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Troilus and Criseyde was a story written by Geoffrey Chaucer, featuring the two title characters Troilus and Criseyde. (PROSE: Troilus and Cressida [+]Loading...["Troilus and Cressida (short story)"])
The eight-year-old William Shakespeare was familiar with the tale, calling it "part of tradition". The adult Shakespeare went on to write the play Troilus and Cressida which borrowed heavily from Chaucer's material.
When the young Shakespeare met the real Troilus and Cressida in the company of the Eighth Doctor in 1183 BC Troy, the Doctor realised Shakespeare was due to write Troilus and Cressida in a few years and, concerned about history, he enlisted Charley to get Shakespeare drunk enough for him to forget any details he might have learnt about the pair the next morning. After the Doctor came under attack for his suspicious behaviour, he explained his peculiar actions at which point Shakespeare laughed and explained in disbelief at the Doctor's ignorance that his efforts had been unnecessary on account of the story not originating with him, with Geoffrey Chaucer having told it years prior. This forced the Doctor to admit that he had never actually read Troilus and Cressida. (PROSE: Apocrypha Bipedium [+]Loading...["Apocrypha Bipedium (short story)"])
The Prologue in a variant version of Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, who was based upon the First Doctor, stated that he and Susan had a copy of Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde which was bought from a barrow on the Goldhawk Road. (PROSE: Troilus and Cressida [+]Loading...["Troilus and Cressida (short story)"])