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.

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.

Geoffrey Chaucer Quotes