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GUIDO, GUYDO. Guido de Columpnis, fl. thirteenth century, also known as Guido de Columnis or Guido delle Colonne, was a poet of the Sicilian school of poetry. He was born probably at Messina, where he became a judge. He died in 1287, the year he paraphrased Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie and called it Historia destructionis Troiae. It is written in Latin prose in thirty-one books, full of learned digressions and moral reflections not found in Benoît's poem. Guido does not mention Benoît but cites Dares and Dictys as his sources.

Guido "eek de Columpnis" stands on a pillar of iron, the metal of Mars, because he has written on the Trojan War, HF III.1469. Chaucer cites Guido as one of his sources for the story of Jason, LGW 1396, which takes up Book I of the Historia. Chaucer says that Guido tells nothing of Jason's adventures with Ysiphile, LGW 1464. Contrary to Chaucer, who shows distaste for Jason, Guido concentrates on Medea, whom he portrays as the paradigm of the wicked woman. [Dares Frygius: Dite]

Guido appears in medial position, LGW 1396; Guydo, a spelling variant, appears in medial position, HF III.1469, and in final rhyming position, LGW 1464.


C.D. Benson, The History of Troy in Middle English Literature: Guido delle Colonne's Historia destructionis Troiae in Medieval England; ibid., "'O Nyce World': What Chaucer Really Found in Guido delle Colonne's History of Troy." ChauR 13 (1979): 308-315; G.A. Cesareo, Le origine delle poesia lirica, 149-157; Guido delle Colonne, Guido de Columnis: HDT, ed. N.E. Griffin; ibid., HDT, trans. with introd. and notes by M.E. Meek.
From CHAUCER NAME DICTIONARY
Copyright © 1988, 1996 Jacqueline de Weever
Published by Garland Publishing, Inc., New York and London.

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