Reading Notes: Canterbury Tales, Part A

(The Queen pardoning the knight; source: Wikipedia)

Plot:

• Once, in the time when fairies roamed the land, there lived a knight in King Arthur's court who broke his vow by behaving dishonorably to a woman. 
• The rules stated that any knight who broke his vow was punishable by immediate death. However, this knight was very popular in court and well-liked by many. King Arthur recieved so many pleas from the Queen and all the ladies of the court that he gave custody of the knight over to the Queen.
• The Queen was happy about this but she decided that the knight still deserved to be punished. She told him that he would be free if he could tell her what a woman desired most in a year's time.
• The knight set off on a year-long journey trying to talk to many people and figure out the answer to this puzzle. He received input from many people but no two people seemed to agree on one thing.
• On the day he had to give the Queen his answer, the knight was returning dejectedly to the court when he saw 24 maidens dancing in the distance. As a last ditch effort, he approached them but when he got closer he only saw an old crone.
• Without anything left to lose he asked the old lady what she thought the answer was. She said she would tell him if he agreed to grant her a wish. The knight swore on his honor and she told him the answer.
• The knight returned to the court and confidently said that what a woman desired most was to have control over her husband. All the women of the court discussed this answer with each other and agreed that it was correct.
• Just as the Queen agrees to grant the knight freedom from his bonds, the only lady walks in and claims the knight owes her a wish.
• The knight agrees with this claim and asks her what she wants. The old lady says she wants him to take her as a wife. The knight begs her to ask for something else but when she denies, he is left with no choice but to marry her. 
• That night the old lady asks him why he scorns her and doesn't treat her lovingly. The knight points out her unattractive appearance and bemoans his fate.
• The old lady responds that it is better to have a faithful and wise yet ugly wife than to have a beautiful yet unloyal wife.
• The knight realizes the wisdom of her words and agrees to take her on as his beloved wife. She requests that he kiss her once and then open the curtains. He does as she requests and finds that she has transformed into a beautiful maiden. They kiss and live happily ever after.

Characters:

• Knight - initially blinded by physical beauty above all else, honorable because he married the old lady anyway
• Old lady - very wise, what is her motivation?, is she a fairy?

Bibliography. The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908).