"The Knight's Tale and Trecento Italian Historiography" by James H. McGregor appears in a book of essays on Chaucer and Boccaccio. In this essay, author McGregor cites his belief that Chaucer's "Knight's Tale" is based on the Italian "trecento" or history writing, along with some influences from Boccaccio's "Decameron" and "Teseida," along with Dante's Inferno. McGregor writes, "In looking at the background of the Knight's Tale then, Dante's view of history must be considered and so must the later vision of Boccaccio's Decameron" (McGregor 213). McGregor then summarizes the history in Dante's work and Boccaccio's works to help give some credence to his claims. He compares the "Knight's Tale" with these two works, showing areas that would seem familiar to Italian readers if they encountered Chaucer's work. In fact, Chaucer's knight tells the tale of Theseus, and so does "Teseida," which indicates how heavily Chaucer's work was influenced by Boccaccio. The author notes, "The central critical issue raised by the Knight's Tale becomes one of deciding how we are to interpret Chaucer's juxtaposition of the Knight's history with Boccaccio's story of Theseus's failure" (McGregor 220). He also notes that Chaucer introduces a historical context into the tale, something that is "rare" in the rest of the stories, and that the knight has a specific history, while the other travelers really do not (McGregor 221). He notes that Chaucer greatly condenses "Teseida," and that the knight's account of a man's humbling closely follows Boccaccio's text, but with some major differences, including the narration of the tale by another party, instead of self-narration. The author attempts to find meaning in Chaucer's work, and what Chaucer really meant by giving the knight a history and a story that seems to actually argue against chivalry, instead of for it, at least to some critics. The author notes, "The Knight espouses order, but his narrative dec...