Geoffrey Chaucer
The
Franklin’s Tale from
The Canterbury Tales
Dorigen,
a noble lady, marries the knight Averagus,
both of them swearing
that neither will ever try to exert mastery over the other. While
Arveragus is
away at war, Aurelius, a young squire,
courts Dorigen, who rejects him by
setting what she thinks is an impossible task: remove the
dangerous rocks
from the coast, she says, and I shall grant you my love. With
the help of a
learned clerk (to whom he promises an immense fee), Aurelius
succeeds
(perhaps by
magic, or perhaps only by illusion) and
he then demands her love.
Distraught, she tells the returned Averagus, who orders her to keep the
assignation with Aurelius. Aurelius, impressed with Averagus's
action, in
turn releases Dorigen from her promise.
The learned clerk, impressed by
Aurelius's action,
forgives the squire his debt.
The tale ends with a demande: which
was the "most free"?