Canterbury Tales Notes
MAN OF LAW’S TALE:
Summary:
In the prologue, the Host notes the morning is quickly passing – he uses legal language
to exhort the Man of Law to fulfil his contract and acquit himself of his debt
o The Man of Law protests that Chaucer has already written about all the good
stories of the world and has left nothing else to be told – he is a plain spoken
man who won’t use rhyme
o He introduces his tale as one he heard from a merchant long ago
While in Rome, a company of Syrian merchants hear of the emperor's daughter, Dame
Constance, who is the epitome of beauty, goodness, and innocence
The merchants share their adventures with the young Syrian ruler, the Sultan, who is
captivated by the descriptions of Lady Constance
o He decides to have Constance for a wife, and because a Christian emperor will
not form an alliance with a Muslim nation, the Sultan is baptized and instructs his
subjects to become Christians too
‘Rather than that I lose/ The Lady Constance, I will be baptized’ (‘Rather
than I lese/ Custance, I wol be cristned’)
Constance is close to despair at leaving her friends, family, and Rome but commends
herself to the journey to be a dutiful daughter
o She relies on ‘Jesus Christ who died for our salvation,/ Give me the strength of
purpose to fulfill/ His wishes’ (‘But Crist, that starf for our redempcion / So yeve
me grace his heestes to fulfille’)
The Sultan's mother would rather die than give up her religion for the sake of a foreign
girl, she arranges with her councilors to pretend to accept the new religion until the
wedding feast, when they’ll attack and slay the Christians
At the celebration the evil conspirators kill all the Christians, including the young Sultan
Lady Constance escapes death and is placed on a well-provisioned ship and cast upon
the sea
After ‘a year and a day’ of roaming the sea, the ship lands in the northern isle of
Northumberland, where a constable and his wife find Constance and take her in
o Northumberland is a pagan land, so Constance keeps her faith a secret
o The constable's wife, Hermengild, then becomes a Christian, the constable
observes Hermengild and Constance performing a miracle, he joins
A young knight sees Constance and is filled with lustful desires but spurned and
manipulated by Satan, the knight slits Hermengild's throat and leaves the murder
weapon in Constance's bed
The constable takes Constance before the king, Alla, who rules with a wise and firm
hand – she is sentenced to death but when the knight swears on holy books that she is
guilty, he is struck dead a voice says the king has unjustly judged a disciple of Christ
o Awe-stricken, the pagans convert to Christianity
Soon, King Alla and Constance fall in love and are married and whilst he is away at war,
Constance gives birth to a son
o The king's mother, Donegild, replaces the happy message with letters of her own,
saying that the king's son was born deformed
, King Alla says he will accept the child, but Donegild writes another false message saying
that the king's will is to the have the child destroyed
o Horrified, Constance sails away with her son – when Alla returns he discovers the
false messages and has Donegild executed
Meanwhile, the emperor of Rome ( Constance's father) hears the tragic news of the
death of the Christians, and sends an army to Syria to revenge their deaths
As the Romans return to Rome, they spy the vessel steered by Constance – they don’t
recognise her but take her to Rome – she has lost her memory
The grief-stricken King Alla makes a pilgrimage to Rome to seek penance
o While in the company of the noble senator, he sees a child who bears a strong
resemblance to Constance
o He soon after learns of the circumstances of Constance's arrival and, going to her
dwelling place, repudiates the false messages and convinces her of his love for
both her and their son
After their joyous reunion, Constance, miraculously regaining her memory, kneels before
the emperor and confesses that she is his daughter
Alla and Constance return to Northumberland, but within a year, Alla is dead
Constance and her son return to Rome, where the child, upon the death of his
grandfather, becomes the emperor
After the Man of Law had finished, the Host proclaims the tale a first class story and
turns to the Priest for a tale, but the Priest is offended by the Host's swearing
The Host then refers to the Priest in a slightly satiric tone, calling him a "Johnny" and a
"Lollard"
The Skipper interrupts, saying that he has a tale to tell but that his tale won't be about
philosophy
o The content of this epilogue sounds as though the next tale will therefore be the
Shipman's, but Chaucer abandoned this idea
Analysis:
Theme of the tale is constancy – a term that is interchangeable in medieval times with
patience
Constance is the spiritual antithesis of the Wife of Bath, whose tale usually follows this
one – it exemplifies endurance in adversity and trust in God
o The power and safety that comes with Christian constancy – devotion to God
Poem opens with a contrast between the wealth of this world – characterised by the
wealthy Syrian merchants and the Sultan – and the wealth of the spirit (summed up in
the character of Constance)
Constance tolerates many ills (grief, abandonment, the cruelty of Fortune) knowing
she’ll be rewarded in the next world
Puzzling why Chaucer has the Man of Law pretend that he can’t handle rhymes, yet his
tale is told in seven-line stanzas of rhymed iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of
ababbcc, technically called Rime Royal, (used in Troilus)
THE CLERK’S TALE:
, Summary:
Host turns to Clerk from Oxford and asks him to tell a story – one he heard from a
gentleman named Francis Petrarch from Padua
o Francis Petrarch (1303-74) was an Italian poet and humanist
Part 1
o On the Western shores of Italy lives Walter, the noble and gracious king who is
handsome, young, and strong – Walter loves freedom and refuses to be bound
by marriage his subjects still long for an heir
o A delegation of lords beseech Walter to seek a wife – he agrees and grants the
lords the right to choose the day and he will choose the bridge
Part 2
o The wedding day arrives, Walter visits a poor man (Janicula) who has a beautiful
daughter (Griselda) and asks for permission to marry her – he receives both’s
consent
He makes one condition: that Griselda obey his will even if it causes her
pain
They marry and Griselda gives birth to a daughter
Part 3
o The king resolves to banish any doubt about Griselda’s loyalty by taking away her
child – it doesn’t change her love for him
Part 4
o Four years pass and Griselda bears a son – Walter uses the same test and
Griselda takes the decision patiently
o When their children are 12 and 7, Walter tests her again by giving himself
permission to marry another woman – he orders that his daughter and son are
brought home
Part 5
o Griselda accepts the new of the marriage with a sad heart but returns to her
father’s house
Part 6
o Griselda prepares the young girl (her own daughter) for the wedding
o Walter confesses to Griselda that they are her children – Griselda is the most
patient and steadfast woman
o They live their lives in bliss, Walter’s son succeeds to the throne
Chaucer warns husbands not to test the patience of their wives in hope of finding a
Griselda ‘for in certein, ye shal faille’
Chaucer also warns wives not to allow humility to nail shut their tongues for fear of
finding themselves
Analysis:
Chaucer uses the prologue to explain the techniques used in a good story:
o No abstruse boring meditations
o No moralizing about sins
o No high rhetorical flourishes – only plain and direct speech
This story is told as a result of the Wife of Bath’s story – the opposite view: that of a
woman who is completely submissive to her husband, never loses her patience, and
remains steadfast through all adversities
MAN OF LAW’S TALE:
Summary:
In the prologue, the Host notes the morning is quickly passing – he uses legal language
to exhort the Man of Law to fulfil his contract and acquit himself of his debt
o The Man of Law protests that Chaucer has already written about all the good
stories of the world and has left nothing else to be told – he is a plain spoken
man who won’t use rhyme
o He introduces his tale as one he heard from a merchant long ago
While in Rome, a company of Syrian merchants hear of the emperor's daughter, Dame
Constance, who is the epitome of beauty, goodness, and innocence
The merchants share their adventures with the young Syrian ruler, the Sultan, who is
captivated by the descriptions of Lady Constance
o He decides to have Constance for a wife, and because a Christian emperor will
not form an alliance with a Muslim nation, the Sultan is baptized and instructs his
subjects to become Christians too
‘Rather than that I lose/ The Lady Constance, I will be baptized’ (‘Rather
than I lese/ Custance, I wol be cristned’)
Constance is close to despair at leaving her friends, family, and Rome but commends
herself to the journey to be a dutiful daughter
o She relies on ‘Jesus Christ who died for our salvation,/ Give me the strength of
purpose to fulfill/ His wishes’ (‘But Crist, that starf for our redempcion / So yeve
me grace his heestes to fulfille’)
The Sultan's mother would rather die than give up her religion for the sake of a foreign
girl, she arranges with her councilors to pretend to accept the new religion until the
wedding feast, when they’ll attack and slay the Christians
At the celebration the evil conspirators kill all the Christians, including the young Sultan
Lady Constance escapes death and is placed on a well-provisioned ship and cast upon
the sea
After ‘a year and a day’ of roaming the sea, the ship lands in the northern isle of
Northumberland, where a constable and his wife find Constance and take her in
o Northumberland is a pagan land, so Constance keeps her faith a secret
o The constable's wife, Hermengild, then becomes a Christian, the constable
observes Hermengild and Constance performing a miracle, he joins
A young knight sees Constance and is filled with lustful desires but spurned and
manipulated by Satan, the knight slits Hermengild's throat and leaves the murder
weapon in Constance's bed
The constable takes Constance before the king, Alla, who rules with a wise and firm
hand – she is sentenced to death but when the knight swears on holy books that she is
guilty, he is struck dead a voice says the king has unjustly judged a disciple of Christ
o Awe-stricken, the pagans convert to Christianity
Soon, King Alla and Constance fall in love and are married and whilst he is away at war,
Constance gives birth to a son
o The king's mother, Donegild, replaces the happy message with letters of her own,
saying that the king's son was born deformed
, King Alla says he will accept the child, but Donegild writes another false message saying
that the king's will is to the have the child destroyed
o Horrified, Constance sails away with her son – when Alla returns he discovers the
false messages and has Donegild executed
Meanwhile, the emperor of Rome ( Constance's father) hears the tragic news of the
death of the Christians, and sends an army to Syria to revenge their deaths
As the Romans return to Rome, they spy the vessel steered by Constance – they don’t
recognise her but take her to Rome – she has lost her memory
The grief-stricken King Alla makes a pilgrimage to Rome to seek penance
o While in the company of the noble senator, he sees a child who bears a strong
resemblance to Constance
o He soon after learns of the circumstances of Constance's arrival and, going to her
dwelling place, repudiates the false messages and convinces her of his love for
both her and their son
After their joyous reunion, Constance, miraculously regaining her memory, kneels before
the emperor and confesses that she is his daughter
Alla and Constance return to Northumberland, but within a year, Alla is dead
Constance and her son return to Rome, where the child, upon the death of his
grandfather, becomes the emperor
After the Man of Law had finished, the Host proclaims the tale a first class story and
turns to the Priest for a tale, but the Priest is offended by the Host's swearing
The Host then refers to the Priest in a slightly satiric tone, calling him a "Johnny" and a
"Lollard"
The Skipper interrupts, saying that he has a tale to tell but that his tale won't be about
philosophy
o The content of this epilogue sounds as though the next tale will therefore be the
Shipman's, but Chaucer abandoned this idea
Analysis:
Theme of the tale is constancy – a term that is interchangeable in medieval times with
patience
Constance is the spiritual antithesis of the Wife of Bath, whose tale usually follows this
one – it exemplifies endurance in adversity and trust in God
o The power and safety that comes with Christian constancy – devotion to God
Poem opens with a contrast between the wealth of this world – characterised by the
wealthy Syrian merchants and the Sultan – and the wealth of the spirit (summed up in
the character of Constance)
Constance tolerates many ills (grief, abandonment, the cruelty of Fortune) knowing
she’ll be rewarded in the next world
Puzzling why Chaucer has the Man of Law pretend that he can’t handle rhymes, yet his
tale is told in seven-line stanzas of rhymed iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of
ababbcc, technically called Rime Royal, (used in Troilus)
THE CLERK’S TALE:
, Summary:
Host turns to Clerk from Oxford and asks him to tell a story – one he heard from a
gentleman named Francis Petrarch from Padua
o Francis Petrarch (1303-74) was an Italian poet and humanist
Part 1
o On the Western shores of Italy lives Walter, the noble and gracious king who is
handsome, young, and strong – Walter loves freedom and refuses to be bound
by marriage his subjects still long for an heir
o A delegation of lords beseech Walter to seek a wife – he agrees and grants the
lords the right to choose the day and he will choose the bridge
Part 2
o The wedding day arrives, Walter visits a poor man (Janicula) who has a beautiful
daughter (Griselda) and asks for permission to marry her – he receives both’s
consent
He makes one condition: that Griselda obey his will even if it causes her
pain
They marry and Griselda gives birth to a daughter
Part 3
o The king resolves to banish any doubt about Griselda’s loyalty by taking away her
child – it doesn’t change her love for him
Part 4
o Four years pass and Griselda bears a son – Walter uses the same test and
Griselda takes the decision patiently
o When their children are 12 and 7, Walter tests her again by giving himself
permission to marry another woman – he orders that his daughter and son are
brought home
Part 5
o Griselda accepts the new of the marriage with a sad heart but returns to her
father’s house
Part 6
o Griselda prepares the young girl (her own daughter) for the wedding
o Walter confesses to Griselda that they are her children – Griselda is the most
patient and steadfast woman
o They live their lives in bliss, Walter’s son succeeds to the throne
Chaucer warns husbands not to test the patience of their wives in hope of finding a
Griselda ‘for in certein, ye shal faille’
Chaucer also warns wives not to allow humility to nail shut their tongues for fear of
finding themselves
Analysis:
Chaucer uses the prologue to explain the techniques used in a good story:
o No abstruse boring meditations
o No moralizing about sins
o No high rhetorical flourishes – only plain and direct speech
This story is told as a result of the Wife of Bath’s story – the opposite view: that of a
woman who is completely submissive to her husband, never loses her patience, and
remains steadfast through all adversities
