The Franklin begins with telling the group that he is not good with fancy words, so he will tell the tale straight forward to them, and to excuse his “untutored speech,”(408). After this disclaimer, he promptly begins his tale.
The tale begins in Brittany, France with the introduction of two lovers, the knight Arvéragus and his wife Dorigen, who were inseparable, and loved each other with the fullness of their hearts. Arvéragus then leaves for a war campaign in Britain, (not Brittany, as the Franklin clarifies) which leaves Dorigen distraught, as her every thought is turned to her husband. Her friends see this, and they attempt to cheer her up by taking her to the beach. While at the beach, Dorigen sees sharp rocks offshore, then begins to worry that those rocks will sink Arvéragus’s ship when he comes home, so she becomes more depressed as a result. She cries to God to rid the sea of the rocks so her love can come home to her safely. Her friends, becoming increasingly worried, take her to a picnic with lots of dancing, but she is still depressed because none of the people dancing is Arvéragus. It is here that we are introduced to a lusty young man named Aurelius, who wants to take Dorigen as a lover. At another picnic, he has the courage to ask out Dorigen, who replies that he must remove all of the sharp rocks in the sea before he can have her, because Dorigen does not believe that Aurelius could do such a thing. Aurelius agrees, and, in his regret, become bedridden. His brother finds out what he has to do, and then he and Aurelius go to a magician that the brother knows, and they offer 1000 gold pieces for him to make the rocks disappear. The magician agrees, and they all travel back to Brittany to perform the ritual. In preparation, the magician begins measurement on all of the planetary bodies in the sky, and in some heretical ritual, make the rocks disappear. Ecstatic, Aurelius tells Dorigen that he did as she asked, and Dorigen becomes distraught, because she did not want to be unfaithful to Arvéragus, who just returned home. She considered suicide, like so many other women who had their maidenhood ripped from them. She decides to counsel in Arvéragus, who is told of everything that has happened. In tears, he tells Dorigen that he will suffer any humiliation, that she may keep her word to Aurelius. Dorigen then goes to Aurelius and tells of what her husband said. Upon hearing this, he feels guilty for ripping Dorigen from Arvéragus, and breaks his deal with her. Dorigen then rejoins Arvéragus, and they lived happily ever after. But, Aurelius still had to pay the magician the 1000 gold pieces, and gathers what gold he can, and begs the magician to give him time to pay him back, telling everything else that happened. When he finished, the magician was so touched by the honorable actions of Aurelius that he forgave him of his debt.
Finished with the tale, the Franklin asks all of the pilgrims which person was more honorable in their forgivenesses, and which was “the finer gentlemen to you?” (433).
- Ryan Nicolai
The tale begins in Brittany, France with the introduction of two lovers, the knight Arvéragus and his wife Dorigen, who were inseparable, and loved each other with the fullness of their hearts. Arvéragus then leaves for a war campaign in Britain, (not Brittany, as the Franklin clarifies) which leaves Dorigen distraught, as her every thought is turned to her husband. Her friends see this, and they attempt to cheer her up by taking her to the beach. While at the beach, Dorigen sees sharp rocks offshore, then begins to worry that those rocks will sink Arvéragus’s ship when he comes home, so she becomes more depressed as a result. She cries to God to rid the sea of the rocks so her love can come home to her safely. Her friends, becoming increasingly worried, take her to a picnic with lots of dancing, but she is still depressed because none of the people dancing is Arvéragus. It is here that we are introduced to a lusty young man named Aurelius, who wants to take Dorigen as a lover. At another picnic, he has the courage to ask out Dorigen, who replies that he must remove all of the sharp rocks in the sea before he can have her, because Dorigen does not believe that Aurelius could do such a thing. Aurelius agrees, and, in his regret, become bedridden. His brother finds out what he has to do, and then he and Aurelius go to a magician that the brother knows, and they offer 1000 gold pieces for him to make the rocks disappear. The magician agrees, and they all travel back to Brittany to perform the ritual. In preparation, the magician begins measurement on all of the planetary bodies in the sky, and in some heretical ritual, make the rocks disappear. Ecstatic, Aurelius tells Dorigen that he did as she asked, and Dorigen becomes distraught, because she did not want to be unfaithful to Arvéragus, who just returned home. She considered suicide, like so many other women who had their maidenhood ripped from them. She decides to counsel in Arvéragus, who is told of everything that has happened. In tears, he tells Dorigen that he will suffer any humiliation, that she may keep her word to Aurelius. Dorigen then goes to Aurelius and tells of what her husband said. Upon hearing this, he feels guilty for ripping Dorigen from Arvéragus, and breaks his deal with her. Dorigen then rejoins Arvéragus, and they lived happily ever after. But, Aurelius still had to pay the magician the 1000 gold pieces, and gathers what gold he can, and begs the magician to give him time to pay him back, telling everything else that happened. When he finished, the magician was so touched by the honorable actions of Aurelius that he forgave him of his debt.
Finished with the tale, the Franklin asks all of the pilgrims which person was more honorable in their forgivenesses, and which was “the finer gentlemen to you?” (433).
- Ryan Nicolai