''Troy Book'' is a

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

poem by John Lydgate relating the history of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

from its foundation through to the end of the Trojan War. It is in five books, comprising 30,117 lines in ten-syllable couplets. The poem's major source is Guido delle Colonne's '' Historia destructionis Troiae''.

Background

''Troy Book'' was Lydgate's first full-scale work. It was commissioned from Lydgate by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(later Henry V), who wanted a poem that would show the English language to be as fit for a grand theme as the other major literary languages,

Ywriten as wel in oure langage
As in Latyn and in Frensche it is.

Lydgate tells us that he began writing the poem at four o'clock on the afternoon of Monday, 31 October 1412; he completed it in 1420. It has been argued that Lydgate intended ''Troy Book'' as an attempt to outdo Chaucer's Trojan romance '' Troilus and Criseyde'', and certainly the frequent recurrence of tributes to Chaucer's excellence as a poet is a notable feature of the poem. The poem emphasizes the disastrous results of political discord and militarism, and also presents the conventional medieval themes of the power of Fortune to influence earthly affairs and the vanity of worldly things.

Publication

''Troy Book'' survives in 23 manuscripts, testifying to the popularity of the poem during the 15th century. It was printed first by Richard Pynson in 1513, and second by Thomas Marshe in 1555. A modernized version sometimes attributed to Thomas Heywood, called ''The Life and Death of Hector'', appeared in 1614. ''Troy Book'' exercised an influence on Robert Henryson, Thomas Kyd, and Christopher Marlowe, and was one of Shakespeare's sources for '' Troilus and Cressida''.

Criticism

Modern critics have generally made moderate claims for ''Troy Book''’s literary merit. Antony Gibbs judged the poem to be of uneven quality, adding that "its couplet form indulges Lydgate's fatal garrulity." Douglas Gray found some good writing to praise, and particularly singled out the eloquence and pathos of some of Lydgate's rhetorical laments, descriptions, and speeches.

Reference edition

The reference edition of ''Troy Book'' is that by Henry Bergen, published as volumes 97, 103, 106 and 126 of the Early English Text Society Extra Series between 1906 and 1935.Lydgate 1998
p. 18. An excellent, abridged online edition of the "Troy Book" with substantial glosses to aid modern readers is available from th
Middle English Texts Series
edited by Robert R. Edwards.

Modern renditions

Two self-published modernised versions of ''Troy Book'' are available: * ''John Lydgate's Troy Book: A Middle English Iliad'' (The Troy Myth in Medieval Britain Book 1) by D M Smith (2019 Kindle) - complete * ''John Lydgate Troy Book: The Legend of the Trojan War'' by D.J. Favager (2019 Kindle) - complete

Notes

Sources

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External links

* ttps://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/publication/edwards-lydgate-troy-book-selections The TEAMS editionbr>Online abbreviated version in modern English verse by D.J. Favager
{{Authority control Epic poems in English 1420 books 15th-century poems Middle English poems Poems about cities Trojan War literature