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Which works by Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio influenced Geoffrey Chaucer?
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Geoffrey Chaucer
English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales.
During his diplomatic missions to Italy in the 1370s, Geoffrey Chaucer encountered the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio, which profoundly influenced his later writing.1
His specific literary debts include:
- Boccaccio: Chaucer’s major narrative poem Troilus and Criseyde was based on Boccaccio’s Il filostrato, while his "Knight’s Tale" in The Canterbury Tales was derived from Boccaccio’s Teseida.23
- Petrarch: Chaucer drew upon a story from Petrarch for the substance of "The Clerk’s Tale".2
- Dante: While Chaucer was acquainted with Dante’s writings, his influence is often noted in the broader development of Chaucer's narrative skill and philosophical depth, rather than a direct adaptation of a single specific work.21