'i a point de leu. 
 Si conme Estaces le raconte." 
 
 Variants: A com lestore, P Wistasses, BC estace. This char- 
 acterization gives y^eW the impression made by reading Statins' 
 account {Theh. vi. 625 ff.), where we are told that five of the 
 
120 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer, 
 
 contestants withdrew when they saw the immense discus chosen 
 by Hippomedon. 
 
 The most noteworthy reference to Estace, because of con- 
 sensus of all the Mss., is Thebes 7818, where is described a 
 wonderful gold cup embossed with the image of the sphinx: 
 
 " ' Un guarnement avon ici : 
 Cent mars d'argent vaut, que ne mente.' 
 A tant la cope li presente. 
 Oil prent la cope, I'uevre mire: 
 Nus lion n'en set la fagon dire 
 8i com dit li livre d'Estace, 
 Li pomeaus en fu d'un topace: 
 Onque nus hon ne vit son per 
 Ne si bien assis ne tant cl6r." 
 
 This is the cup described T795 : 
 
 " Ma cope porte o tei d'or fin, 
 Cele ou a peint el fonz un pin: 
 En la cope a set mars et plus, 
 Cine el covercle de desus." 
 
 The uevre mire thus referred to in all the mss. is no doubt 
 the sacrificial patera from which Adrastus poured a libation 
 on the occasion of a traditional quadrennial feast to Apollo. 
 This patera, an heirloom of the royal line of Argos since the 
 time of Phoroneus, was embossed in gold with mythological 
 scenes in such splendor as to call forth one of the notable bits of 
 description in the Thebaid: 
 
 " Postquam ordine mensae 
 Victa fames, signis perfectam auroque nitentem 
 lasides pateram famulos ex more poposcit, 
 Qua Danaus libare deis seniorque Phoroneus 
 Adsueti. Tenet haec operum caelata figuras: 
 Aureus anguicomam praesecto Gorgona coUo 
 Ales habet, iam iamque vagas (ita visus) in auras 
 Exsilit; ilia graves oeulos languentiaque ora 
 Paene movet vivoque etiam pallescit in auro. 
 Hinc Phrigins fiilvis venator tollitur alls, 
 Gargara desidunt surgenti et Troai recedit, 
 Stant maesti comites, frustraque sonantia lassant 
 Ora canes umbramque et nubila latrant 
 Hanc undante mero fundens vocat ordine cunctos 
 Caelicolas, Plioebum ante alios." (i. 539 ff.). 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 121 
 
 The cover of the bowl is uniquely described by the author of 
 the Thehes as being of a single topaz (in all mss. ; tospasse in 
 P). The MS. of the Thehaid used by him may have read laspi- 
 dis pateram instead of lasides pateram; or — what is more 
 likely — he may have mistaken lasides as the name of a gem, 
 by association with iaspis, just as he conversely (1. 5247) mis- 
 took Culmina of Theh. viii. 357 for a proper noun. 
 
 These are all the direct references to Statins. It will be 
 noted that they are not limited to isiss. B. and C, which are 
 admitted by Constans (ii., p. Ixiv, li, n,, cxx, cxxi, n.) to be 
 representative of a recension whose author made direct use of 
 the Thehaid. In like manner every reference to the story is 
 consistent with the Thehaid itself. 
 
 " Li plus seingnor et li plus mestre 
 Firent le jeu de la palest (r)e: 
 Ce est uns jeux, ce dit Vestoire, 
 Dont cil qui vaint a mout grant gloire" (C 2695). 
 
 This statement is warranted by Theh. vi. 801. Cf. especially: 
 variae . . . laudes . . . Tydea magnanimum stimulis urgenti- 
 bus augunt . . . Sed corde labores ante alios erat uncta pale. 
 . . . Ergo ubi luctandi iuvenes animosa citavit Gloria, terri- 
 ficos umeris Aetolus amictus Exuitur patriumque suem. Cf. 
 Thehes 2702 : Si se despoullent trestuit nu, palaestras (Theh. vi. 
 808). D'uile font bien lor cors enoindre (Thehes 2705) ; post- 
 quam oleo gavisa cutis (Theh. vi. 822). 
 
 " Li quiex que puet son p€r conquerre 
 Tant que cheoir le fet a terre 
 Cil a le los et la coronne 
 Et gi'ant louier li rois li done. 
 Ou par enging, ou par savoir, 
 Couvient iluee victoire avoir" (C 2709). 
 
 Turpia signata linquens vestigia terra Palmam autem dextra 
 laevaque nitentia dono (Theh. vi. 879 f.) ; quaesita praemia 
 laudum (vi. 884) ; Instat agens Tydeus fictumque in colla 
 minatus crura subit (vi. 851). 
 
 MS. A. 395 f. refers to the story for the manner of the death 
 of Laius: 
 
122 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 " C'a .j. seul cop son pere ocist, 
 Ensi comme I'estoire dist. 
 
 These lines, as well as the peculiar phraseology of O. 202 ff. 
 quoted below, are explained by Theh. i. 64 : trifidae in Phocidos 
 arto Longaevum implicui regem secuique trementis Ora senis, 
 dum quaero patrem. 
 
 " Danz Laius i fu ocis : 
 La teste i ot le jor coupee, 
 Et ne fu par autrui espee 
 Que par I'espee de son fil " ( 0. 202 ff . ) . 
 
 Ms. S. reads: Le jor ot la teste colpe. Cf. S. 252: Si ad al rei 
 le chief coupe. 
 
 Besides references to Estace and to the story, there are 
 unique details which can be explained only on the assumption 
 that the French author used a ms. of Statins. The unfilial 
 conduct of his sons which causes OEdipus to invoke Jove and 
 Tisiphone to avenge the crime, is the core of Statins' plot and 
 is found in all mss. of the Thebes. 
 
 " Andous ses ueuz, qu'il ont trovez, 
 
 Desoz lor pies les ont folez" (0. 503f. )• 
 Cf. " Dans Jupiter, qui mes dix ies, 
 
 A toi depri mout courecifis, 
 
 Toi et dame Tezifone, 
 
 Qu'en infer av6s poeste; 
 
 De mes enfans a vous me claim, 
 
 Si com as dix que je mout aim, 
 
 Que ambedeus les destruisies, 
 
 Car mes oex misent sos lor pies; 
 
 Destruisies les ou tempre ou tart. 
 
 Car felon sont de pute part." (A. 921 ff.) 
 Cf. Ore sont mort andui li frere, 
 
 Et pour le pechie de leur pere, 
 
 Que il onques nul jor n' amerent, 
 
 Et pour ses euls qu'il defolerent, 
 
 Qu'il s'avoit trfet pour la dolor 
 
 Que sa m6re ot prise a oisour." (C. 9811 ff.) 
 
 Theh. I. 238: At nati (f acinus sine more!) cadentes calcavere 
 oculos. 
 
 In describing the beginning of the first battle, Thebes (O. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 123 
 
 4343 ff.) chooses four pairs of combatants from the Thehaid 
 
 (vii. 632 ff).: 
 
 / 
 
 " Miceneon, Perif as ; Menoeceus, Periphanta 
 Ypomedon, Sibart; Hipijomedon, Sybarin 
 Parthonopeus, Itier; Parthenopaeus, Ityn 
 Tydeus, Tenelaus de Sidogne; Tydeos, Sidonium Pterelan." 
 
 In both accounts the first named of each pair is victor. 
 
 Light is thrown on the relation between the Thehaid and the 
 Thebes by a comparison of the two descriptions of the Theban 
 army as it issues from the seven gates of the city. Statins says 
 of the division coming from the seventh gate {Theh. viii. 357) : 
 
 " Culmina magnanimus stipat Dircaea Menoeceus." 
 
 The author of the Thebes, after assigning the same leaders as 
 Statins does to the several hosts that go out from the first six 
 gates, when he comes to the seventh gate (properly the Dirca- 
 ean) curiously calls it Cidmes (Thebes 5247) : 
 
 " Culmes ot non la setme porte: 
 Desiis ot une tor mout forte; 
 Par cele porte dareraine 
 Vait on a Dirce la fontaine, 
 Et vait chacier en la forest 
 Li reis de Th&bes, quant li plaist. 
 Meneceiis est de la vile 
 Par cele porte, et sont set mile." 
 
 Variants for Culmes, which is the reading of S, are: BCP 
 Pulmes, A Erimes. The strong tower which defends this gate 
 is mentioned at Thehaid x. 651: Dircaea . . . turre; and there 
 too Menoeceus is at his post. 
 
 Undoubtedly this mistake in the name of the seventh gate 
 was made originally by an author who had the Thehaid before 
 him ; and, if there are versions between Statins and him of the 
 Roman, the mistake has been copied blindly. Since the author 
 of the Thebes adds that men go out to the fountain Dirce by 
 way of this gate, thus adding to his unique mistake a second 
 feature accounted for by this line of Statins, it seems likely 
 that he had the Thehaid before him and mistook Culmina for 
 
124 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 the name of the gate. These seven gates and their defenders 
 mentioned in proper order with a unique variant detail in the 
 description of the seventh pair oppose the idea of a hypothetical 
 intermediary version. Constans, hov^^ever, (ir., p. cxxi) thinks 
 his hypothesis of an abridged prose Thehaid is necessary to 
 explain the details which the Boinan gives in regard to the 
 gates and their defenders. For a full discussion of the names 
 and locations of the gates of Thebes, see Constans, Legende, 
 pp. 69, 76, 275 f. 
 
 Mss. B. and C, redaction x in Constans' classification, are 
 especially closely related to the Thehaid. Constans' explana- 
 tory hypothesis is that the author of x used Statins in rehand- 
 ling the O. F. original. From the citations made above, it will 
 be seen that there are in mss. A., P., and S. also unique errors 
 arising immediately from the text of Statins. It seems just 
 as logical to say that such details of all mss. were in the one 
 0. F. original as to say that some of them (those of B. and C.) 
 were added to that original by an erudite redacteur. The 
 reader may judge whether, if Constans' hypothesis is to be 
 accepted, such resemblances as Cuhnina-Cuhnes and seciii . . . 
 ora with la teste colpe, found in other mss. than B. and C, 
 would not necessitate a second hypothesis of a second erudite 
 redacteur. 
 
 The Thebes begins with a free treatment of Laius, the oracle, 
 CEdipus' exposure, the murder of his father, the marriage of 
 his mother, discovery of his sin, his self-inflicted punishment. 
 Then with the unnatural conduct of the sons in trampling on 
 his eyes, the story falls in with Statins' account and follows 
 it closely in its narrative features to line 2680. At this point 
 is introduced the episode of Monflor (extending to 3465) which 
 with the tedious episodes of Ravitaillement (7241-7642) and 
 of Daire le Roux (7643-8600) may, as Constans suggests (ii. 
 cxx, n.), be credited to the invention of the author of the 
 Roman. But with these exceptions practically all the valuable 
 basic topics of the narrative are due to Statins and are pre- 
 sented in the main in the Statian order. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 125 
 
 Some prominent details common to both narratives are these. 
 The carbuncle on the tower at Argos {Thehes 630) is ex- 
 plained by Theh. i. 380. Tydeus and Polynices are foretold 
 as sons-in-law of Adrastus and mentioned in the prophecy as a 
 lion and a wild boar {Thehes 812 ; Theb. i. 484). The daugh- 
 ters of Adrastus are compared to Pallas and Diana for beauty 
 (Thebes 955; Theb. i. 535). In defending himself from the 
 fifty, Tydeus takes a position on the cliff once inhabited by the 
 Sphinx (Thebes 1600; Theb. ii. 555). When he returns to 
 Argos, he shouts out to Adrastus and the nobles : " Armez vos 
 tost" (Thebes 1819); "Anna, arma viri . . . Arma para!" 
 (Theb. III. 348). Amphiaraus foretells the outcome of the war 
 and his o\vn doom (Thebes 2040; TJieb. iii. 624). Hypsipyle 
 guides the thirsting army to the Langia, tells the story of the 
 Lemnian women, neglects Archemorus, who is bitten by a ser- 
 pent (Thebes 2090-2350; Theb. iv. 740 ff.). Jocasta and her 
 daughters go to the Grecian camp to intercede in behalf of 
 Polynices (Thebes 3767; Theb. vii. 470). The tiger, an 
 animal sacred to Bacchus, is the immediate cause of hostilities 
 (Thebes 4283 ; Theb. vii. 565). Though Thehes mentions but 
 one tiger here (Statins mentions two), still verbal resemblances 
 prove that he had the Thebaid before him. Cf. : 
 
 Thebes. Thebaid. 
 
 En la vile une tigre aveit, tigres (564). 
 Soz ciel sa per on ne saveit. 
 
 4285 Oir en poez grant merveille: quis credat? (572). 
 
 Ele ne tochast une oeille, ipsa has . . . amabant armenta 
 
 (572). 
 
 Car privee ert a desmesure: mite iugum (565). 
 
 Tote esteit fors de sa nature. oblitas sanguinis (569). 
 
 Donissez 16 o char o pain, exceptant cibos (575). 
 
 4290 El le manjast en vostre main; manus obvia paseit (574). 
 
 De vin beiist plein un grant fuso horrenda supinant ora niero 
 
 cuevre . . . (575). 
 
 De la cite vers I'ost eissi. erumpunt (581). 
 
 4.305 Li escuier qui abevroent aurigam . . . equos stagna ad vi- 
 
 cinia trehebat ( 583 ) . 
 
 Et qui par le champ bohor transiliunt campos (585). 
 doent 
 
126 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Davant la vile Font ocise: ad portas . . . extantia ducunt spi- 
 
 cula semianimes ( 596 ) . 
 Por sauvage I'ont entreprise. sueta feras prosternere virtus 
 
 (591). 
 
 In spite of such verbal resemblances in serial order, Constans 
 (ii. cxxii, n.) thinks the mention of one tiger instead of two is 
 one of the modifications of Statins' version that can be explained 
 only on the hypothesis of an abridged prose Thehaid standing 
 between Statins and the Thehes. 
 
 These are a few of the many details common to the Thebes 
 and the Thehaid; perhaps they will suffice. It may be added 
 that the heroes are killed off in the same order as in the The- 
 haid. This is true in mss. B and C ; but APS make Capeneus 
 survive until Theseus' siege— a point which alone suggests that 
 B and C should be taken as the basis in constituting the O. F. 
 original ; for the relation of the mss. to Statins is at least as 
 important a criterion as tests of language. 
 
 Besides the narrative framework, the romantic and striking 
 features of the Thehaid are likely to reappear in the Thehes; 
 as, Ismene's dream prophetic of the death of her lover Atys, 
 fulfilled while she is relating it to her sister (Thehes 6203; 
 Theh. VIII. 630) ; and the extreme hatred of the brothers shown 
 by their fighting even on the funeral pyre (Thehes 10177; 
 Theh. XII. 429). The only motif of the Thehes that seriously 
 suggests an original other than Statins, one possibly common 
 to the Thehes and the Teseide, is the statement, made in both 
 these poems and inconsistent with Statins, that Thebes was 
 burned. But this may well have entered both accounts inde- 
 pendently and be due to a mediaeval confusion of the expedition 
 of the Seven with that of the Epigones. 
 
 All manuscripts of the Tliehes contain features so close to the 
 text of the Thehaid as to make it probable that the original of 
 all MSS. was dependent directly on Statins. Therefore the 
 manuscripts (B and C) nearest to the Thehaid should be used 
 as a basis in constituting the text of the French poem. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 127 
 
 Did Chaucer Know the Roman de Thebes? 
 
 Constans (it., p. clix) advances the opinion that Chaucer 
 knW the Roman de Thebes or one of the French prose redac- 
 tions of it. In siij^port of his claim, he adduces the following 
 evidence. 
 
 1. Polymites (Troll, v. 1488) and Parthonolope (v. 1503), 
 corrupt forms of Polynices and Parthenopaeus, were taken 
 from one of the prose versions. 
 
 2. The mention of Thiodamas and loab as famous trum- 
 peters (H. F. 1245 and C. T., E. 1719) is made upon an 
 authority which, whether it be Latin or French, can not be 
 earlier than the Middle Ages. A French prose version is a 
 probable source. 
 
 3. The romance of Thebes which was being read to Cri- 
 seyde (Troil. ii. 100) contained at its beginning the history of 
 CEdipus as does the poetical Roman. Cf. : 
 
 " This romaunce is of Thebes, that we rede ; 
 And we han herd how that king Laius deyde 
 Thurgh Edippus his sone, and al that dede." 
 
 This evidence is faulty at several points.^ 1. Partho- 
 nopee, or Parthonope is the best Chaucerian spelling, being 
 especially well supported at Troil. v. 1503, where Skeat 
 records no variant. It is also the spelling of the Harleian 
 7333 at Anelida 58, where, however, the variant form Par- 
 thonolope is found in mss. Fairfax and Bodley. If this 
 latter spelling is Chaucer's own, he may have found it in 
 a prose Thebes; for the form Parthonolopeus occurs in the 
 French prose Edipus, B. K. fr. 246 (D).^ If, however, the 
 better attested form Parthonopee is what Chaucer wrote in 
 both passages referred to, he probably took his spelling from 
 the Latin argument of the Thebaid quoted (after v. 1498, 
 
 ^ For an elaboration of these objections, see Mod. Lang. Notes xvn, 
 236-237). 
 
 ^ See Constans ii., p. clix, n. 
 
128 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Troilus) from the Latin ms. which he used as his source. This 
 Latin argument contains the forms Parthonopeo and Foly- 
 mitem, which account for Chaucer's forms. 
 
 It is not improbable that Chaucer in the House of Fame was 
 making use of lists which he found in a catalogue of persons 
 famous for certain things. If he had no such source, it may 
 well be that he himself was the first to join Joab and Thio- 
 damas as famous trumpeters. It is nevertheless beyond doubt 
 that he had in mind some authority who tells of an occasion 
 upon which Thiodamas blew a trumpet at Thebes. ISTo such 
 occasion is mentioned in the poetical Roman, nor has Constans 
 located it in the prose redactions. 
 
 3. In regard to Troll, ii. 99 ff., it should be noted that 
 Chaucer could have gathered from the Thehaid information 
 sufficient to write these lines. (Edipus in his prayer to Tisi- 
 phone sketches his early history, referring to the murder of his 
 father thus (i. 64) : trifidaeque in Phocidos arto Longaevum 
 implicui regem secuique trementis Ora senis, dum quaero 
 patrem. These lines together with other references which are 
 found before the close of book vii, the point reached by the 
 reader, would leave a clear impression of CEdipus' crime. 
 Mercury, in obedience to the command of Jove, conducted 
 Laius from the realm of the shades that he might induce 
 Eteocles to usurp the kingdom (ii. 7) : Pone senex trepida 
 succedit Laius umbra Vulnere tardus adhuc ; capulo nam lar- 
 gius illi Transabiit costas cognatis ictibus ensis Impius, et 
 primas Furiarum pertulit iras; It tamen et medica firmat 
 vestigia virga. The god flew above scenes familiar to Laius ; 
 ardua Cirrhae Pollutamque suo despectat Phooida busto . . . 
 Ut vero et celsis suamet iuga nixa columnis Vidit et infectos 
 etiamnum sanguine currus, Paene retro turbatus abit (ii. 
 63 fP.). After delivering the message to his grandson, iugu- 
 lum mox caede patentem l^udat et undanti perfudit vulnere 
 somnum (ii. 123 f.). Again when Laius Avas summoned by 
 Tiresias to reveal the ontconie of the v/ar, he angrily said (iv. 
 630) : Ilium, ilium sacris adhibete nefastis, Qui laeto fodit 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 129 
 
 ense patrem. These are all backward references to a combat 
 which took place before the time at which Statins' story begins ; 
 and it must be admitted, especially in view of other French 
 touches in treating Theban material, that Chaucer's line may 
 refer to a lively description of the combat itself. This is found 
 in the story as told by the Roman de Thehes; cf. 1. 175 ff., 
 and particularly : 
 
 " Danz La'ius i fu ocis: 
 La teste i ot le jor coupee, 
 Et ne fu par autrui espee 
 Que par I'espee de son fil " (202-05). 
 
 Hamilton (Chaucer's Indebtedness to Guido, p. 92, n. 2) 
 states : " In the Troilus, as in the other poems, Chaucer shows 
 an acquaintance with a late recension of the Roman de Thebes.'''' 
 For similarity in language and sentiment with Troil. v. 1849 ff. : 
 
 " Lo here, of Payens corsed olde rytes, 
 Lo here, what alle hir goddes may availle; 
 Lo here, these wrecched worldes appetytes; 
 Lo here, the fyn and guerdon for travaille 
 Of love, Appollo, of Mars, of swich rascaille! " 
 
 He quotes Thebes, 4337 ff. (ms. S) : 
 
 " Ffors solement danz Jupiter, 
 Qui tint un dart agu de fer. 
 Mars fu dejoste lui a destre; 
 La proz Pallas fu a senestre : 
 Cil dui valent en bataille; 
 Plus que toute I'autre raschaille." 
 
 The resemblance of phrase is striking, though the sentiment, 
 according to Hamilton, shows influence of Guido. But ad- 
 ditional proof of the view held by Coustans and Hamilton is 
 not wanting. 
 
 The best indication that Chaucer used the Roman de Thebes 
 is found in the Knight's Tale, in the introductory portion of 
 which he seems to have tried to show what he could do in the 
 way of combining sources. The Thebaid, Teseide, Thehes, 
 and Knight's Tale all deal with the same situation : King Creon 
 9 
 
130 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 has refused to allow the burial of the Argive dead that lie 
 around the walls of Thebes; and the Argive women, who wish 
 to perform the last rights for their relatives, seek aid from 
 Theseus. 
 
 According to that redaction (mss. SPA) of the Roman 
 de Thebes used by Constans in constituting his text, there were 
 but three survivors of all the thousands in the allied hosts that 
 besieged Thebes, viz. : Adrastus, Capaneus, and the messenger 
 who carried the sad news of defeat to Argos (9717). Upon 
 receiving the message the Argive women resolve to go to Thebes 
 to bury the bodies of their loved ones (9809). On their way 
 thither they meet x\drastus and Capaneus returning from the 
 battle. These two heroes turn back towards Thebes with the 
 women (9891). While on their way, they see Theseus at the 
 head of his army marching to crush a rebellious feudal lord 
 (9905) ; and Adrastus runs to entreat him to champion the 
 cause of the women against old Creon, king of Thebes (9937). 
 
 Professor Skeat in his Glossary says caitifs (A. 924) means 
 captives. In what way the women are captives does not appear 
 in any of the accounts. But caitifs is appropriate if it be 
 taken as a predicate adjective meaning wretched; for it then 
 refers to their grief and squalor in contrast to their former 
 regal splendor. This adjective may have been taken from the 
 Thebes (9980), where chaitives is said of the suppliant women. 
 Cf. " wrecched women" (A. 950). 
 
 A. 938: The olde Creon; cf. Anelida 64. This adjective 
 which Chaucer considers appropriate to Creon, is in the Thebes 
 applied to him with the persistency of an epic epithet. Cf. 
 Thebes, 5190: Creon li vieuz; also 5799, 8341, 10008, 10076 
 C, 10664 A., 11091 S. 
 
 A. 939: Of Thebes the citee; cf. Thebes, 9958: de Thebes 
 la cite. However, this resemblance is significant only in con- 
 nection with others where dependence is surer; for the line 
 ends in a manner quite Chaucerian. Cf. B. 289, B. 3337, 
 also Legend, 2404. 
 
 (Creon) "Hath alle the bodyes on an heep y-drawe, 
 And wol nat suifren hem, by noon assent, 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 131 
 
 Neither to been y-buried nor y-brent " (944-46). 
 Cf . " Creon leur vee sepou ( 1 ) ture ; 
 
 Les gentilz hommes preuz et biax 
 
 Ffet manger a cliiens, a oisia(u)x" (C. 10096-98). 
 
 Cf. S. 11079 ff. Tes. ii. 31: Sentendoli mangiare agii animali. 
 
 " And with that word, withouten more respyt, 
 
 They fillen gruf, and cryden pitously, 
 950 ' Have on us uvecched tvommen som mercy, 
 
 And lat our sorwe sinken in thyn herte.' 
 
 This gentil duk doun prom his courser sterte 
 
 With herte pitous, whan he herde hem speke. 
 
 Him thoughte that his herte ivolde ireke, 
 955 Whan he saugh hem so pitous and so mat, 
 
 That whylbm weren of so greet estat. 
 
 And in his armes he hem alle up h&nte, 
 
 And hem conforteth in ful good entente; 
 
 And swoor his ooth, as he was trewe knight, 
 960 He wolde doon so ferforthly his might 
 
 TJp-on the tyraunt Creon hem to im-eke, . . . 
 
 9935 Li dus chevauehe fierement 
 
 Et bien conduit s'ost et sa gent: 
 
 Reis Adrastus, quant s'aproisma, 
 
 Reconut lui, vers lui ala. 
 
 Tost deguerpi sa compaignie; 
 9940 Al due en vait, merci li crie. 
 
 Come il fu prfes, si descendie, 
 
 Et vint corant vers lui a pie; 
 
 Vers le due cort isnelement, 
 
 A ses piez chiet mout humilment. 
 9945 Quant a ses piez le vit li dus, 
 
 De S071 cheval descendie jus: 
 
 Merveilla sei que il aveit, 
 
 Por go que il nel conoisseit. 
 
 Reis Adrastus geseit a terre, 
 9950 Le due teneit por merci querre; 
 
 Merci li criot humilment, 
 
 Et si plorot mout tendrement : 
 ' Sire,' fait il, ' por Deu merci ! . . . 
 
 Guardez la sus en son eel mont, 
 
 Femnes i a que grant duel font: 
 
 Dolentes sont et esguarees, 
 0980 Chaitives et maleiirees, 
 
 Por lor amis, qui mort i sont; 
 
 A grant esforz a Thfebes vont. 
 
132 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 Por eus veeir et enterrer 
 
 Et sevelir et conreev, 
 9985 Que ne les manjueent oisel, 
 
 Chien ne leon, leu ne corbel. 
 
 Cil de Th&bes ne lor lairont: 
 
 Bien sai que il lor defendront. 
 
 Por go requier vostre bonte 
 9990 Et vostre grant nobilet6: 
 
 Rendez as dames lor amis, 
 
 Que cil de Thfebes ont ocis; 
 
 Vengiez les de lor enemis, 
 
 Merci aiez de nos chaitis.' 
 9995 Ligentiz dus tot escota, 
 
 En son cuer grant pitie en a: 
 
 ■ Pa?- la main prist rei Adrastus, 
 
 De la terre le leva sus: 
 * Sire reis,' fait il, 'sus levez: 
 10000 Tot vos otrei quant que querez: 
 
 Se non vos rendent voz ocis, 
 
 A grant eissil en servant mis.' " 
 
 In the passage quoted above, compare especially: 
 
 Knight's Tale 949 with Thehes 9945 
 " " 950 " " 9994 
 
 " " 952 " " 9946 and 9995 f. 
 
 " 957 " " 9997 f. 
 
 Note also the exact progression in order of the corresponding 
 lines and that the end of the entreaty of the Grecian matrons, 
 K. T. 950 f., is practically a translation of Adrastns' appeal in 
 their behalf, Thehes 9993 f. In mss. B. and C. Argia and 
 Deiphyle make their petition directly to Theseus, who dis- 
 mounts and lifts them from their suppliant position (10015 
 C). In Chaucer's account the suppliants fall prostrate on 
 the roadside when they make their plea; and the duke dis- 
 mounts that he may raise them to their feet. These particulars 
 are in the Thehes; but not in the Thehaid, nor in the Teseide, 
 the only other possible sources. They are just such details 
 as Chaucer would be likely to turn to account in his effort to 
 give us the picture of an ideal mediaeval knight. 
 
 Especially noteworthy is the fact that, in the story as told 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 133 
 
 by Statins and Boccaccio, Theseus rides in a triumphal chariot 
 whereas in the Thehes and in Chaucer he rides horseback:— 
 
 A. 904: "Til they the reynes of his brydel henten." 
 
 952: "This gentil duk doun from his courser sterte." 
 
 Cf. Thehes 9946: De son cheval descendie jus. Theh. xii. 
 520 laurigero . . . curru (cf. 543). Tes, ii. 22: Teseo adun- 
 que come fu smontato Di mare in terra, in sul carro salio (cf. 
 
 II. 24). 
 
 For Italian parallels to K. T. 954-56 and 958-61, which are 
 due to the Teseide rather than to the Thehes, see p. 84. 
 
 There is nothing in the Thehaid or the Teseide corresponding 
 to A. 987 f.: 
 
 " And by assaut he wan the citee after, 
 And rente adoun bothe wal, and sparre, and rafter." 
 
 In the Thehaid hostilities ended with the slaying of Creon; 
 and the inhabitants, freed from the tyrant, invited Theseus to 
 enter the city (xii. 782 ff.). In the Teseide the old men, 
 women, and children left the city and followed the scattered 
 and fleeing Theban army through the surrounding mountains 
 so that Theseus found no one to oppose his entrance to the 
 city (ii. 71-73). In the Thehes, however, the city was won 
 by assault: the walls and towers were thrown down, the city 
 set on fire, and the men made prisoners (10073 if.) : 
 
 " Li dus assaut mout vassament 
 La cite o tote sa gent; 
 10075 II meismes o un mouton 
 
 Les murs quassot tot environ: 
 
 Done veissez femnes ramper, 
 
 O mauz d'acier les murs fausser; * 
 
 ^MS. C. 10460 reads: A maus d'aeier, a pis agus, with which should 
 be compared a passage in which Lydgate may be referring directly to 
 the poetical Roman (Story of Thehes, i., p. 605, Chalmers' Eng. Poets) : 
 
 " Yet as some authors make nientioun. 
 Or Theseus entred into the toun. 
 The women first with pekois and with malles, 
 With great labour beat downe the walles, 
 
134 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 Le mortier gratent trop fortement, 
 10080 Pertus i firent plus du cent. . . 
 10117 Les dames sont de I'autre part, 
 
 De ceus dedenz n'ont nul reguart: 
 
 Tant ont bechig et tant grat6 
 10120 Que le fort mur ont esfondre; 
 ' Devers eles ont fait pertus, 
 
 Pleine peiche escravente jus. 
 
 Sor la tor uns arbalestiers 
 
 S'en aperciit trestoz premiers, 
 
 Si comenga fort a huchier 
 
 Que mout sont prfes de I'aprochier: 
 ' Veez les murs escraventer 
 
 Et ceus defers dedenz entrer! ' 
 
 Li gentiz dus, quant I'entendi^, 
 10130 Dreit al pertus a fort tendie; 
 ' Le fou ! le fou ! ' a crier prist, 
 
 En la cite par tot le mist : ^ 
 
 Qui done veist les tms crever 
 
 Et les hauz murs escraventer, 
 10135 Grant dolor en poiist aveir 
 
 Des granz tors que veist chaeir, 
 
 Li dus trestote I'eissilla, 
 
 Les murs et les tors craventa; 
 
 Les homes fist emprisoner." 
 
 In the Thehes all this destruction takes place before the death 
 of Creon, after his death in the Knight's Tale. The great 
 probability that Chaucer found in some source the statement 
 that Theseus " rente adoun " the wall should be stressed. 
 While Chaucer freely orders the material of his source and 
 omits at will, he does not as a rule invent important details 
 which he professes to find in a source, least of all does he do 
 
 And in hir writing, also as they saine, 
 Campaneus was in the wals slaine, 
 With cast of stones he was so ouerlade." 
 
 »Cf. MS. 6. 10479: 
 
 " Le fu iht aporter li dus 
 Et tout esprendre sus et jus. 
 La ville fu mout tost esprise: 
 N'i rem€st one autfil n'eglise. 
 Tour ne pal&s en nuleguise, 
 Que tout ne fus arz sanz devise." 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 135 
 
 so in a tale of such historical dignity as the Knight's Tale. 
 He later consistently reports the walls as waste (A. 1331). 
 Cf. A. 1880: olde walles wyde. 
 
 The destruction of the city by fire, mentioned in the passage 
 quoted above (10131 f.), cannot be taken as evidence that 
 Chaucer knew the Thebes; for he may have taken his state- 
 ment that "^ the town was brent " {Trail, v. 1510) from Boccac- 
 cio {Tes. II. 81). There is no mention of the burning of the 
 city in the Knight's Tale. 
 
 " And to the ladyes he restored agayn 
 The tones of hir housbondes that tcere slayn, 
 To doon obsequies, as was tho the gyse (A. 991-93). 
 As dames fist rendre les cors, 
 Qui porrisseient la defors: 
 Les dames les ont mout plorez 
 Et mout doucement regretez " (10149-52). 
 
 The resemblance, though close, may not be significant. 
 
 At line 1005 ends that portion of the K. T. which overlaps 
 the story of the Thebaid and the Thebes; and any further 
 mention of matter from either poem must be wrought in inci- 
 dentally from that earlier portion of those narratives which 
 precede the appeal to Theseus. In other words the Teseide 
 and the Knight's Tale are continuations of the story of the 
 Thebaid and the Thebes. Accordingly we need not be sur- 
 prised to find beyond this point in the K. T. but few more 
 phrases which look as if they were suggested by the Thebes. 
 
 " Of Cadmus, which that Avas the firste man 
 That Thebes bulte. or first the toun bigan, 
 And of the citee first was crouned king" (K. T. 1547 ff.). 
 
 / 
 
 " Kamus, qui fu fiex Agenor 
 Et de Tebes fu premiers rois " (Thebes, 6312 f. A.). 
 
 " Que Cadmus li preus i ferma, 
 Qui ceste cite commencha (2113 f. A.). 
 Si com Cadmus, qui fist la vile (9125 C). 
 
 Ther saugh I Attheon an hert y-naked 
 
 For vengeaunce that he saugh Diane al naked (2065 f.). 
 
136 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 . . . Dont Acteon fu engendrez 
 
 Qui aprfes fu en cerf muez 
 
 Por la deesse qu'ot veiie 
 
 En la fontainne toute nue" (C. 9126 ff.)- 
 
 Cf. Tes. VII. 79 : Atteon ... si muto in cervo. Of. also 
 K. T. 2303. 
 
 The claim that Chaucer knew that version of the Theban 
 legend best represented by the Roman de TJiebes is well sup- 
 ported by these prominent features which are common to the 
 K. T. and to the Thebes, but have no basis whatever in Statins 
 or Boccaccio: Theseus was riding on horseback when the sup- 
 pliants begged his aid; he won Thebes by assault; he de- 
 stroyed its walls and dwellings. The other resemblances 
 |iointed out furnish cumulative evidence. Emphasis should 
 l:'e laid on the fact that in the Teseide as in the Thebaid, 
 Theseus is the typical classical conqueror making a triumphal 
 entry, whereas in the K. T. he is a mediaeval knight whose 
 chivalry manifests itself in the same way as in the Thebes. 
 
 The Anelida and the Troilus are the other two poems that 
 furnish hints of an acquaintance with the Roman de Thebes. 
 If Chaucer had a source for the modern portion of the 
 Anelida (i. e., 1. 71 ff.), it must have been a late medi- 
 aeval one. The residence of a queen of Arminia at Thebes, 
 while wholly out of rapport with the classical tradition, would 
 be just the sort of thing one would expect in a French version 
 belonging to the Roman de Thebes family. Cf. Thebes 3872, 
 vv^here we are told that the son of Hergart, king of Ermine, 
 was living at Thebes. 
 
 " So desolat stood Thebes and so bare, 
 That no wight coude lemedie of his cai-e (Anel. 62 f.). 
 Que deserte en fu la contree 
 Et eissilliee et deguastee " (10221 f.). 
 
 The gloss fure d'enfer, found on the margin of ms. Harl. 
 2392 at Troll, i. 6, may be Chaucer's owm and may have been 
 taken from Thebes 510, Tesiphone, fure d'enfer. 
 
The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 137 
 
 In his description of the Thehaid, Chancer may have applied 
 to it the title of the O, F. poem: 
 
 "This romaunce is of Thebes, that we rede" (Troil. n. 100). 
 
 Cf. Ci commence li roumans de Thebes, in the rnbric of ms. 
 B., also Explicit le jRonmanz de Thehes at the end of i^rs. C. 
 See Constans, ii.^ p. x. 
 
 " How the bisshop, as the book can telle, 
 Amphiorax, fil thurgh the ground to helle " (Troil. ii. 104 f.)- 
 
 Amphiarans is called arcevesqnes, Thehes 4791 ; cf. vesque 5051 
 and 5079; vesques 5063; evesqne 5053. This touch is almost 
 certainly due to the Old French as is Chaucer's spelling of the 
 proper name. Cf. Troil. v. 1500, Anel. 57, C. T. I). 741, 
 also Amphiarax, Thehes 4779 S., 4815 S., 4860 S. The 
 Italian form of the name is Anfiarao, Tcs. ii. 11. Cf. En 
 enfer chiet Amphiaras (4475 S.). 
 
 Chaucer's form Stace is nearer to the O. F. Estace than 
 to the Italian Stazio. Cf. Estasse, Thehes 19 P, Estace 2737 
 EC, Anel. 21, H. F. 1460, Troil. v. 1792, Boccaccio, Am. 
 Vis. 5. 
 
 III. THE ACIIILLEIS. 
 
 There is no reason why Chaucer should not have known the 
 Achilleis, since it was read and admired in the Middle x\ges 
 (Teuffel-Schwabe, Hist. Rom. Lit. 321.6). He refers to it in 
 the House of Fame, where he names the works that in his 
 estimation give Statins a right to fame (1460) : 
 
 "The Tholosan that highte Stace, 
 That bar of Thebes up the fame 
 Upon his shuldres. and the name 
 Also of cruel Achilles." 
 
 But I have been unable to find an indication that Chaucer 
 took anything from it, Lounsbury suggests (Studies in Chau- 
 cer, II. 252) that the enrolling of Chiron among the famous 
 
138 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 harpers may possibly be credited to this source. Cf. H. F. 
 1201 ff. with Achil i. 105-18 ; also i. 185, 572, ii. 156. 
 
 " Ther herde I pleyen on an harpe 
 That souned bothe wel and sharpe, 
 Orpheus ful craftely, 
 And on his syde faste by, 
 Sat the harper Orion, 
 And Eacides Chiron, 
 And other harpers many oon." 
 
 But Skeat rightly observes that Eacides Chiron is copied 
 from Ovid, A. A. i. 17 /Eacidae Chiron. It may be added 
 that he probably took the epithet cruel (1463) from the same 
 source, where saevus is said of both Achilles and Amor (18). 
 
 The fact that Gower uses the Achilleis makes it probable 
 that his friend Chaucer was likewise acquainted with it. The 
 story of Achilles at the court of Lycomedes is told by Gower 
 (C. A. V. 2691-3201) in such a way as to leave little doubt 
 that his source was the Achilleis. The strenuous training 
 which Chiron gave his foster-son is described by Gower (C. A. 
 IV. 1968 ff.). Here, too, he is probably dependent on the 
 Achilleis (ii. 121 ff.). See Macaulay's note. 
 
 " It is wel wist how that the Grekes stronge 
 In armes with a thousand shippes wente 
 To Troyewardes, and the citee longe 
 Assegeden neigh ten yeer er they stente " {Troil. i. 58-61). 
 
 The Filostrato does not mention the voyage of the Greeks 
 towards Troy; but opens with the siege in progress (cf. i. 7). 
 Thetis in her presentiments of the war to arise from the abduc- 
 ton of Helen, saw the Ionian and the Aegean plowed by a 
 thousand ships {Achil. i. 34) : Video iam mille carinis Ionium 
 Aegaeumque premi. Bell says Chaucer probably obtained the 
 number of the Grecian ships from Vergil {Aen. ii. 198) : ITon 
 anni domuere decem, non mille carinae. That Vergil, not 
 Statius, is the source of this definite number of ships, is 
 probable because Chaucer mentions neigh ten yeer as the period 
 of the siege. 
 
The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 139 
 
 IV. THE SILVAE. 
 
 The Silvae may be discussed briefly since there is no indi- 
 cation that Chaucer knew of the existence of this book. He 
 fails to mention it when he gives his reasons for placing the 
 statue of Statius in the House of Fame. In fact, this men- 
 tion of Statius' work was influenced by Dante, for Chaucer 
 copies from him the adjective Tholosan, H. F. 1460 : 
 
 "The Tholosan that highte Stace, 
 That bar of Thebes up the fame 
 Upon his shuldres, and the name 
 Also of cruel Achilles. 
 
 Tanto fu dolce mio vocale spirto, 
 
 Che, Tolosano, a se me trasse Roma, 
 
 Dove mertai le tempie ornar di mirto. 
 
 Stazio la gente ancor di la mi noma: 
 
 Cantai di Tebe e poi del grande Achille. 
 
 Ma caddi in via con la seconda soma" {Purg. xxi. 88). 
 
 See Skeat's note and Constans (ii. p. cliv, clviii). 
 
 The erroneous opinion that Statius was a native of Toulouse 
 was prevalent in the Middle Ages (Constans, Legende, pp. 
 149-55) ; and probabh^ arose from confounding the poet, who 
 was a ISTeapolitan, with the rhetorician Statius of Toulouse. 
 Had the Silvae been read in the Middle Ages, Statius' own 
 testimony would have corrected the error; for he refers to 
 ISTaples as his native town, calling it by its poetical name 
 Parthenope {8ilv. iii. 5, 79) : N'ostra quoque et propriis tenuis 
 nee rara colonia Parthenope, cui mite solum trans aequora 
 vectae Ipse Dionaea monstravit Apollo columba. Vollmer 
 compares Suetonius (fr. 20.3 Reiff.) : Parthenopen Sirenem 
 sepultam in Campaniae litore, a cuius nomine Neapolis Par- 
 thenope vocitata aestimatur. Apropos in this connection are 
 some lines found in Anthol. Lat. ii. 233 (Burm.) which decide 
 between the claims of the rival cities : — 
 
140 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 " Qui piimo cecinit Tliebas, mox casus Achillem 
 Occidit, hac colitur Statius in statua. 
 Hunc genuit tali gavisa Neapolis ortu, 
 Ipsa Tholosa licet blateret esse sutim. 
 Quod si vana suum contendat Gallia vatem, 
 Silvarum relegas, candide lector, opus. 
 Haee etiam genuit Stellam paritura poetam, 
 Ne sit in hoc uno splendida Parthenope." 
 
 The words referred to are those of Statius to Stella (Silv. i, 2, 
 260) : At te nascentem gremio niea prima recepit Parthenope. 
 If our present knowledge of the textual tradition of the 
 Silvae be correct, it is historically impossible that Chaucer 
 could have known this work of Statius. Scholars at the court 
 of Charlemagne at the beginning of the 9th century were 
 familiar with it (Engelmann's Diss., p. 17 ; and Vollmer's 
 Edit., p. 34) ; but we do not hear of the Silvae again until 
 1416, when Poggio discovered a codex near Constance in Italy 
 (Engelmann, Diss., p. 14; Clark, Classical Bev. xiii. 121 ff.). 
 However, it must here be noted that, although Chaucer died 
 sixteen years before Poggio's find, he seems to have known the 
 title Argonauticon of Valerius Flaccus, the first three books 
 and a part of the fourth of which were found at the same time ; 
 for in the Legend of Good Women (1456 f.), he refers his 
 readers to the Argonauticon for a list of those who went with 
 Jason : — 
 
 " But who so axeth who is with him gon, 
 Lat him go reden Argonauticon." 
 
 The list of the Argonauts is found Val. Fl. i. 350-484. Skeat, 
 following Bech, says Chaucer here copies Dares (De excidio 
 Troiae historia, cap. i.) Demonstrare eos qui cum lasone pro- 
 fecti sunt non videtur nostrum esse: sed qui volunt eos cog- 
 noscere, Argonautas legant. At the same time, Chaucer must 
 have had additional knowledge about the title used by Valerius 
 Maccus. If he had been dependent upon Dares alone, he 
 would have written Argonautas or Argonautae. 
 
Tlie Influeiice of Statins upon Chaucer. 141 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 With the exception of Ovid, and possibly of Boethiiis, 
 Statins was Chancer's most familiar Latin anther. The natnre 
 and extent of his borrowings from the Thehaid show an inti- 
 mate acquaintance extending over almost the entire period of 
 his literary activity. The Compleynt unto Pite, probably 
 his earliest original work, owes (if Skeat be correct) its 
 basal idea to Statins ; and the Knight's Tale furnishes 
 abundant evidence to show that the Thehaid had not ceased 
 to attract the author who drew from it his youthful inspiration. 
 
 Those works of Chaucer which contain direct borrowings 
 from the Thehaid are: Troilus (books i-v,), House of Fame, 
 Legend of Good, Women, Compleynt unto Pite, Boole of the 
 Duchesse, Compleynt of Mars, Anelida, Knight's Tale, Wife 
 of Bath's Prologue ( ?), Merchant's Tale. Of these, the Troilus 
 shows the most extensive influence. 
 
 Mediate influence of the Thehaid comes to Chaucer through 
 the Filostrato and the Teseide of Boccaccio and probably 
 through the anonymous Roman de Thebes. The indirect in- 
 fluence through the Filostrato is confined to the Troilus, but 
 that through the Teseide is very extensive, being seen in Troilus 
 (books II. and v.). Legend of Good Women, Parlement of 
 Foules, Anelida, and especially in the Knight's Tale. Influ- 
 ence through the Pioman de Thebes is seen in the Knight's Tale 
 and perhaps in the Anelida and the Troilus. 
 
 In regard to the relation to Statins of the Old French and 
 Italian intermediaries, it is believed that the author of the 
 Roman de Thebes, whatever other sources he may have had, 
 made direct use of the Thehaid; and it is known that Boccaccio 
 used the Thehaid as his principal source for the Teseide, closely 
 adapting and even translating many passages. 
 
 It was Chaucer's Avay to consult all available sources and 
 to make up the most authentic story consistent with his artistic 
 
142 The Influence of Statius upon Chaucer. 
 
 purpose. For example, while using Boccaccio, iie kept the 
 text of Statius at his side, and used it as a commentary upon 
 and supplement to the Teseide. The result in the Knight's 
 Tale is a story richer in detail and clearer in idea than he could 
 otherwise have written. Chaucer's sanity of judgment would 
 have been a sufficient guide in abridging the long-drawn and 
 often tedious quasi-epic of Boccaccio ; but it is at the suggestion 
 of Statius that he dismisses the first book of the Teseide in a 
 few lines and begins the Knight's Tale with Theseus' return 
 to Athens. Conspicuous examples of his method are three 
 descriptive portions of the Knight's Tale (A. 859-996, 1967- 
 2050, 2863-2962) where Chaucer skilfully combined sources, 
 going to the ultimate source for additional details. Boccaccio, 
 in the corresponding portions of the Teseide, follows the The- 
 haid very closely; consequently Statius' descriptions appear 
 but little changed in Chaucer's version. 
 
 The Achilleisj, though in all probability known to Chaucer, 
 was not used by him. The 8ilvae was unknown to him, not 
 yet having been rescued from the oblivion into which it fell in 
 the 9th century. 
 
 The following emendations of the text of the Canterbury 
 Tales are suggested. Eead hrehing for hrelceth (A. 1642), 
 aspes for waspes (B. 1749). 
 
 The Cantus Troili (Troll, i. 400-420) is not referred to 
 Lollius. Thus Lollius is consistently Boccaccio. 
 
 Though authors in the Middle Ages frequently quoted from 
 a source and referred, not to it, but to the most remote author 
 known to have written about that subject, Chaucer's reference 
 to Corinne (Anel. 21) is probably not an instance of the 
 practice. Chaucer gives his references to sources in good faith. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Amar et Lejiaire: P. Papinii Statii opera omnia. Vols. l-iv. Paris, 
 
 1825-30. 
 Bell, R.: Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer. 8 vols. London, 1854-56. 
 Boccaccio, Giovanni: Opere volgari. 17 vols. Firenze, 1827-34. Vol. 
 
 XIII. II Filostrato, vol. ix. La Teseide. 
 Bright, James W. : Mod. Lang. Assoc. PuUicat., December, 1904, p. xxii. 
 Carter, J. B. : Epitheta deorum quae apud poetas Latinos leguntur. 
 
 Leipzig, 1902 (Roscher's Lexikon). 
 Clark, A. C: Class. Rev. xiii. 119-30. 
 CoNSTANS, L. : La Legende d'(Edipe. Paris, 1880. 
 
 , Le Roman de Thebes public par L. Constans. Paris, 1890. 
 
 , {Societe des anciens textes francais. 2 vols.). 
 
 Engelmann, a.: De Statii Silvarum codicibus. Diss. Lips., 1902. 
 FuRNiVALL, F. J.: Temporary Preface to the Six-Text Edition. Chaucer 
 
 Society, 1868. 
 
 , Trial Foreivords to the Minor Poems. Chaucer Society, 1871. 
 
 Hamilton, G. L. : Chaucer's Indebtedness to Ouido delle Colonne. The 
 
 Columbia University Press, 1903. 
 KiSSNER, A. : Chaucer in semen Beziehungen zur italienischen Litteratwr. 
 
 Diss. Bonn, 1871. 
 Klotz: p. Papinius Statins, Achilleis. Rec. Lips., 1902. 
 Koch, J. : On an Original Versioii of the Knight's Tale. Chaucer Society 
 
 Essays, iv. 357 ff. 
 KoEPPEL, E.: Lydgate's Story of Thebes. Eine Quellenuntersu^hung. 
 
 Diss. Miinchen, 1884. 
 KoHLMANN, P.: P. Papinius Statins, Thebais. Rec. Lips., 1884. 
 KSlbing, E. : Zu Chaucer's Knightes Tale. Eng. Studien ii. 528-32. 
 Laci'ANTIUS Placidus : Commentarii in Statii Thebaida et commentarius 
 
 in Aehilleida. Rec. R. Jalmke. Lips., 1898. 
 Lewis, W. L.: Translation of Statius' Thebaid, in Chalmers' English 
 
 Poets, vol. XX. London, 1810. 
 Liddell, M. H.: Chaucer: Prologue, Knightes Tale, Nonnes Prestes Tale. 
 
 Ed. New York, 1901. 
 LouNSBURY, T. R. : Studies in Chaucer. 3 vols. New York, 1892. 
 Macaulay, G. C. : The Complete Works of John Gower. 4 vols. Ox- 
 ford, 1 899- 1902. 
 Meyee, Paul: Romania xxi. 107-09. 
 Riedner, G. : Typische Ausserungen der ram. Dichter iiber ihre Bega- 
 
 bung, ihren Beruf, und ihre Werke. Diss. Nurnberg, 1903. 
 
 143 
 
144 The Influence of Statins upon Chaucer. 
 
 RossETTi, W. M. : Chaucer's Troylus and Cryseyde compared icifh Boccac- 
 cio's Filostrato. Chaucer Society, 1875, 1883. 
 
 Skeat, W. W. : The Complete Works of Chaucer. 6 vols. Oxford, 
 1894-1900. 
 
 SoLERTi, A.: Storia Letteraria d'ltalia. Milano, 1904. 
 
 Todd, F. A. : De Musis in carminibus poetarum Romanorum commemo- 
 ratis. Diss. lenae, 190.3. 
 
 Ttrwhitt, T. : Canterbury Tales. 5 vols. London, 1822. 
 
 VoLLMER, F. : p. Papinii Statii Silvarum libri. Erkl. Leipzig, 1898. 
 
 Ward, H. : Marginal Notes to the Knightes Tale. Chaucer Society. Six- 
 Text Print. 
 
 Warren, F. M.: Mod. Lang. Assoc. Puhlicat. 1901, pp. 375-87. 
 
V....- 
 
 LIFE 
 
 I was born at Stephens City, Virginia, July 7tli, 1874. 
 After two years of preparatory study at Randolph-Macon 
 xVcademy, Front Royal, Va., I entered Randolph-Macon Col- 
 lege at Ashland, Va., in 1894, whence I graduated with the 
 degree of A. B. in 1897 and of A. M. in 1898. I then re- 
 turned to Randolph-Macon Academy as Instructor in Latin 
 and served in that capacity for three years. 
 
 In October, 1901, I was admitted as a graduate student 
 in the Johns Hopkins University, where I have since then 
 been pursuing courses in Latin, English, and German under 
 the instruction of Professors Kirby Flower Smith, James W. 
 Bright, Henry Wood, and Harry Langford Wilson. To these 
 my instructors, I am greatly indebted, and above others to 
 Professor Smith, who has been to me an inspiring teacher as 
 well as an example of scholarly method. 
 
 During the first two years of my attendance at this uni- 
 versity, I was one of the Virginia Scholars; and during the 
 last two years, I have been Fellow in the Department of Latin. 
 
 Boyd Ashby Wise. 
 Baltimore, May 1, 1905. 
 
)-^... 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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