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The Canterbury Tales originate from some pilgrims contest in story narration as they were navigating to Canterbury Cathedral written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Pilgrims from a wide variety of social classes participated in Canterbury Tales to reflect on the general social tensions and upheavals. The host of the competition promised a free tavern to the winner of the storytelling to ensure every pilgrim participated. The Lais of Marie de France are also short stories written by Marie de France in England during the 12th century. During the medieval age, courtly and chivalry love were very common. The Lais of Marie de France glorifies Courtly love that is based on romantic engagement during the medieval age between unmarried men and women. The Canterbury Tales and The Lais of Marie de France are love tales with similarities and differences in the idea of romance.
The depiction of romance in Canterbury Tales is different from the courtly love described in the lias of Marie de France. Courtly love was mainly used during the medieval age to prescribe the conduct of lovers. In The Millers Tale, romance is demonstrated with a lot of lust. Absolon had a romantic relationship with Alison, who was Johns wife. Absolon spends sleepless nights thinking about Alison and awarded her gifts and made promises to appease her (Utz 134). Lanval is very lonely and preoccupied before he admits to his love and could go most of his time by himself. When he falls in love with a rare woman, it is secretive, but he is determined to remain honest with his love even when absent. When the queen advances her courtship interests in him, he responds, I have no interest in loving you. Marie depicts Lanvals courtship to be true and honest unlike what Chaucer depicts of Miller.
Different from The Wife of Bath, and The Millers Tale, the Nuns Priest demonstrates human interaction with animals. Some characters like Chauntecleer are animals presented with human characteristics such as talking. The Nuns Priest tale is weaved by a Roman Catholic priest who uses the relationship to describe the events like a sermon. The animal fables convey a moral lesson to the readers. For instance, the city mouse and the country mouse, the rural mouse almost vanished in an attempt to have tasty urban fare conveying a moral of getting contented with whatever one has (Utz 251). The Chauntecleer cock and Pertelote hen, tale give a lesson on how a man and wife should live together. Unlike other tales, Chaucer presents the Nuns Priest as a fable focused more on moral lessons rather than romance.
Romantic desire in Lanval is different from Millers Tale. The romantic desire in Lanval revolves around feminine desire. Millers Tale on the other side depicts masculinity desire. Lanval is desired and loved by a wealthy magical lady who provided him will all manner of financial, and juridical support. Queen Guinevere is also attracted to Lanval and she forces him to sleep with her. After rejecting the advancement, the queen is revengeful and accuses him of homosexuality. Contrastingly, in The Millers Tale, Alison, the wife to an old carpenter John is desired by Absolon and Nicholas. Despite Alisons wedlock, Absolon and Nicholas are attracted to her and all wish they could end up with her one day.
Both The Wife of Baths Tale and Lanval in Canterbury and Lais of Marie de France respectively empower female characters. Both tales also portray similar types of characters in a fair world exigent of magic and extraordinary powers. For instance, King Author and the queen are represented in both tales. Both are a story of a knight trapped in trial by lust and saved by a woman. The queen in the two tales is depicted as a very powerful figure in society. In the Wife of Baths Tale, the queen convinces the King to give the Knight a second chance if he could only find out what women need from men and report to her. The Knight is assisted by a woman with superficial powers and his life is spared by the queen. In Lanval, a knight is in a covert relationship with a wealthy lady with superficial powers. He is accused of homosexuality by the queen because he declines her sexual advances. The mysterious lady who Lanval slept with appeared and exonerated him from the queens wrath on verdict day.
The Wife of Bath, The Millers Tale, and the Nuns Priest by Geoffrey Chaucer and Lanval by Marie de France compare romance. Romance in The Wife of Bath and The Millers Tale differ from the courtly love in Lanval. Romantic desire in The Millers Tale is masculine whereas, in Lanval, romantic desire is feminine. The Nuns Tale is distinct from all the other tales with a less romantic theme and more moral education conveyed in fables. The context of The Wife of Bath is mostly similar to Lanval and women are depicted more superior to men. The men in both tales are trapped by romance and are saved by women.
Work Cited
Utz, Richard. Chaucer Among the Victorians. The Oxford Handbook of Victorian Medievalism (2020), 189. Web.
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