트로일루스(Troilus)의 사랑 과정을 통해 본 운세와 섭리, 인간의 자유의지 문제

Abstract

De Consolatione Philosophiae written by Boethius at the fifth Century was loved by medieval people, especially medieval writers. Among many Boethian ideas discussed in this book, the relation of ‘Fortune-Fate-Providence’ and human will were favorite subjects of medieval literary works. According to Boethius, the lives of human beings go up and down repeatedly because changeable Fortune governs a human world directly. Even though Fortune’s precariousness is her typical character, she is also ruled by Fate, the representative of God’s Providence. Therefore everything in the world, even good fortune or bad fortune is under the influence of God's will and all are determined by God.But if everything in the world is determined by God, how can a human use his free will? Boethius tries to find the answers of this question in his book. In Troius and Criseyde, Chaucer also searches for this answer by rewriting the traditional love story of Troilus and Criseyde on the basis of Boethian Christian philosophy expressed in De Consolatione Philosophiae. In his efforts to find the answers, Chaucer even tries to forgive Criseyde by making her as the symbol of changeable Fortune and making her fault as a common shortcomings. This broad-minded understanding of Criseyde makes Chaucer a great poet and Troilus and Criseyde a truly magnificent achievement of literature.