[1809]. The nine Muses. Helicon was a long way from Mount Parnassus; but see notes to Anelida, 15, and Ho. Fame, 521.
[1817]. 'As it pleases my author to relate.'
BOOK IV.
The following scheme gives some notion of the relationship of the contents of this book to the Filostrato, but Chaucer constantly expands and adds to the original, and not unfrequently transposes the order of the text.
| Troilus: Book IV. | Filostrato. |
| 1-10. | Bk. III. st. 94. |
| 29-35. | Bk. IV. st. 1. |
| 47-110. | " 2-10. |
| 127-166. | " 12-16. |
| 211-217. | " 17. |
| 218-385. | " 22, 23, 26-46. |
| 393-406. | " 47, 48. |
| 414-451. | " 49, 50. |
| 459-497. | " 52, 54, 56-58. |
| 501-787. | " 60-89, 92, 93, 88-91. |
| 799-821. | " 95, 96. |
| 848-925, 939-946. | " 98-109 (l. 1). |
| 1089-1095, 1108-1260. | " 109 (l. 4)-127. |
| 1310-1400. | " 131-136. |
| 1422-1446. | " 137-140. |
| 1464-1542, 1555-1694. | " 141-167. |
[1]. In the Proem, ll. 1-3 correspond to Fil. iii. st. 94, ll. 1-3; and ll. 8 and 10 to the same stanza, ll. 4 and 7. The rest is original.
[3]. Cf. Boethius, lib. ii. Pr. 1: 'Intelligo ... illius [Fortunae] ... cum his, quos eludere nititur, blandissimam familiaritatem.'
[5]. hent and blent, for hendeth and blendeth, catches and blinds.
[6, 7]. Cf. Boethius, lib. ii. Met. 2: 'Ultroque gemitus, dura quos fecit [Fortuna], ridet.' Whence, in Le Roman de la Rose, 8076-9, the passage which Chaucer here imitates; the mowe = F. la moe.
[22]. Herines i. e. Furies; used as the pl. of Erynis or Erinnys; see note to Compl. to Pite, 92. Their names (see l. 24) were Megaera, Alecto, and Tisiphone. Bell's remark, that Chaucer found these names in Boccaccio, does not seem to be founded on fact. He more likely found them in Vergil, who has Erinnys, Æn. ii. 336, 573; vii. 447, 570; Alecto, id. vii. 324, 341, 405, 415, 445, 476; Megæra, id. xii. 846; Tisiphone, vi. 571, x. 761. But I suppose that, even in Chaucer's time, MS. note-books existed, containing such information as the names of the Furies. Chaucer even knew that some (as Æschylus) considered them to be the daughters of Night.