“Verray Goddes Apes”: Troilus, Seynt Idiot, and Festive Culture

This paper examines the reference to ‘Seynt Idiot’ in Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, a blasphemous caricature of the God of Love which occurs in the first book. It identifies parallels between this epithet and the mock saints found in medieval inversion rituals, especially the continental sermons joyeux and other liturgical parodies. On the basis of these echoes, the paper argues that Seynt Idiot is being used to draw sarcastic parallels between love and the practices of medieval festive culture. The implications of this are discussed in detail, paying particular attention to the attitudes it implies towards the discourse of revelry.