Three artists will likely approach the same subject with different artistic purposes in mind. Just so, John Gower, Nicholas Trivet and Geoffrey Chaucer take different approaches to their versions of the popular fourteenth-century narrative of the wrongly accused queen Constance. Whereas Trivet’s version of the story is cast as history and Chaucer’s as a secular saint’s life, Gower’s version transforms the narrative into an exemplum that illustrates the virtue of Charity. A comparison of the three versions will reveal how Gower purposefully infuses his narrative with pastoral rhetoric. In doing so, he transforms the figure of Constance into a representative of charity who initiates religious conversions and forms familial bonds despite the actions of her envious enemies.

Trivet’s ‘Of the Noble Lady Constance’, a richly detailed history, appears in Les cronicles, dedicated to the English Princess Mary of Woodstock. Presumably the source for both Chaucer and Gower, Trivet’s Constance narrative is embedded deeply in Les cronicles and begins and ends with accounts of the establishment of Moriz, Constance’s son, as Roman emperor. Laura Bare-field describes Trivet’s use of female characters such as Constance as providing ‘origins for dynasties and intercessors in the succession process’. Trivet’s emphasis on Constance’s relationship to Moriz indicates that the purpose of his Constance narrative is historical and political: to establish a worthy bloodline for Moriz as future emperor.