Canterbury Tales Marriage Quotes

Ay fleeth the tyme; it nyl no man abyde.
And thogh youre grene youthe floure as yit,
In crepeth age alwey, as stille as stoon,
And deeth manaceth every age, and smyt
In ech estaat, for ther escapeth noon;
And al so certein as we knowe echoon
That we shul deye, as uncerteyn we alle
Been of that day whan deeth shal on us falle.
Modern English (Prose translation by R.M. Lumiansky):
The time always flees; it will wait for no man. And through you are still in the flower of your young manhood, age creeps on steadily, as quiet as a stone, and death menaces every age and strikes in every rank, for no one escapes. As surely as we know that we will die, so we are uncertain of the day when death shall fall on us.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Here a representative of Walter’s nobles speaks to him and pleads with him to choose a wife. He is warned that while his green youth if flowering at the moment, age creeps in and death hits people of all ranks and there is no escape.

For if it so bifelle, as God forbede,
That thurgh youre deeth youre lyne sholde slake,
And that a straunge successour sholde take
Youre heritage, O wo were us alyve!
Wherfore we pray you hastily to wyve.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Urging Walter to marry quickly, his nobles warn of the woe that will befall them if through his death his line should die out and a foreign successor take over. Having served Walter’s family loyally down the years, they believe such an event would be a disaster.

Lat me allone in chesynge of my wyf –
That charge upon my bak I wole endure.
But I yow preye, and charge upon youre lyf,
What wyf that I take, ye me assure
To worshipe hire, whil that hir lyf may dure,
In word and werk, bothe heere and everywheere,
As she an emperoures doghter weere.
And forthermoore, this shal ye swere: that ye
Agayn my choys shul neither grucche ne stryve.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. While Walter agrees to his noblemen’s request that he get married, he declines their offer to select him a wife and insists that they accept his choice of wife. He demands that they take an oath to worship her in word and deed as if she were an emperor’s daughter, and never to grouch or strive against his choice. In this we see the power that had been with the nobles, transfer back to Walter.

For thogh the peple have no greet insight
In vertu, he considered ful right
Hir bountee, and disposed that he wolde
Wedde hire oonly, if evere he wedde sholde.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. In his tale the Clerk tells the pilgrims that the common people have no great insight into virtue. But Walter the Marquis of Saluzzo obviously has, for when he sees Griselda’s goodness he decides that he will wed only her – if ever he should wed. So is awareness of virtue lost on the commoners, and confined to the nobles?

This markys hath doon make
Of gemmes, set in gold and in asure,
Brooches and rynges, for Grisildis sake;
And of hir clothyng took he the mesure
By a mayde lyk to hire stature,
And eek of othere aornementes alle
That unto swich a weddyng sholde falle.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. So what does it take to make a poor girl look like the wife of a marquis? Walter prepares rich garments and gems for Griselda to wear for the wedding. She will swop her poor clothing for jewels set in gold and azure, brooches and rings, and garments that Walter has specially made up for her. Of course Griselda doesn’t even know she is getting married, Walter uses the measurements of a young girl of Griselda’s statute to have her clothes made.

"Grisilde," he seyde, "ye shal wel understonde
It liketh to youre fader and to me
That I yow wedde, and eek it may so stonde,
As I suppose, ye wol that it so be.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Walter doesn’t choose the most romantic way to propose to a girl. He tells Griselda that it pleases him and her father that they marry, and he supposes that she desires it too. What’s love got to do with it, as the song says! Not much for Walter, who likes a woman to do what he bids her to do without complaining – including marry him!

I seye this: be ye redy with good herte
To al my lust, and that I frely may,
As me best thynketh, do yow laughe or smerte,
And nevere ye to grucche it, nyght ne day?
And eek whan I sey ye, ne sey nat nay,
Neither by word ne frownyng contenance?
Swere this, and heere I swere oure alliance.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. The unromantic and controlling Walter spells out to Griselda the terms of his marriage to her. He demands that she swear to do whatever he asks of her without complaint, to nor even frown, and never to say "no" when he says "yes." A bit of a one-sided marriage contract for him demanding complete obedience and loyalty, but what does the woman get?

Wondrynge upon this word, quakynge for drede,
She seyde, "Lord, undigne and unworthy
Am I to thilke honour that ye me beede,
But as ye wole youreself, right so wol I.
And heere I swere that nevere willyngly,
In werk ne thoght, I nyl yow disobeye,
For to be deed, though me were looth to deye."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Is this the rock Griselda will perish on? Trembling with fear and devaluing herself by saying she is unworthy and unsuitable for the honor, Griselda promises to marry Walter. And she goes on to swear an oath of unquestionedd obedience to him, saying she will never disobey him in deed or thought. Well that’s loyalty in the extreme.

But now knowe I in verray soothfastnesse
That in greet lordshipe, if I wel avyse,
Ther is greet servitute in sondry wyse.
I may nat doon as every plowman may.
My peple me constreyneth for to take
Another wyf, and crien day by day;
And eek the pope, rancour for to slake,
Consenteth it.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Walter claims that he is being constrained by his people, who complain every day, to take another wife. He is arguing that has a certain loyalty and duty to them. He also tells Griselda of the Papal Bull, which he had forged, declaring him free of her and giving him permission to marry another woman.

For sith I yaf to yow my maydenhede,
And am youre trewe wyf, it is no drede,
God shilde swich a lordes wyf to take
Another man to housbonde or to make!

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Griselda is certainly no Wife of Bath, who had five husbands and had no issue moving on to another spouse when one passed away. But Griselda, after Walter dumps her and kicks her out of his palace, believes that she should not marry again as she remaines the Marquis’s true wife since she gave him her virginity.

"To yow broghte I noght elles, out of drede,
But feith, and nakednesse, and maydenhede;
And heere agayn your clothyng I restoore,
And eek your weddyng ryng, for everemore.
The remenant of youre jueles redy be
Inwith youre chambre, dar I saufly sayn.
Naked out of my fadres hous," quod she,
"I cam, and naked moot I turne agayn."

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Griselda says that all she brought to the marriage with Walter were her faith, her nakedness and virginity. So she returns to him all the fine clothing, wedding ring and jewels that he gave her. Naked out of her father’s house she came, and naked must she return, she tells him.

Wherfore, in gerdon of my maydenhede,
Which that I broghte, and noght agayn I bere,
As voucheth sauf to yeve me, to my meede,
But swich a smok as I was wont to were,
That I therwith may wrye the wombe of here
That was youre wyf.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. On leaving Walter’s palace, Griselda asks for just one thing in recompense for her maidenhead which she brought to him when they wed. She requests that he give her the smock she has been accustomed to wearing, to cover the womb of the woman who was his wife.

For out of doute this olde poure man
Was evere in suspect of hir mariage;
For evere he demed, sith that it bigan,
That whan the lord fulfild hadde his corage,
Hym wolde thynke it were a disparage
To his estaat so lowe for t’alighte,
And voyden hire as soone as ever he myghte.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Janicula was suspicious from the get-go about nobleman Walter’s intentions and the survivability of his marriage to the old man’s daughter Griselda, a peasant girl. As soon as Walter had satisfied his desires, he would think it a degradation to his rank to stoop so low, and would get rid of her as soon as he could, Janicula believed.

For she is fairer, as they deemen alle,
Than is Grisilde, and moore tendre of age,
And fairer fruyt bitwene hem sholde falle,
And moore plesant, for hire heigh lynage.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Walter’s new bride is the talk of the town when he brings her out for the people to see. They agree that she is fairer than Griselda, and younger, and fairer fruit should fall from this marriage because of her high lineage. This is ironic because she is Griselda’s daughter.

Thise ladyes, whan that they hir tyme say,
Han taken hire and into chambre gon,
And strepen hire out of hire rude array,
And in a clooth of gold that brighte shoon,
With a coroune of many a riche stoon
Upon hire heed, they into halle hire broghte,
And ther she was honured as hire oghte.
Thus hath this pitous day a blisful ende.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Last time at her wedding the palace ladies didn’t like touching Griselda’s poor clothes when they had to strip her and dress her in the finery of a Marquesa. This time there is no such reluctance as poor girl is transformed into rich girl. This wedding banquet is even grander than the first one, as the ladies dress her in a cloth of gold with a crown of rich stones for her head.

This storie is seyd nat for that wyves sholde
Folwen Grisilde as in humylitee,
For it were inportable, though they wolde,
But for that every wight, in his degree,
Sholde be constant in adversitee
As was Grisilde; therfore Petrak writeth
This storie, which with heigh stile he enditeth.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. The Clerk cautions that other wives should not follow Griselda’s example in her humility, for that would be intolerable. He explains that the tale, which comes from Petrarch, is not about how wives should behave, but about how Christians should behave. For a Christian it means being constant in adversity, like Griselda. Well thank goodness for that!

Ye archewyves, stondeth at defense,
Syn ye be strong as is a greet camaille;
Ne suffreth nat that men yow doon offense.
And sklendre wyves, fieble as in bataille,
Beth egre as is a tygre yond in Ynde;
Ay clappeth as a mille, I yow consaille.

– Geoffrey Chaucer

The Canterbury Tales, The Clerk’s Tale. Chaucer’s Envoy gives this health warning for wives after the misfortunes of submissive Griselda in the Clerk’s Tale. Be ready to do battle for you are as strong as a great camel, he urges arch-wives, using a colorful simile. And he tells slender wives who are feeble in battle to be fierce like an Indian tiger and wag their tongues like a windmill, using two more expressive similes.
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