The Man of Law's Tale

"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.^[1] Nicholas Trivet's Les chronicles was a source for both authors.^[2]

Wurtele provides a detailed compilation of the differences between Trivet's Chronicle and the poems of Gower and Chaucer.^{[3]: 56–82} 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”.[22] Wurtele observes that Chaucer makes frequent use of the adjective "hooly" but Gower never uses this word.^{[3]: 64–65}