Man of Law’s Tale Religion Quotes

Paraventure in thilke large book
Which that men clepe the hevene ywriten was
With sterres, whan that he his birthe took,
That he for love sholde han his deeth, allas!
For in the sterres, clerer than is glas,
Is writen, God woot, whoso koude it rede,
The deeth of every man, withouten drede.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. This foreshadows that the Sultan’s love for Constance will end in his death – "That he for love sholde han his deeth." The Man of Law suggests that when a person is born, their fate and death is written in a metaphorical book in heaven by God.

In sterres, many a wynter therbiforn,
Was writen the deeth of Ector, Achilles,
Of Pompei, Julius, er they were born;
The strif of Thebes; and of Ercules,
Of Sampson, Turnus, and of Socrates
The deeth; but mennes wittes ben so dulle
That no wight kan wel rede it atte fulle.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. When anticipating the death of the Sultan, the Man of Law says that the death of all human beings is written in a book in heaven by God, before they are born. That includes all the great men like Hector, Achilles, Pompei, Caesar, Sampson and Socrates. But mortals are too dull-witted to read and interpret the divine book of fate.

Thanne sawe they therinne swich difficultee
By wey of reson, for to speke al playn,
By cause that ther was swich diversitee
Bitwene hir bothe lawes, that they sayn
They trowe that no "Cristen prince wolde fayn
Wedden his child under oure lawe sweete
That us was taught by Mahoun, oure prophete.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Sultan of Syria desires to marry the woman he has fallen in love with but has never seen, Constance, daughter of the Emperor of Rome. But he gets bad news from his advisors, who say that a Christian emperor would never allow his daughter to marry a Muslim. They see the religious and cultural differences between Constance and the Sultan as an insurmountable barrier. Their advice turns out to be right and is foreshadowing of bad things to come from such a marriage.

I seye, by tretys and embassadrie,
And by the popes mediacioun,
And al the chirche, and al the chivalrie,
That in destruccioun of mawmettrie,
And in encrees of Cristes lawe deere,
They been acorded, so as ye shal heere.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Muslim Sultan of Syria, in order to marry the Christian Constance, agrees to be baptized and for his nobles and vassals to become Christians also. The Pope is referenced as a mediator, and the treaty provides for the destruction of idolatry and the promotion of Christ’s law in the Sultan’s land. Not good news for Islam in Syria and the inevitable backlash to the marriage and destruction of the Islam faith there comes as no surprise.

Allas, unto the Barbre nacioun
I moste anoon, syn that it is youre wille;
But Crist, that starf for our redempcioun
So yeve me grace his heestes to fulfille!
I, wrecche womman, no fors though I spille!
Wommen are born to thraldom and penance,
And to been under mannes governance.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. In the last two lines, Constance laments the fact that women are born to slavery and penance and to be under men’s rule. This refers to penance for the role Eve played in the Fall. Constance prays to Christ, who died for our redemption, to give her the grace to fulfill her father’s command for her to go to a pagan land.

O firste moevyng! Crueel firmament,
With thy diurnal sweigh that crowdest ay
And hurlest al from est til occident
That naturelly wolde holde another way,
Thy crowdyng set the hevene in swich array
At the bigynnyng of this fiers viage,
That crueel Mars hath slayn this mariage.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. As Constance begins her dangerous voyage for Syria, the Man of Law says that a cruel "firste moevyng" – God – drives the planets in the opposite way to their natural daily motion, making disaster inevitable. God’s move has set the heavens in such an arrangement that a malevolent Mars has killed this marriage, he adds. There is a sense of foreboding and a foreshadowing of tragic events to come here.

Imprudent Emperour of Rome, allas!
Was ther no philosophre in al thy toun?
Is no tyme bet than oother in swich cas?
Of viage is ther noon eleccioun,
Namely to folk of heigh condicioun?
Noght whan a roote is of a burthe yknowe?
Allas, we been to lewed or to slowe!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Emperor of Rome is accused by the Man of Law of being imprudent in sending Constance on the voyage to Syria to get married when the planetary conditions were not right. Was there no astrologer in Rome that he could consult, so that a more favorable time could have been chosen, he demands?

"Lordes," quod she, "ye knowen everichon,
How that my sone in point is for to lete
The hooly lawes of our Alkaron,
Yeven by Goddes message Makomete.
But oon avow to grete God I heete,
The lyf shal rather out of my body sterte
Or Makometes lawe out of myn herte!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Sultan’s mother tells her counsellors that her son is about to become a Christian and abandon the holy laws of the Koran given by God’s messenger Mohammed. She vows that she would rather die than forsake Islam.

We shul first feyne us cristendom to take –
Coold water shal nat greve us but a lite! –
And I shal swich a feeste and revel make
That, as I trowe, I shal the Sowdan quite.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Sultaness plans a number of deceptions as part of her play to pay back the the Sultan for converting to Christianity. First she and her supporters will present to become Christians, a little cold water in Baptism won’t upset them very much. Then she will arrange a great feast and celebration to honor her son the Sultan’s marriage, and she will take her revenge.

O Sowdanesse, roote of iniquitee!
Virago, thou Semyrame the secounde!
O serpent under femynynytee,
Lik to the serpent depe in helle ybounde!
O feyned womman, al that may confounde
Vertu and innocence, thurgh thy malice,
Is bred in thee, as nest of every vice!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Man of Law depicts the Sultaness as an evil woman and a serpent from hell wearing the mask of femininity, who can destroy virtue and innocence through her malice. He portrays her at the arch-enemy of Constance, who is a symbol of virtue and innocence.

O Sathan, envious syn thilke day
That thou were chaced from oure heritage,
Wel knowestow to wommen the olde way!
Thou madest Eva brynge us in servage;
Thou wolt fordoon this Cristen mariage.
Thyn instrument so – weylawey the while! –
Makestow of wommen, whan thou wolt bigile.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Man of Law says that Satan knows well the ways of beguiling and deceiving women, ever since his successful temptation of Eve and the resulting fall of man. Satan, he says, will destroy the Christian marriage of the Sultan and Constance using another woman as his instrument – the Sultaness.

She blesseth hire, and with ful pitous voys
Unto the croys of Crist thus seyde she:
O cleere, o welful auter, hooly croys,
Reed of the Lambes blood ful of pitee,
That wessh the world fro the olde iniquitee,
Me fro the feend and fro his clawes kepe,
That day that I shal drenchen in the depe.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. After the wedding feast massacre, during which all Christians except Constance are murdered, the Sultaness’s men put Constance on a rudderless ship with provisions and bid her to sail back to Italy. Constance is more fearful of the devil than she is of death at sea, and prays that she will escape Satan’s clutches the day she drowns.

Victorious tree, proteccioun of trewe,
That oonly worthy were for to bere
The Kyng of Hevene with his woundes newe,
The white Lamb, that hurt was with a spere,
Flemere of feendes out of hym and here
On which thy lymes feithfully extenden,
Me kepe, and yif me myght my lyf t’ amenden.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. Set adrift at sea after the wedding feast massacre, Constance blesses herself and prays to the Cross of Christ, the banisher of fiends out of man and woman, to keep guard over her.

Who saved Danyel in the horrible cave
Ther every wight save he, maister and knave,
Was with the leon frete er he asterte?
No wight but God that he bar in his herte.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Man of Law interrupts his storytelling to explain why Constance survived the massacre at the wedding feast. Just like when Daniel was the only one in the cave who escaped being devoured by the lion, the devoutly Christian Constance was saved by having God in her heart.

God liste to shewe his wonderful myracle
In hire, for we sholde seen his myghty werkis;
Crist, which that is to every harm triacle,
By certeine meenes ofte, as knowen clerkis,
Dooth thyng for certein ende that ful derk is
To mannes wit, that for oure ignorance
Ne konne noght knowe his prudent purveiance.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Man of Law says that Constance escaped being slain at the wedding feast because God wanted to show his wonderful miracle and mighty works in the person of this viruous Christian woman. Christ does things for a certain reason that is beyond the range of human understanding.

Now sith she was nat at the feeste yslawe,
Who kepte hire fro the drenchyng in the see?
Who kepte Jonas in the fisshes mawe
Til he was spouted up at Nynyvee?
Wel may men knowe it was no wight but he
That kepte peple Ebrayk from hir drenchynge,
With drye feet thurghout the see passynge.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. God used his power over the oceans and seas to keep Constance from drowning during her ordeal at sea, the Man of Law says. Just like he delivered Jonah after spending three days and nights in the belly of a whale, and kept the Hebrew people from drowning in their passage through the Red Sea.

In al that lond no Cristen dorste route;
Alle Cristen folk been fled fro that contree
Thurgh payens, that conquereden al aboute
The plages of the north, by land and see.
To Walys fledde the Cristyanytee
Of olde Britons dwellynge in this ile;
Ther was hir refut for the meene while.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. Northumberland where Constance is now living is pagan and not Christian-friendly. Christians dare not assemble, and can only practice their faith in secret. This was the time of the Saxon settlements, and the pagan Saxons had driven the British Christians into Wales.

"In name of Crist," cride this blinde Britoun,
"Dame Hermengyld, yif me my sighte agayn!"
This lady weex affrayed of the soun,
Lest that hir housbonde, shortly for to sayn,
Wolde hire for Jhesu Cristes love han slayn,
Til Custance made hire boold, and bad hire wirche
The wyl of Crist, as doghter of his chirche.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The blind Christian Briton appeals to Christian convert Hermengild to restore his sight. Hermengild is afraid that her husband will disapprove of her Christianity, but Constance encourages her to follow the will of Christ, as a daughter of his church and the man’s sight is miraculously restored.

A Britoun book, written with Evaungiles,
Was fet, and on this book he swoor anoon
She gilty was, and in the meene whiles
An hand hym smoot upon the nekke-boon,
That doun he fil atones as a stoon.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. King Alla wants to test the veracity of the knight’s evidence. So he has him swear on a British book of the gospels. The moment the knight swear his evidence of Constance’s guilt a hand strikes him on the neck-bone and he falls down like a stone, his two eyes bursting out of his face. Instant divine judgment!

A voys was herd in general audience,
And seyde, "Thou hast desclaundred, giltelees,
The doghter of hooly chirche in heigh presence;
Thus hastou doon, and yet holde I my pees!
Of this mervaille agast was al the prees;
As mazed folk they stoden everichone,
For drede of wreche, save Custance allone.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. After the false knight is exposed and Constance exonerated, a voice is heard in the general audience saying that a guiltless daughter of the church has been slandered in the presence of the high God. The bewildered folk are terrified of the vengeance that might be visited upon them – all except for Constance alone.

Greet was the drede and eek the repentance
Of hem that hadden wrong suspecioun
Upon this sely innocent, Custance;
And for this miracle, in conclusioun,
And by Custances mediacioun,
The kyng – and many another in that place –
Converted was, thanked be Cristes grace!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The people are full of fear and repentance over the suspicions they had about the innocence of Constance. And because of the miracle they just witnessed and through Constance’s mediation, King Alla and his fellow pagans are converted to Christianity.

The lettre spak the queene delivered was
Of so horrible a feendly creature
That in the castel noon so hardy was
That any while dorste ther endure.
The mooder was an elf, by aventure
Ycomen, by charmes or by sorcerie,
And every wight hateth hir compaignye.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Man of Law’s Tale. The Constable’s letter to the King forged by Donegild says that Constance has delivered so horrible and fiendish a baby that no one in the castle dares go near it. The mother is an evil spirit full of charms and sorcery and every person hates her, the letter states, as the vicious Donegild attempts to turn her son against Constance.
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