What is rhyme royal, and how did Geoffrey Chaucer use it?

Rhyme royal is a seven-line stanza written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ababbcc. While the name is traditionally associated with The Kingis Quair by James I of Scotland, the form is also frequently referred to as Troilus verse or the Troilus stanza due to its prominent use by Geoffrey Chaucer.123

Chaucer is credited with introducing this form into English verse during the 14th century, likely adapting it from the work of the French poet Guillaume de Machaut. He famously employed rhyme royal in his major narrative works, most notably Troilus and Criseyde and The Parlement of Foules. By utilizing this structure, Chaucer helped establish it as a favored form for long narrative poetry, a tradition that continued through the 16th century.1