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Article: Chaucer, Boccaccio, and the Debate of Love: A Comparative Study of the 'Decameron' and the 'Canterbury Tales.'
- Article from:
- Medium Aevum
- Article date:
- September 22, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Society for the Study of Mediaeval Languages and Literature. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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N. S. Thompson, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996). x + 354 PP. ISBN 0-19-812378-7. 40.00 [pounds sterling].
`Did Chaucer know the Decameron?' With that century-old question Nigel S. Thompson opens the introduction to a book-length attempt to show, sort of, that Chaucer probably, most likely, maybe did know the Decameron -- that is, if readers are convinced by evidence, none of it `positive'. I do not mean to be flippant in my summary of a long and involved book, but the uncertainty of Thompson's conclusion about a subject that has consumed him for some years is no doubt as frustrating for him as it will be for his readers. Most readers will appreciate Thompson's ...