The Canterbury Tales

Chaucer, Geoffrey | c. 1340-1400
Geoffrey Chaucer, known as the Father of English Literature, incorporated Arthurian material into two of his stories in The Canterbury Tales. Here are summaries of those stories:
The Squire’s Tale In The Squire’s Tale, a youthful Squire tells a chivalric romance with aspirations of courtly love. Gawain and Lancelot are cited as examples of courtesy and courtly behavior, but they are portrayed as distant and long-gone figures. The Squire’s Tale is characterized by its amorous themes and the portrayal of knights as examples of chivalry.
The Wife of Bath’s Tale The Wife of Bath’s Tale is a complex reworking of the Loathly Lady theme. the protagonist is an unnamed Arthurian knight who, after raping a maiden, is given a chance to save his life by correctly answering what all women desire. Guided by an old hag, the knight answers correctly but is dismayed when the hag claims him in marriage as her promised reward. The hag, in turn, lectures the knight on the virtues of gentleness and offers him a choice: to have her ugly and faithful or fair and sought-after. The knight defers the choice to her, ultimately granting her sovereignty and receiving permanent fairness and constancy in return.
Chaucer’s approach to Arthurian material in The Canterbury Tales is notable for its obliqueness and wry tone compared to his more straightforward treatment in his translation of the Roman de la Rose. In The Wife of Bath’s Tale, Chaucer uses the Arthurian setting to explore complex themes of identity, marriage, and social norms. The tale challenges the knight’s notions of personal identity and introduced a nuanced perspective on the ideologies of gentility and societal expectations. The Arthurian setting serves as a backdrop for this exploration, highlighting the possibility of reevaluating social norms and personal identity in a fantastical, otherwordly context.