The Sergeant of Law|thumb

"The Man of Law's Tale" is the fifth of the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, written around 1387. John Gower's "Tale of Constance" in Confessio Amantis tells the same story and may have been a source for Chaucer. Gower strove for vividness and shortened the tale in places. Chaucer expanded the tale and emphasizes the holiness of Constance and how she was favoured by heaven.

Hagiographic motifs are most abundant in Chaucer's version, e.g. “the miracles God works though Custance and the way she is miraculously fed while at sea”. Wurtele observes that Chaucer makes frequent use of the adjective "hooly" but Gower never uses this word. and Confessio Amantis (CA).)

Constance (in Chaucer, "Custance") is the daughter of the emperor in Rome. Syrian merchants report her great beauty to the Sultan. A marriage contract is negotiated by her father which requires the Sultan and his subjects to convert to Christianity. (MLT 134–245; CA II.587–639.)

The Sultan's mother, enraged that her son would turn his back on Islam, connives to prevent this by massacring her son and the wedding party and having Constance set adrift on the sea. (MLT 386–504; CA II.665–715.) Constance's adventures and trials continue after she is shipwrecked on the Northumberland coast. The validity of her Christian faith is proved by two miracles. Her companion Hermengyld heals a blind man. (MLT 547–574; CA II.759–775.) A wicked knight who wishes to seduce Constance murders Hermengyld and attempts to frame Constance using the bloody dagger. He perjures himself and is mysteriously struck dead. (MLT 582–686; CA II.792–885.) Northumberland is a nominally pagan country where the King, Alla (based on Chaucer's understanding of the historical Ælla of Deira) converted to Christianity after learning of the two miracles. Alla's evil mother intercepts and falsifies letters between the Alla and his constable, which results in Constance's being banished. (MLT 386–875; CA II.665–1036.)

Constance is forced to go to sea again and encounters one final antagonist. She runs aground in Spain; a would-be rapist (named "Thelous" in CA) boards her ship but mysteriously falls overboard. (MLT 911–945; CA II.1090–1122.) She is found by a senator of Rome, who is returning from a mission to Barberie (Syria) where he had revenged the slaughter of Christians by the Sultan's mother. (MLT 953ff; CA II.1179ff.) The senator takes Constance (and her child) back to Italy to serve as his household servant. King Alla, still heartbroken over the loss of Constance, goes to Rome on a pilgrimage, and by luck finds Constance. The couple returns to Northumberland. Alla dies a year later, Constance returns to Rome, and their son becomes the Emperor of Rome. (MLT 876–1150; CA II.1077–1612.)

Character of the Man of Law

The Man of Law may have been based upon a real character. Two candidates are Thomas Pynchbek and Gower. Pynchbek "served as a justice of assize between 1376 and 1388 and was known for his acquisition of land, as well as for his learning; in 1388, as chief baron of the Exchequer, he signed a writ for GC's arrest in a case of debt".

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  • "The Man of Law's Tale", middle-english hypertext with glossary and side-by-side middle english and modern english
  • "The Man of Law's Prologue and Tale" with interlinear translation