To introduce John Lydgate's landmark poem the Troy Book to students and
non-specialist readers, the editor has selected the essential passages
from the poem and bridges any gaps with textual summaries. Also included
are an introduction, gloss, notes, and a glossary. John Lydgate, a monk
of the great Benedictine abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, began
composing the poem, an ambitious attempt at recounting the Trojan War in
Middle English, in October 1412 on commission from Henry, Prince of
Wales (later King Henry V), and completed it in 1420. The poem is an
interesting study for those interested in medieval approaches to
classical sources, as well as for its often contradictory and
complicated take on contemporary chivalry.