738–739), she agrees to marry him. Each agrees to give
obedience to the other, and the Franklin (a medieval
landowner, not of noble birth) follows with a comment
on the ideal state of marriage in which each partner
honors and obeys the other. They go to his home and
live in harmony for more than a year, until Arveragus
decides to go and seek his fortune in “worshipe and
honour” (l. 811) for a year or two in England.
Dorigen is heartbroken. In an attempt to distract her
from her grief, her friends persuade her to go out walk-
ing near her castle, which overlooks the ocean. She
looks down from the high cliffs to the rocks below,
and her fear is intensifi ed because Arveragus might be
slain in the attempt to land a ship here. Again, her
friends intervene, fi nding other places to walk, playing
chess and backgammon, and taking her dancing.
While she is out one day in May, the squire Aurelius
catches sight of Dorigen. Unbeknownst to her, he has
been desperately in love with her for two years. On this
day, they talk, and he reveals his love to her. “Have
mercy, sweet, or ye wol do me deye!” he tells her (l.
978). She says she is sorry he is so miserable, but “Ne
shal I nevere ben untrewe wyf” (l. 984), adding that if
he will “remoeve alle the rokkes, stoon by stoon” (l.
993) from the coastline, she will give him her physical
love, but “wel I woot [know] that it shal never betyde”
(l. 1001).
Aurelius feels his heart grow cold, and “for verray
wo out of his wit he brayde” (“out of true misery went
out of his mind,” l. 1027). Unknowingly, he prays to
Apollo for a fl ood to cover all the rocks on the coast of
Brittany and then falls down in a swoon. His brother
carries him to his bed. Meanwhile, Arveragus comes
home. He has no suspicions that anyone has wooed
Dorigen in his absence, and they are once again blissful
together.
Aurelius lies wretched in bed for two years, with his
brother keeping him alive and keeping his secret.
Eventually the brother remembers that during his years
as a student in Orleans, he had seen a book about
magic—“swich folye,” comments the Franklin, “as in
our days is nat [not] worth a fl ye” (ll. 1131–32). Aure-
lius’s brother resolves to fi nd a clerk or “philoso-
pher”—that is, a magician—who can make it appear
for a week or two that all of the rocks have vanished,
so that Dorigen would have to make good on her
promise and cure Aurelius.
Aurelius gets out of bed and, with his brother, sets
off for Orleans in search of such a philosopher. Just
before they reach a town, they meet a clerk who tells
them he knows of their mission and describes it to
them in detail; he invites them to his home, where he
shows them a series of magically created scenes and
then gives them supper. This philosopher demands a
thousand pounds to make all of the rocks disappear,
and Aurelius promises it; together, they journey back
to Brittany. Aurelius waits while the philosopher seeks
the right conjunction of moon and planets; when the
rocks appear to be absent, he falls to the magician’s feet
in thanks and then hurries off to fi nd Dorigen. He
reminds her of her long-ago promise, tells her that the
rocks are all gone, and demands she meets him in a
particular garden in the town to fulfi ll her promise.
Dorigen is horrifi ed. Arveragus is once again out of
town, and she considers killing herself rather than
being forced to honor a rash promise to Aurelius at the
expense of her marriage vows to Arveragus, but decides
to wait until he comes home. When he does, she tells
all. “Is ther oght [anything] elles, Dorigen, but this?” he
asks, and she replies, “Nay, nay... this is to muche”
(ll. 1469–71). He instructs her to uphold her promise
but then, breaking into tears, forbids her from telling
anyone else.
Dorigen goes out to meet Aurelius, who has been
spying on her. He meets her in the street and asks
where she is going. She replies: “Unto the garden, as
myn housbounde bad [commanded], / My trouthe
[vow] for to holde—allas, allas!” (ll. 1511–12). Aure-
lius is amazed, develops sudden compassion for both
Dorigen and Arveragus, and decides to desist from sat-
isfying his lust rather than assault “franchise and alle
gentilesse” (l. 1524): both terms refer to nobility of
character. He releases Dorigen from his bond, saying
he would rather live in misery for the rest of his life
than disturb the love between Dorigen and Arveragus.
She thanks him on her knees and hurries home to
Arveragus.
Aurelius brings 500 pounds to the philosopher and
asks for two or three years to save up the rest, rather
than having to sell off his estate so he can pay the194 “FRANKLIN’S TALE, THE”