摘要
《騎士的故事》(The Knight’s Tale)是十四世紀英國詩人喬叟(Geoffrey Chaucer)的傳奇文學作品。故事敘述者為一名甫自參加十字軍東征回來的騎士，講述希臘神話英雄特修斯(Theseus)所統治的雅典城中，阿賽特(Arcite)及帕拉蒙(Palamon)兩位年輕騎士戰俘為追求特修斯的小姨子愛蜜莉(Emelye)爭鋒相對、兄弟鬩牆的衝突，因而凸顯了作者在哲學與宗教層面上對生命意義的思維。喬叟《騎士的故事》是以十四世紀義大利詩人薄伽丘(Giovanni Boccaccio)所撰之《苔塞伊達》(Teseida)為藍本。《騎士的故事》承襲了《苔塞伊達》的故事情節，卻巧妙地轉化希臘神話與中世紀宗教觀。本論文旨意於探討喬叟如何以薄伽丘的《苔塞伊達》中的故事為經緯，透過「挪用」(appropriation)、「改編」(adaptation)等手法添加博伊塞斯(Boethius)《哲學的慰藉》(Consolation of Philosophy) 與基督教思維，完成一個貼近當時讀者的《騎士的故事》。喬叟改寫了薄伽丘筆下男女情愛糾葛，將之提升至探討生命意義、追尋永恆快樂的性靈層次。 本篇論文第一章簡介當代理論家Julie Sanders、Linda Hutcheon和Richard Rogers所提出關於「文化調適」(cultural appropriation)與「改編」或者「改寫」之論述。第二章討論故事中改編後的四篇演說，分別由阿賽特及帕拉蒙兩位騎士紓發對於自身遭遇的埋怨，以及特修斯公爵與其父親伊吉斯(Egeus)面對阿賽特之死所發表關於生命價值的感言。喬叟巧妙地將《哲學的慰藉》一書裡的文句加入這四篇演說中，使原本為愛苦惱的俗世議題聚焦於普世的生命意義探究。第三章探討喬叟如何改寫薄伽丘筆下帕拉蒙、愛蜜莉、阿賽特分別到三位希臘神衹祭壇的膜拜順序、方式，以及特定時間點。這些改寫透露了中世紀星象學「天上星體運行影響世間事」的觀念，再藉由討論喬叟在故事中添入眾神之祖—掌管土星的薩杜恩(Saturn)一角闡述天上眾神對於世人們命運的影響。 本篇論文結論：喬叟改編了薄伽丘的《苔塞伊達》寫成《騎士的故事》，雖重述了阿賽特與帕拉蒙爭奪愛人的故事，但藉由穿插《哲學的慰藉》中的哲學觀及基督教概念，喬叟將《騎士的故事》提升至更高的層面以探討生命無常之緣由，由此強化為何吾人應該追尋生命的真諦。
並列摘要
Based on Boccaccio’s Teseida, Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale is set in Athens in the kingdom of the mythological hero, Theseus, and depicts the love triangle relationship among two young captive knights—Arcite and Palamon—and Lady Emelye. In Chaucer’s story, the main characters’ pain and frustration toward sudden changes in life are much highlighted. This thesis aims to explore how Chaucer rewrites Boccaccio’s Teseida by assimilating the philosophy of Boethius and Christian values so as to understand the meaning of the poem. By reshaping Boccaccio’s story of love, Chaucer transforms Boccaccio’s epic-romance into a thought-provoking story in search of the meaning of life. Chapter One introduces the theoretical ground of this thesis: the theories on adaptation and cultural appropriation respectively suggested by Julie Sanders, Linda Hutcheon, and Richard Rogers. Chapter Two examines in particular the following four speeches in the tale: Arcite’s grievance speech on his freedom, Palamon’s bitter words on the release of Arcite from the prison house, Egeus’s and Theseus’s speeches on the death of Arcite and their diverse attitudes toward life and death. By recasting Boccaccio’s epic-romance, Chaucer aptly focuses on various philosophical discussions about the meaning of life in his romance. Chapter Three investigates Chaucer’s rearrangement of the sequence of prayings of Arcite, Palamon and Emelye in the temples of three pagan deities, Mars, Venus, and Diana. Chaucer’s illustrations of the pagan rituals may suggest that he is keen at the influence of the lore of astrology in his time. This thesis concludes that Chaucer rewrites Boccaccio’s Teseida by adapting Boethian and Christian philosophy of life so as to help his readers be aware of the transience in this life and to urge them to pursue the ultimate happiness.