passivity as the norm for wifely conduct. In 1374, it was translated into Latin by Petrarch, who quotes the heroine, Griselda, as an exemplum of that most feminine of virtues, constancy. Circa 1382–1389, Philippe de Mézières translated Petrarch's Latin text into French, adding a prologue which describes Griselda as an allegory of the Christian soul's unquestioning love for Jesus Christ. As far as Chaucer is concerned, critics think he used both Petrarch's and de Mézières's texts, while managing to recapture Boccaccio's opaque irony. Anne Middleton is one of many scholars to discuss the relationship between Petrarch's original and Chaucer's reworking of the tale. Footnotes External links Read "The Clerk's Prologue and Tale" with interlinear translation "The Clerk's Prologue and Tale", middle-english hypertext with glossary and side-by-side middle english and modern english Clerk's Tale