The Book of the Duchess is the first major work of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (l. c. 1343-1400 CE), best known for his masterpiece The Canterbury Tales, composed in the last twelve years of his life and left unfinished at his death. The Canterbury Tales, first published c. 1476 CE by William Caxton, became so popular that Chaucer's earlier work was overshadowed, only receiving critical attention much later and popular notice as late as the 19th century CE.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original content at https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1374/chaucers-the-book-of-the-duchess-full-text--summar/.