After the Host requests a tale of love, the Squire launches into what seems to be the beginnings of an extended romance. The tale is unfinished after only two parts, without the clear conflict being introduced, and is quite short. What is present, however, is the marvelous gifts that the knight from Arabia brings to Cambuscan's court, namely a brass horse that can travel at miraculous speeds and fly, a mirror that can reveal who is one's friends and foes, and a ring that allows one to communicate with birds. While the second part spends time with Cambuscan's daughter and the ring, the real focus and attention seems to be on the horse. This mechanical wonder is also the focus of scholarly readings of orientalism in The Canterbury Tales. regardless, Chaucer seems to have intended to finish the tale as the next opens with a compliment of the Squire's tale telling abilities.
The Franklin's Tale:
The Franklin's Tale opens with a brief discussion of mastery in a manner that suggests it will counter The Wife of Bath's Tale. The tale itself involves a knight who promises his wife mastery and his wife, Dorigen, promises to stay true to him. While the knight is away for an extended time, however, she has great sorrow over his absence. During a party intended to raise her spirits, Dorigen is wooed by a squire who is madly in love with her. Upset about the rocks surrounding their shore that could prevent her husband's safe return, Dorigen makes a somewhat rash promise that if the squire can remove all the rocks on every shore around England, she will love him best. Shortly thereafter, her husband returns, and all seems well. In the meantime, however, the squire has made contact with a scholar knowledgeable in astrology who can make the rocks appear to disappear. The squire returns to collect on Dorigen's promise and, distraught, Dorigen presents the dilemma to her husband. The knight decides he'd rather live in misery than have her betray her word, but the squire, seeing their sorrow, releases Dorigen from her promise. This is often tied to the rash boon folk tradition, despite the seeming impossibility of the promise she offered.
The Physician's Tale:
The Physician's Tale runs very much like a virgin martyr tale. Virginius' daughter is spotted by a Roman nobleman who desires her and hatches a plot to obtain her despite her will. This nobleman, Appius, uses bribes to accuse Virginius of stealing his slave, who he says is Virginius' own daughter. Seeing no other way out of the situation, Virginius tells his daughter that he must kill her in order to preserve her chastity. He beheads her, presents the head to the Roman court, and the people rise up to defend the knight and his just cause. So everything ends happily. Except for the little detail of Virginius' daughter.
The Pardoner's Tale:
Another heavily anthologized text, The Pardoner's Tale has received a substantial amount of critical attention. I've got to say, rereading this text I have the strong desire to play a character based around the Pardoner. His blatant corruption and utter self interest are strangely compelling.
After an introduction that establishes the Pardoner's complete interest in his own financial gain, the tale itself involves a trio of drunken patrons who decide that they should set out to kill the cause of so much death around town, Death himself. They travel in search of their target and meet up with an old man. Hearing their goal, the old man tells them they can find death at the base of a tree, which is filled with gold. Of course avarice takes over and leads to a triple homicide, each member of the trio killing the others to gain a larger share of the gold for themselves. It is interesting that the Pardoner tells a tale damning the very sin he is most guilty of, or perhaps, considering the Pardoner, not all that surprising at all.
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