Abstract
This article reconsiders Chaucer's use of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy in his Troilus and Criseyde. Chaucer criticism has often viewed the Consolation as a work of secular philosophy, but I argue that Chaucer shows awareness of, and interest in, the religious subtext of this important source. I focus on the two most substantial Boethian borrowings in Troilus—Troilus's hymn in Book III and his predestination speech in Book IV—and analyze these passages in light of Chaucer's translation practice in the Boece and the evidence of a significant Boece manuscript, Cambridge University Library MS Ii. 3. 21. My claim is that Chaucer's nuanced interpretation of the Consolation enables him to present Troilus as a genuinely Boethian hero who channels philosophical insight into religious devotion.
