The Franklin's Tale
Synopsis
A medieval franklin was free, non-serf yet did not have noble status, and this pilgrim's words when interrupting the Squire are often seen as displaying his sense of an inferior social status.
The story opens and closes by recounting how two lovers, Arveragus and Dorigen, decide that their marriage should be one of equal partnership, although they agree that, in public, Arveragus should appear to have overall authority to preserve his high status. Arveragus then travels to Britain to seek honour and fame. He leaves Dorigen alone in France near the coastal town of Pedmark (today
While Arveragus is absent, Dorigen is courted against her will by another suitor, a squire named Aurelius. Finally, to get rid of him and in a lighthearted mood, she makes a rash promise and tells Aurelius that he might have her love providing he can dispose of all the rocks on the coast of Brittany. Aurelius finally manages to secure the services of a magician-scholar of the arcane arts, who, taking pity on the young man, for the princely sum of a thousand pounds agrees "thurgh his magik" to make all the rocks "aweye" "for a wyke or tweye" (possibly by association with an exceptionally high tide).[2]
When the "rokkes" vanish, Aurelius confronts Dorigen and demands that she fulfil her bargain. By this time Arveragus has returned safely. Dorigen lists numerous examples of legendary women who committed suicide to maintain their honour. Dorigen explains her moral predicament to her husband who calmly says that in good conscience she must go and keep her promise to Aurelius.
When Aurelius hears from a distraught Dorigen that Arveragus has told her to fulfil her promise, he releases Dorigen from her oath. The magician-scholar is so moved by Aurelius' story that he cancels the enormous debt that Aurelius owes him. The tale concludes with a demande d'amour, asking 'which was the mooste fre?' (1622) - who acted most nobly, or generously?
Background to the tale
This is fitting for a writer like Chaucer who wrote a book (for his son Lewis) on the use of the
While the idea of the magical disappearance of rocks has a variety of potential sources, there is no direct source for the rest of the story. The rocks possibly come from the legends of
Commentary
On the theme in the
References
- ^ Robinson FN (ed). The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, London. 1957. pp. 723 n. 801.
- ^ Chaucer G. The Franklin's Tale. Hodgson P (ed). The Athlone Press. University of London (1961) p. 590. paras 579–600.
- ^ Spearing AC. Introduction to The Geoffrey Chaucer. The Franklin's Prologue and Tale. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1997. pp2-4.
- ^ John Gardner. The Life and Times of Chaucer. Jonathan Cape, London. 1977. p88.
- ^ Olson D. W., Laird E. S., Lytle T. E. "High tides and the Canterbury Tales". Sky and Telescope 2000; April: 44.
- ^ Robinson F. N. (ed). The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, London. 1957. pp. 721–726
- ^ Gerald Morgan. "Introduction", in Geoffrey Chaucer, The Franklin's Tale from the Canterbury Tales. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985. p. vi.
- ^ Gerald Morgan. "Introduction", in Geoffrey Chaucer, The Franklin's Tale from the Canterbury Tales. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1985. pp. 15-16.
- ^ Phyllis Hodgson. "Introduction", in Geoffrey Chaucer, The Franklin's Tale. London: The Athlone Press, 1961. p. 26.
- ^ D. W. Robertson. A Preface to Chaucer. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973. pp. 471–472.
- ^ Muriel Bowden. A Reader's Guide to Geoffrey Chaucer. London: Thames and Hudson, 1965. pp. 34–5.
- ^ John Gardner. The Life and Times of Chaucer. London: Jonathan Cape, 1977. p. 255.
- ^ John Speirs. Chaucer the Maker. London: Faber and Faber, 1972. pp. 167–168.
- ^ D. R. Howard. The Idea of the Canterbury Tales. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976. pp. 268–269.
- ^ Helen Cooper. The Canterbury Tales. Oxford Guides to Chaucer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. p. 240.
- ^ Greene, Darragh. "Moral Obligations, Virtue Ethics, and Gentil Character in Chaucer's Franklin's Tale", The Chaucer Review, 50.1–2 (2015): 88–107.
- ^ Trevor Whittock. A Reading of the Canterbury Tales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970. p. 178.
- ^ A. C. Spearing. "The Franklin's Prologue and Tale" in An Introduction to Geoffrey Chaucer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. p. 37.
External links
- "The Franklin's Tale", middle-english hypertext with glossary and side-by-side middle english and modern english
- The Franklin's Tale with interlinear translation
- Modern Translation of the Franklin's Tale and Other Resources at eChaucer
- The Franklin's Tale – a plain-English retelling for non-scholars.