modern english translation: "o moral gower, i permit this book to you, and to you, philosophical strode, to correct, away from your benevolence and zealous goodness." it is quite possible that troilus and criseyde was dedicated to "philosophical" (in one of the manuscripts: "logical") strode because the philosopher introduced chaucer to some of the basic philosophical distinctions between late medieval nominalism and realism. thus, chaucer's literary nominalism in his longest complete poem may well be due to his acquaintance with strode.