Testament of Cresseid

Testament of Cresseid
   by Robert Henryson
(late 15th century)
   The most important poem by the Scottish poet Robert Henryson is his Testament of Cresseid, Henryson’s alternative ending to CHAUCER’s TROILUS AND CRISEYDE. A 616-line poem in rhyme royal stanzas emulating the text that inspired it, the poem begins as do Chaucer’s own dream visions, The BOOK OF THE DUCHESS and The PARLIAMENT OF FOWLS, with the narrator reading a book—in this case the Troilus itself. Noting that Chaucer had left Cresseid’s fate untold, Henryson declares his intention to write his own tragedy of Cresseid’s end. The story begins as Diomede has tired of Cresseid and forsaken her. An alien “fallen” woman in an enemy camp, she is forced to move in with her father Calchas, and there blasphemously complains against Cupid and Venus, blaming them for her problems. The gods, in their function as planets, meet in council as they do in Chaucer’s KNIGHT’S TALE, and decide that Saturn and the Moon must inflict punishment on Cresseid for her blasphemy. Saturn takes away her beauty and her joy, while the Moon strikes her with leprosy—a disease that in Henryson’s day would have been equated with syphilis. In the leper house, Cresseid delivers a memorable COMPLAINT on the common theme of the transience of earthly happiness. One day, as Cresseid sits on the side of the road begging, Troilus rides by and, though he fails to recognize her, is reminded of his lost love when he sees her, and throws a handful of gold and jewels in her lap. After he leaves, another leper tells her that her benefactor was Troilus himself. Cresseid, realizing at last Troilus’s true love for her, a love that she forsook to follow her own lusts and therefore subjected herself to the vicissitudes of Fortune, is moved to make her last will and testament. Here, she accepts responsibility for her downfall, leaving her worldly fortune to the lepers and sending Troilus a ring he had given her.
   Ultimately the poem uses Chaucer’s Troilus as its background, but alters the ending, leaving off Troilus’s death at the hands of Achilles. In his 1532 edition of Chaucer,William Thynne printed Henryson’s poem as Book 6 of Troilus and Criseyde. That custom continued through several later editions of Chaucer.

Encyclopedia of medieval literature. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Testament of Cresseid — one of the great works of northern renaissance literature, was written by the Scottish poet Robert Henryson. It sets out to complete the story of Cressida left unfinished by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Troilus and Criseyde . It has been generally ad …   Wikipedia

  • testament — /tes teuh meuhnt/, n. 1. Law. a. a will, esp. one that relates to the disposition of one s personal property. b. will2 (def. 8). 2. either of the two major portions of the Bible: the Mosaic or old covenant or dispensation, or the Christian or new …   Universalium

  • Troilus — [ Etruscan fresco, Tomb of the Bulls, Tarquinia, c540 530BC.] Troilus (also Troilos, Troylus) (Ancient Greek: Τρωίλος, Troïlos, Latin: Troilus) is a legendary character associated with the story of the Trojan War. The first surviving reference to …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Henryson — was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c.1460 – 1500. Counted among the Scots Makars, he lived in the historic city of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the northern renaissance at a time when Scotland was on a cusp between… …   Wikipedia

  • Henryson, Robert — (ca. 1425–ca. 1505)    Robert Henryson was the outstanding Scottish poet of the 15th century, and author of one of the finest late medieval narrative tragedies, The Testament of Cresseid. For centuries Henryson was classified among a group of… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Cressida — For other uses, see Cressida (disambiguation). Cressida depicted by Thomas Kirk Cressida (also Criseida, Cresseid or Criseyde) is a character who appears in many Medieval and Renaissance retellings of the story of the Trojan War. She is a Trojan… …   Wikipedia

  • Rhyme royal — (or Rime royal) is a rhyming stanza form that was introduced into English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. Contents 1 Form 2 History 3 Some examples 4 …   Wikipedia

  • Robert Henryson —     Robert Henryson     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Robert Henryson     Scottish poet, born probably 1420 1430; died about 1500.     His birthplace, parentage, and place of education are unknown, but it is conjectured that he may have been at some… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Geoffrey Chaucer — Chaucer redirects here. For other uses, see Chaucer (disambiguation). Geoffrey Chaucer …   Wikipedia

  • Benoît de Sainte-Maure — French literature By category French literary history Medieval 16th century  …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”