Canterbury Tales Arveragus Quotes

And for to lede the moore in blisse hir lyves,
Of his free wyl he swoor hire as a knyght
That nevere in al his lyf he, day ne nyght,
Ne sholde upon hym take no maistrie
Agayn hir wyl, ne kithe hire jalousie,
But hire obeye, and folwe hir wyl in al,
As any lovere to his lady shal,
Save that the name of soveraynetee,
That wolde he have for shame of his degree.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Arveragus swears to Dorigen that in their marriage he will not take upon himself any mastery against her will, nor show her any jealousy. But he promises to obey her and follow her will in everything, as any lover to his lady should. The one exception he makes is that he will maintain the appearance of sovereignty to avoid bringing shame on his status as a knight.

She seyde, "Sire, sith of youre gentillesse
Ye profre me to have so large a reyne,
Ne wolde nevere God bitwixe us tweyne,
As in my gilt, were outher werre or stryf.
Sire, I wol be youre humble trewe wyf –
Have heer my trouthe – til that myn herte breste."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Dorigen pledges to be a humble and true wife to Arveragus until the day that she dies. And she hopes to God that there will never come between them, through her fault, any war or strife. She praises him for his nobility in offering her such freedom from restraint in their marriage.
Lovers must each be ready to obey The other, if they would long keep company - Geoffrey Chaucer quote

Freendes everych oother moot obeye,
If they wol longe holden compaignye.
Modern English:
Lovers must each be ready to obey
The other, if they would long keep company.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. In his sermon on marriage, the Franklin talks about the balance of power within a relationship. To make it endure, a couple must be prepared to obey each other, as opposed to one domineering over the other. He is commenting on Arveragus and Dorigen’s relationship, a marriage of equals and partners.
Geoffrey Chaucer love quote from The Canterbury Tales

Love wol nat been constreyned by maistrye.
Whan maistrie comth, the God of Love anon
Beteth his wynges, and farewel, he is gon!
Modern English:
Love will not be constrained by mastery;
When mastery ‘comes, the god of love anon
Beats his fair wings, and farewell! He is gone!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. The Franklin emphasises that when one person tries to dominate in a marriage, the god of love beats his wings and he flies out the door. Equality is essential for a marriage to work – like the marriage of Dorigen and Arveragus, which is based on equality with neither having mastery over the other.
Love is a thing as free as any spirit - Geoffrey Chaucer quote

Love is a thyng as any spirit free.
Wommen, of kynde desiren libertee,
And nat to been constreyned as a thral;
And so doon men, if I sooth seyen shal.
Modern English:
Love is a thing as free as any spirit;
women naturally desire liberty,
and not to be constrained like slaves;
and so, do men, if I shall tell the truth.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. The Franklin presents us with a much more positive and less cynical view of marriage than the Wife of Bath. He says love is something as free as any spirit and women and men by nature desire freedom and not to be enslaved. This is reflected in the partnership of knight Arveragus and his lady Dorigen.

Pacience is an heigh vertu, certeyn,
For it venquysseth, as thise clerkes seyn,
Thynges that rigour sholde nevere atteyne.
For every word men may nat chide or pleyne.
Lerneth to suffre, or elles, so moot I goon,
Ye shul it lerne, wher so ye wole or noon.
For in this world, certein, ther no wight is
That he ne dooth or seith somtyme amys.
Ire, siknesse, or constellacioun,
Wyn, wo, or chaungynge of complexioun
Causeth ful ofte to doon amys or speken.
On every wrong a man may nat be wreken.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. This long lyrical passage on the virtue of patience is the Franklin’s guide to living happily ever after for newly married couples like Dorigen and her knight Arveragus. A person should learn forebearance against annoyances and wrongs, that way they can get past any hurts done to them without having to seek revenge, advises the Franklin.

But thilke God that made wynd to blowe
As kepe my lord! This my conclusion…
But wolde God that alle thise rokkes blake
Were sonken into helle for his sake!
Thise rokkes sleen myn herte for the feere.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Dorigen prays to God to keep her husband Arveragus from perishing on the rocks off the coast of Brittany. She is fearful that the rocks will sink his ship and kill him on his way home from war. She wishes that they were sunken into hell, forshadowing her request to Aurelius to remove the rocks.

"Is this youre wyl," quod she, "and sey ye thus?
Nevere erst," quod she, "ne wiste I what ye mente.
But now, Aurelie, I knowe youre entente,
By thilke God that yaf me soule and lyf,
Ne shal I nevere been untrewe wyf
In word ne werk, as fer as I have wit;
I wol been his to whom that I am knyt.
Taak this for fynal answere as of me."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Dorigen deals with her unwanted admirer, the handsome young squire Aurelius. She states her unequivocal commitment to her chosen role of wife to Arveragus. She tells the lovelorn Aurelius that she will never be an untrue wife in word or deed and he should take that as her final answer.

Looke what day that endelong Britayne
Ye remoeve alle the rokkes, stoon by stoon,
That they ne lette ship ne boot to goon –
I seye, whan ye han maad the coost so clene
Of rokkes that ther nys no stoon ysene,
Thanne wol I love yow best of any man;
Have heer my trouthe, in al that evere I kan.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Dorigen softens the blow of rejection for Aurelius. Wishing to remain loyal to her husband, she sets Aurelius what she believes is an impossible condition, saying that if he fulfils it then she will love him. What he must do is remove all the rocks, stone by stone, from the coast of Brittany – she fears the rocks pose a danger to her husband’s ship on his return home. If Aurelius accomplishes that, then he will receive her love, she pledges, believing this will never happen.

Fro which t’ escape woot I no socour,
Save oonly deeth or elles dishonour;
Oon of thise two bihoveth me to chese.
But nathelees, yet have I levere to lese
My lif than of my body to have a shame,
Or knowe myselven fals, or lese my name;
And with my deth I may be quyt, ywis.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Never make a promise that you do not intend to keep is the moral of the story for Dorigen. She made a foolish promise to Aurelius that she would love him if he moved all the rocks from the Brittany coast. Now she faces the shame of breaking her word to Aurelius or breaking her pledge of loyalty to husband Arveragus. She contemplates killing herself. Death of dishonor seem the only choices to her.

It may be wel, paraventure, yet to day.
Ye shul youre trouthe holden, by my fay!
For God so wisly have mercy upon me,
I hadde wel levere ystiked for to be
For verray love which that I to yow have,
But if ye sholde youre trouthe kepe and save.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Arveragus insists that his wife Dorigen must keep her pledge she made to Aurelius to love him. He would rather be stabbed for the true love he had for her, than she would not keep her word, he tells her. This is very courageous and noble of Arveragus, who like his wife is very virtuous.

And seyde, "I yow forbede, up peyne of deeth,
That nevere, whil thee lasteth lyf ne breeth,
To no wight telle thou of this aventure –
As I may best, I wol my wo endure –
Ne make no contenance of hevynesse,
That folk of yow may demen harm or gesse."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Arveragus asserts his authority over Dorigen, breaking his pledge that they would always be equal partners and he would not assert mastery over her. Regarding her promise to love Aureliux and the fulfilment of it, he forbids her to ever tell anyone about it, and he would endure it as best he could.

That sith I se his grete gentillesse
To yow, and eek I se wel youre distresse,
That him were levere han shame (and that were routhe)
Than ye to me sholde breke thus youre trouthe,
I have wel levere evere to suffre wo
Than I departe the love bitwix yow two.
I yow relesse, madame, into youre hond
Quyt every serement and every bond
That ye han maad to me as heerbiforn.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. Squire Aurelius decides to do the right and noble thing. He sees Dorigen’s great distress and her husband’s graciousness in accepting shame rather than she should break her pledged word to Aurelius. So Aurelius releases Dorigen from her promise, saying he would rather suffer woe always than break apart the love between her and Arveragus.

This philosophre answerde, "Leeve brother,
Everich of yow dide gentilly til oother.
Thou art a squier, and he is a knyght;
But God forbede, for his blisful myght,
But if a clerk koude doon a gentil dede
As wel as any of yow, it is no drede!
Sire, I releesse thee thy thousand pound.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Franklin’s Tale. The student-magician has high praise for Aurelius, Dorigen and Arveragus for dealing nobly with each other. So he forgives Aurelius his debt of one thousand pounds owed for removing the rocks from the coast of Brittany.
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