<P> Troilus and Criseyde (/ ˈtrɔɪləs...ˈkrɛsɪdə /) is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the Siege of Troy . It was composed using rime royale and probably completed during the mid 1380s . Many Chaucer scholars regard it as the poet's finest work . As a finished long poem it is more self - contained than the better known but ultimately unfinished Canterbury Tales . This poem is often considered the source of the phrase: "all good things must come to an end" (3.615). </P> <P> Although Troilus is a character from Ancient Greek literature, the expanded story of him as a lover was of Medieval origin . The first known version is from Benoît de Sainte - Maure's poem Roman de Troie, but Chaucer's principal source appears to have been Boccaccio who re-wrote the tale in his Il Filostrato . Chaucer attributes the story to a "Lollius" (whom he also mentions in The House of Fame), although no writer with this name is known . Chaucer's version can be said to reflect a less cynical and less misogynistic world - view than Boccaccio's, casting Criseyde as fearful and sincere rather than simply fickle and having been led astray by the eloquent and perfidious Pandarus . It also inflects the sorrow of the story with humour . </P>

Who said all good things must come to an end