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Unit 14: The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales (Non-detailed Study): Discussion and Analysis-VI

student, who foregoes only money: a lot of money, but still only money. The question of nobility Notes
and generousness completely depends from which perspective you read the tale.
Interestingly, we are never told that Dorigen goes to check whether the rocks have in fact vanished
or not. Of course, they only exist as a plot twist within a tale–though one of the things the tale’s final
question reminds us of is that an existence in words, like the rash promise that Dorigen made, is an
existence we dismiss at our peril.

14.3 The Physician’s Tale

14.3.1 The Physician’s Tale Text

As Titus Livius tells us, there was once a knight called Virginius who had many friends, much wealth,
and a loving wife and daughter. The daughter possessed a beauty so great that even Pygmalion could
not have created her equal. She was also humble in speech and avoided events which might
compromise her virtue. The narrator then breaks off to address governesses and parents, telling them
to bring up their children to be virtuous.
The maid one day went into the town, toward a temple, with her mother, where a judge who governed
the town, saw the knight’s daughter, and lusted after her. He was so caught by the maid’s beauty
that he concluded “This mayde shal be myn”. At that, the devil ran into his heart, and taught him
how he, by trickery, could have the maid for his own. He sent after a churl, who he knew was clever
and brave, and told him the plan, giving him precious, expensive gifts for his complicity.
The judge’s name was Appius, the narrator now tells us, before asserting “So was his name, for this
is no fable”, but a “historial thyng notable” (a notable historical event). The false churl, Claudius,
made a complaint against Virginius, and the judge summoned him to hear the charge against him.
Claudius, in short, claimed that Virginius was holding one of his servants, a beautiful young girl,
against his will, and pretending she was his daughter.

The judge did not listen to Virginius’ argument in his own defense, but ordered
that the girl be taken as a ward of the court.

Virginius returned home, and called his daughter, with an ashen face. He explained to her that now
there were only two avenues open to her: either death or shame. Virginius decided, in a long,
mournful speech to his daughter, to kill her, and, although she begged for mercy and another solution,
eventually she asked for a little leisure to contemplate her death. She then fell into a swoon, and
when she awoke, she blessed God that she could die a virgin. Virginius then took his sword and cut
off her head, and took it to the judge.
When the judge saw the head, he tried to escape and hang himself, but soon a thousand people
thrust in, knowing of the false iniquity, took Appius and threw him into prison. Claudius was
sentenced to be hanged upon a tree–except that Virginius pleaded on his behalf, succeeding in
reducing the sentence to exile.
Here, the narrator says, may men see that sin has no reward – even if it is so private that no-one
knows of it other than God and the sinner. The last counsel the tale presents us with: “Forsaketh
synne, er synne yow forsake”.

On what source is the Physician’s tale based?

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