The Medieval Tradition of Thebes

As the story of the war between the sons of Oedipus and their cursed race, the Theban legend rivaled that of Troy in popularity and importance for medieval poets and audiences. Dominique Battles explores the vernacular Theban narratives of the Middle Ages, including the Old French Roman de Thebes (1154), Boccaccio's Teseida , Chaucer's Theban poems (Anelida and Arcite (1370s), the Knights Tale , and the Theban subtext of the Troilus (1380s)), and John Lydgate's Siege of Thebes (1422). The Mediev