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Sleeping Dogs and Stasis in The Franklin’s Tale

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Stasis in the Medieval West?

Part of the book series: The New Middle Ages ((TNMA))

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Abstract

Richard North focuses upon the central ethical question of The Franklin’s Tale concerning generosity and the calmness with which Arveragus discovers that his wife has promised to sleep with Aurelius. North argues that while Arveragus maintains the terms of his initial agreement with his wife, upholding the conditions of the pact made between them at the beginning of the tale, this is soured by his threat to kill her if she reveals it to anyone else. North identifies a different ethical conundrum at the heart of the tale and its relationship with the Franklin, namely, what value Chaucer may find in the calmness of Arveragus, and how it may stand at odds with the Franklin’s own reading of events.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University College London, London, UK

    Richard North

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  1. Richard North
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, United Kingdom

    Michael D.J. Bintley

  2. Oxford Archaeology, Thame, United Kingdom

    Martin Locker

  3. University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Victoria Symons

  4. University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Mary Wellesley

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North, R. (2017). Sleeping Dogs and Stasis in The Franklin’s Tale . In: Bintley, M., Locker, M., Symons, V., Wellesley, M. (eds) Stasis in the Medieval West?. The New Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56199-2_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56199-2_11

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-95033-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56199-2

  • eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)

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