Unlike the other tales we have read, the Knight’s Tale is heavy in Pagan mythology. Palamon prays to Venus for aid in winning Emelye’s love (2238-2244). Emelye prays to Dyane that she be left a maiden or that the winner of the duel love her (2297-2330). And Arcite prays to Mars for victory (2373-2420). The idea that these characters pray to the gods for help would cause us to believe that this world has no fated outcome, that the gods could change the future, but Dyane appears to Emelye and announces “by eternal word written and confirmed/ Thou shalt be wedded unto one of those/ Who have for thee so much care and woe” (2350-2352). So this is a world of predestination, order.
In accordance with this order, unlike the usual Greek mythology in which the gods quarrel against each other constantly, yes, Venus and Mars duke it out, there is an uncontested hierarchy among them, with Juppiter set as their referee, and Saturn, his father set as the advisor.
In more of an ironic twist, it is Saturn, the god of chaos, who offers a neat and fair end to the strife. He is described as the ultimate power:
“My cours, that hath so wyde for to turne,
Hath moore power than woot any man.
Myn is the drenching in the see so wan;
Myn is the prison in the derke cote;
Myn is the strangling and hangyne by the throte,
The murmure and the cherles rebelling.
The groynynge, and the pryvee empoysonyng;
I do vengeance and pleyn correccioun” (2454-2461).
Saturn sets the world in order, bringing about the downfall of Arcite and the reward to Emelye and Palamon. Yes, in a stroke of unlikelihood, “Out of the ground a furie infernal sterte”, tripping up Arcite’s horse and snatching victory from right under his hands, yet it is sent by Pluto at Saturn’s request (2684-5). Palamon prays to Venus,
“I kepe noght of armes for to yelpe
Ne I ne axe nat tomorwe to have victorie
Ne renoun in this cas, ne veyne glorie
Of pris of armes blowen up and doun
But I wolde have fully possessioun of Emelye, and dye in they servyse” ( 2238-2243).
Archite asks of Mars, “Give me victory; I ask of thee no more” (2420). He only seeks victory, while Palamon only cares for Emelye. Saturn preserves the words of the prayers and the responsibility of the gods, upholds all order. Chaos is the organizing power in this world.
In the last stanza is one of the few references to God, not the Greek gods, but God himself, “that al this wyde world hath wroght/Sende hym hus love that hath it deer aboght” (3099-3100). What connotations could this hold for the Knight’s view of God, and/ or chaos? Does it mean that chaos is not actually chaos, but an order that works beyond human ken? Or that God is something that doesn’t make sense? What what what?
Interesting post, Donald! I was also struck by the strange oscillation within the tale, which you draw our attention to -- between randomness and predestination, chance and fate. Setting the story in a pagan world allows Chaucer to perform a kind of thought-experiment and consider the role of chaos or discord, as you say, "organizing the world." Throughout the Middle Ages, many thinkers and writers considered this problem by quoting and commenting on /The Consolation of Philosophy/ the late-antique philosopher Boethius (d. 525). Boethius' text raises some of the questions of point of view that you raise here -- namely, "Is chaos not actually chaos, but an order that works beyond human ken?" Or, are disorder and injustice merely perspectival, the consequences of humans' limited point of view? The role of Saturn in "The Knight's Tale" would seem to unsettle the vision of a final and encompassing order such as Theseus promotes in his Boethian speech.... In any case, it's possible to observe that the pagan setting allows a lot of intellectual freedom to Chaucer in imagining the possibilities for a radically unjust world. The monotheistic-sounding Jupiter of Theseus's final speech certainly raises as many questions as it answers.
ReplyDeleteFortune’s role remains consistent with it’s mythological roots throughout the Knight’s Tale. Both fathered kings who play important roles in the universe of the story, as Jupiter rules the gods and Theseus reigns over the Athenians. However, no one can influence Fortune because she operates independently. In this way, Chaucer ties the Christian God into the Greek cosmos and also provides a personification.
ReplyDeleteIn Hesiod’s Theogany, the universe was begotten from Chaos. Over time it became more structured, especially in the aftermath of the Olympians’ victory over the Titians. Chaucer asks the audience, “Allas why pleynen fold so in commune/ On purveiaunce of God, or of Fortune,/That yeveth hem ful ofte in many a gyse/ Wel bettre than they can hemself devyse?” (1251-1254). Another passage describes the lifecycle of an oak tree, which is Jupiter’s plant attribute (3017-3020). These two combined encourage the reader to believe that although things may seem random and disjointed, there is a divine influence in the course of events that supersedes our own understanding. Although Chaos may impact events, and relationships between gods and mortals may clash, segments of the Knight’s Tale show how Fortune (or God) retains enough control so everything doesn’t completely fall apart.