Thanks for the timely reminder of "sovereignty," Martin--it's every bit as
crucial a notion in the context of this tale as gentilesse is, isn't it? The
implied apposition of "maistre" and "soverayntee" can even be read as the
condition of possibility for gentilesse to acquire its non-class-bound
connotations.
But I disagree with your attribution of equivocation to the Franklin--he's
just too naïve a character for such a reading of this passage (IMHO),
although I'm not really sure how you're reading "for shame of his degree."
The ME sense of "for shame of" is "out of respect for," so the point is the
pretense of Arveragus's sovereignty over Dorigen as a face-saving gesture.
It's a point that's made rather lightly too, in the goodhumored punning on
"degree" in this context of gentilesse, don't you think?
As for the question of the tale's usefulness, Chaucer did have the ear of
the Court for his work, and it would be nice to think that some or all of
the social/moral lessons of the Tales, including the companion piece
(gender-wise) to this one--The Wife of Bath's Tale--had an influence on
courtier behavior (as a type of "mirror for magistrates" applied to domestic
tyranny). But I suspect they had more impact on the evolution of English--
and were less likely to have inspired enlightened relations between the
sexes than a flood of inept rhyme-royal versifying!
Candice
on 12/5/01 4:52 AM, Martin J. Walker at [log in to unmask] wrote:
>>> ...
> That pryvely she fil of his accord
> To take hym for hir housbonde and hir lord,
> Of swich lordshipe as men han over hir wyves.
> And for to lede the moore in blisse hir lyves,
> Of his free wyl he swoor hire as a knyght
> That nevere in al his lyf he, day ne nyght,
> Ne sholde upon hym take no maistrie
> Agayn hir wyl, ne kithe hire jalousie,
> But hire obeye, and folwe hir wyl in al,
> As any lovere to his lady shal,
> Save that the name of soveraynetee,
> That wolde he have for shame of his degree. <<
>
> Bit of equivocating (not equality) going on there, though: "shame of his
> degree" may have impelled many a man to action not precisely marked by
> "gentilesse". Promises, promises. Good to know that the mediaeval poetic
> take on patriarchy knew what the latter was getting away with & tried to
> compensate. But was it useful to anyone?... It was nice to be reminded of
> this ~ read it at school, where the astrology rather bemused me (those were
> days when there was no astrology in the papers), but never since. -- I
> googled it, Alison, it's all out there in virtual space.
> Martin
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